Toy windmill with a bow hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Toy windmill with a bow: preview of the stitched design

A toy windmill stands on its stick and is seen face on. Four sails are set around a navy pin, each the same shape a quarter turn on from the last, with a gold face and a red back. The teal stick runs straight down below the sails. Partway down it a navy bow is tied, its loops spread to each side of the knot and its two tails swinging down and out, each ending in a notch. Everything is satin stitch: the faces and backs of the sails, the pin of the windmill, the stick, and the bow loops, bow knot and bow tails.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

4 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Satin stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1 × 1.8 in	2.5 × 4.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.6 × 2.8 in	4.1 × 7.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.1 × 3.7 in	5.3 × 9.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.6 × 4.6 in	6.6 × 11.7 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.6 × 6.5 in	9.1 × 16.5 cm	11/16 in (17 mm)

In a 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseStick
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFaces of the sails
DMC 304 Medium RedBacks of the sails
DMC 336 Navy BluePin of the windmill, bow tails, bow loops and bow knot

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Satin stitch 2 strandsStick, faces of the sails, backs of the sails, pin of the windmill, bow tails, bow loops, bow knot

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.