Triskele spiral hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Triskele spiral: preview of the stitched design

A triskele, the three-armed spiral, sits inside a double ring: three arms spring from one point in the middle, each a band of teal satin stitch that curves from the first and winds twice in round a gold French knot. All three arms turn the same way, and the two rings are navy stem stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.7 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.3 in	8.4 × 8.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.2 in	10.7 × 10.7 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 5.8 in	14.7 × 14.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

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 TurquoiseSpirals
DMC 336 Navy BlueRing
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots

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 strandsSpirals
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRing
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots

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.