Bunting birthday cake hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Bunting birthday cake: preview of the stitched design

A two-tier birthday cake sits on a cake stand, seen from the front, with three banded candles and their satin stitch flames on top and bunting across both tiers: the strings are back stitch, hung from French knots that stand clear of the sides, and every swag carries three satin stitch flags, a pink, a teal and a pink. The tiers are outlined in stem stitch, each with a row of shells along its foot.

Size and details

Easy. Stem stitch, back stitch and French knots, with some short satin stitches.

5 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.7 in	4.1 × 4.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.4 in	8.4 × 8.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.2 in	10.4 × 10.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 5.9 in	14.5 × 15 cm	5/16 in (8 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseOutlines of the candles, bands of the candles and pink bunting flags
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFlames and pins of the bunting
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownCake outline, shell border and bunting strings
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseTeal bunting flags
DMC 414 Dark Steel GrayStand outline

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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsOutlines of the candles, cake outline, shell border, stand outline
Satin stitch 2 strandsBands of the candles, flames, bunting flags
Back stitch 2 strandsBunting strings
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPins of the bunting

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.