Two-tier cake with hearts hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Two-tier cake with hearts: preview of the stitched design

A two-tier cake stands on a cake stand, seen from the front. The cake outline, the icing border and the shell border of each tier are pink stem stitch. A row of red satin stitch hearts runs across each tier, three on the top tier and five on the lower one, and one larger heart on top of the cake stands on its point, also red satin stitch. The stand outline is gray stem stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.6 in	3.8 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.4 in	5.6 × 6.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3.2 in	7.6 × 8.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.9 in	9.4 × 9.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5.5 in	13.2 × 14 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) 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 304 Medium RedHeart on top and hearts
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseCake outline, icing border and shell border
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

Satin stitch 2 strandsHeart on top, hearts
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsCake outline, icing border, shell border, stand outline

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.