Violet laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Violet laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

An open wreath in the manner of a laurel has a violet at the foot: two branches, each clothed with pairs of leaves and a single leaf at its tip, curve up either side and leave the wreath open at the top, with room in the middle for a name or a date. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch in a dark and a lighter green. The violet has four purple petals and a lilac lip in long and short stitch, three straight stitch veins on the lip and a yellow French knot eye.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch.

5 colors of floss and 5 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	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.3 in	8.4 × 8.4 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.2 in	10.4 × 10.7 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 5.8 in	14.5 × 14.7 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)

In a 3 inch hoop the French knot is drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for it 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderViolet upper petals, violet side petals and violet veins
DMC 210 Medium LavenderViolet lip
DMC 726 Light TopazViolet eye

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 strandsBranches
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color)
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsViolet upper petals, violet side petals, violet lip
Straight stitch 2 strandsViolet veins
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsViolet eye

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.