Winter wreath of poinsettias and holly hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 6 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Winter wreath of poinsettias and holly: preview of the stitched design

This is a wreath for winter: six poinsettias sit on one ring, each with six long pointed bracts, the red leaves that look like petals, six shorter ones over the gaps and three knots at its heart, and between each two a pair of holly leaves and a pair of berry bunches, three berries to a stalk. The bracts and berries are satin stitch, the holly leaves are satin stitch in two halves that meet on the vein, the ring and stalks are stem stitch and the knots are French knots. It is one of a set of four matching wreaths for the four seasons.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

6 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)	1.9 × 1.8 in	4.8 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 2.8 in	7.4 × 7.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.9 × 3.7 in	9.9 × 9.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.8 × 4.6 in	12.2 × 11.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.8 × 6.5 in	17.3 × 16.5 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

In a 3 or 4 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 3781 Dark Mocha BrownStems and stalks
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each holly leaf
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenDarker half of each holly leaf
DMC 304 Medium RedHolly berries and poinsettia long bracts
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaPoinsettia short bracts
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawPoinsettia centers and poinsettia center knots

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 strandsStems, stalks
Satin stitch 2 strandsHolly leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), holly berries, poinsettia long bracts, poinsettia short bracts, poinsettia centers
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPoinsettia center knots

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.