Zinnia coaster hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Zinnia coaster: preview of the stitched design

A round design for a coaster shows one zinnia seen face on: three rings of twelve round petals, each ring a half step round from the last, about a brown center with a ring of six knots. Twelve leaves in fishbone stitch spring from behind it like a star, with a French knot between each pair, inside an edge of twenty-four scallops in stem stitch; the flower is worked in satin stitch and French knots.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

6 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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.6 in	6.6 × 6.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.4 in	11.2 × 11.2 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.1 × 6.1 in	15.5 × 15.5 cm	11/16 in (17 mm)

In a 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more 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.
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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves
DMC 304 Medium RedZinnia outer petals and zinnia inner petals
DMC 922 Light CopperZinnia middle petals and knots between the leaves
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownZinnia center
DMC 726 Light TopazZinnia florets
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenScalloped edge

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

Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
Satin stitch 2 strandsZinnia outer petals, zinnia middle petals, zinnia inner petals, zinnia center
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsZinnia florets, knots between the leaves
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsScalloped edge

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.