Zinnia mandala hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Zinnia mandala: preview of the stitched design

A zinnia is seen from above as four close rows of round-ended petals, each row showing from behind the one inside it. The outermost row is red; the next is the darker pink, the next the lighter pink, and the innermost, round the middle, the darker pink again. Each row has eighteen petals, and all are satin stitch. The middle is left as bare cloth set with yellow French knots, in two rings about one knot at the center.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a third of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop and a great deal of stitching; from a 5 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

4 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)	1.6 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.3 in	6.1 × 5.8 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.1 in	8.1 × 7.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 3.9 in	10.2 × 9.9 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 5.5 in	14 × 14 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 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.
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 304 Medium RedRed petals
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseDarker pink petals
DMC 152 Medium Light Shell PinkLighter pink petals
DMC 726 Light TopazKnots in the middle

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 strandsPetals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots in the middle

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.