Penguin Embroidery Pattern: Free Christmas Beginner Hoop

Size: design about 4.2 x 4.2 in (11 x 11 cm), for a 6 in (15 cm) hoop

Fabric: a 10 x 10 in (25 x 25 cm) square of cream or natural linen or linen-cotton, washed and pressed

Threads: DMC 6-strand embroidery floss, one skein of each colour; use 2 strands throughout. Lengths are the 2-strand thread you stitch with, with spare, cut in 18 in (45 cm) pieces:

- DMC 321 Red: about 48 in (122 cm)

- DMC 310 Black: about 49 in (124 cm)

- DMC 414 Dark Steel Gray: about 19 in (48 cm)

- DMC 740 Tangerine: about 14 in (36 cm)

- DMC 3755 Baby Blue: about 13 in (33 cm)

Notions: 6 in embroidery hoop, size 7 embroidery needle, water-soluble fabric pen or a light pencil, scissors

Stitches: running stitch, backstitch, straight stitch, detached chain (lazy daisy), French knot

Transfer

Print the template page at 100% (actual size) and measure the 1 in scale square; if it is not exactly 1 in, check the print setting. Tape the template to a window, centre the fabric over it and trace the body, the belly, the eyes and beak, the flippers, the scarf and its tail, the feet, the snowflakes and the ring with the pen.

Put the fabric in the hoop so it is drum tight, with the screw at the top.

Stitch guide

Running stitch: Bring the needle up on the line, go down 1/8 in further along, come up again 1/16 in on, and repeat, so you get even dashes with gaps between them.

Backstitch: Bring the needle up one stitch length along the line, go down at the start of the line, then come up one stitch length ahead of your last stitch and go back down into the end of it, so the stitches touch.

Straight stitch: One single stitch: come up at the inner end of the line and go down at the outer end, keeping the thread smooth and not too tight so it lies flat.

Detached chain: Also called lazy daisy. Come up at the base of the petal, go back down in the same hole leaving a loop, come up at the tip of the petal inside the loop, and go down just outside the loop to tack it in place.

French knot: Come up where the knot goes, wrap the thread twice around the needle, hold the wraps snug with your other hand, and go down right next to where you came up, pulling the thread through slowly.

Order of work

1. Stitch the dotted red ring around the design in running stitch. DMC 321, 2 strands.
2. Backstitch the penguin's egg-shaped body in black in one line, from the top of the head all the way round; leave the inside unstitched. DMC 310, 2 strands.
3. Backstitch the oval belly in grey inside the lower body; the fabric inside it is the white front. DMC 414, 2 strands.
4. Add the two eyes as black French knots on the face. DMC 310, 2 strands.
5. Work the beak as one orange detached chain (lazy daisy) pointing down between the eyes. DMC 740, 2 strands.
6. Backstitch each flipper in black: from the side of the body out and down to a point and back in to the body (2 lines). DMC 310, 2 strands.
7. Backstitch the scarf in red as two lines across the neck, each from one side of the body to the other, dipping a little in the middle. DMC 321, 2 strands.
8. Backstitch the scarf tail in red on the right: from the top scarf line out and down to a square end and back in to the lower scarf line. DMC 321, 2 strands.
9. Work each foot as two orange detached chains fanning out from the bottom of the body (4 in all). DMC 740, 2 strands.
10. Work each of the four snowflakes as six blue straight stitches out from one centre point (24 stitches). DMC 3755, 2 strands.

Finishing

1. Rinse the fabric in cool water to remove the pen lines, roll it in a towel and press it face down on a soft towel.
2. Put it back in the hoop centred, tighten the screw, and trim the fabric to 1 in outside the hoop.
3. Run a running stitch around that edge, pull it up at the back like a drawstring, and tie off.

Counts: 43 running stitch dashes in the ring, 1 backstitched black body, 1 backstitched grey belly, 2 French-knot eyes, 1 lazy-daisy beak, 2 backstitched flippers, 2 red scarf lines and 1 scarf tail, 4 lazy-daisy toes (2 per foot), and 4 snowflakes of 6 straight stitches each (24).