Mistletoe Embroidery Pattern Free: Easy Christmas 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 (the white berries need a fabric darker than pure white)

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 729 Medium Old Gold: about 24 in (61 cm)

- DMC 3345 Dark Hunter Green: about 18 in (46 cm)

- DMC 3346 Hunter Green: about 64 in (163 cm)

- DMC 471 Very Light Avocado Green: about 64 in (163 cm)

- DMC BLANC White: about 21 in (53 cm)

- DMC 321 Red: about 15 in (38 cm)

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

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

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 every line, leaf outline and dot 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.

Satin stitch: Fill the leaf with straight stitches laid side by side across its width, from one edge of the outline to the other, close enough that no fabric shows; start in the middle of the leaf and work out to each tip so the angle stays even.

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.

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.

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.

The bow loops are big lazy daisies: keep the loop a little loose so it stays round, and make the small tack stitch at its far end hold it in shape.

Order of work

1. Stitch the dotted gold ring around the design in running stitch. DMC 729, 2 strands.
2. Backstitch the four stems in the darkest green: the main stem from the bow down to the fork, then the three stems from the fork out to their ends. DMC 3345, 2 strands.
3. Fill the right-hand leaf of every pair (as you face the hoop) with satin stitch in the darker green, stitching across the leaf from edge to edge. DMC 3346, 2 strands.
4. Fill the left-hand leaf of every pair with satin stitch in the light green the same way, so each pair shows one light and one dark leaf. DMC 471, 2 strands.
5. Make the berries: at the end of every stem, three white French knots packed in a fan where the two leaves meet (9 in all). DMC BLANC, 2 strands.
6. Make the two bow loops at the top of the main stem as large red lazy daisy stitches, both starting from the same knot point, one pointing up-left and one up-right. DMC 321, 2 strands.
7. Finish the bow with two red straight stitches from the knot point down and out to the tail ends, either side of the stem. DMC 321, 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, 4 backstitched stems, 6 satin-stitch leaves (3 dark, 3 light), 9 French-knot berries (3 per stem end), 2 lazy daisy bow loops, 2 straight-stitch bow tails.