Simple Flower Embroidery Pattern Free: Single Daisy Hoop

Size: design about 2.5 x 4.2 in (6 x 11 cm), for a 6 in (15 cm) hoop

Fabric: a 10 x 10 in (25 x 25 cm) square of light blue or pale grey cotton or linen-cotton, washed and pressed (a coloured fabric lets the white petals show)

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 3347 Medium Yellow Green: about 24 in (61 cm)

- DMC 988 Medium Forest Green: about 41 in (104 cm)

- DMC BLANC White: about 78 in (198 cm)

- DMC 783 Medium Topaz: about 27 in (69 cm)

- DMC 726 Light Topaz: about 17 in (43 cm)

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

Stitches: stem stitch, satin stitch, detached chain (lazy daisy), straight stitch, 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 every line, petal and dot with the pen.

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

Stitch guide

Stem stitch: Work left to right along the line. Come up at the start, go down 1/8 in along, and come up halfway back along that stitch, keeping the thread below the needle; repeat so each stitch overlaps half of the one before like a twisted rope.

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.

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.

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. Stem stitch the main stem from just under the bottom petal down to its end, then the short bud stem from where it leaves the main stem up to the bud. DMC 3347, 2 strands.
2. Fill the two leaves on the main stem with satin stitch. DMC 988, 2 strands.
3. Work the 16 daisy petals in detached chain (lazy daisy), each from the inner circle out to its tip, then the 3 petals of the bud. DMC BLANC, 2 strands.
4. Work the two green calyx stitches under the bud as single straight stitches. DMC 3347, 2 strands.
5. Work the outer ring of 12 French knots in the middle of the daisy, one on each of the 12 outer dots of the template. DMC 783, 2 strands.
6. Fill the inside of the ring with 7 French knots on the inner dots: one in the middle and six around it. DMC 726, 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: 16 daisy petals and 3 bud petals in detached chain, 19 French knots (12 in the ring, 7 inside), 2 satin-stitch leaves, 2 straight calyx stitches, 2 stem-stitched stems.