Hand Embroidery Patterns
Free patterns for hand embroidery! Here you'll find a variety of motifs to embroider anywhere. They would look great on household linens (guest towels, table runners, table cloths, & cutwork pieces come to mind) or even as accents on clothing. Click on the image to view a larger version. Right-click on the larger version and save it to your desktop.
These come from an old embroidery pattern catalog, with no copyright. To my knowledge, they have not been reproduced, digitally enhanced, or printed by anyone recently. I have a photocopy of the original book, so I will be scanning and touching up the images, and then adding them as time allows. So check back often!
Here's a nice stylized flower stalk. It would look great in any kind of thread, but especially in silks, with a combination of stitches for texture. You could also "needle paint" it for a nice, smooth effect. Goldwork is another option, for something very fancy. You could work this in white, on white linen, for a nice guest towel. Vary your stitches for texture, and you'd have a beautiful design in white. Seed stitch inside different line stitches can create a nice effect. Click on the image for a larger version.
Here's a list of more designs for hand embroidery that you'll find on this site:
Passion Flower Design - great for corners!
Fleur de Lys border - lots of options on this one, and easy to stitch, using basic line stitches.
Single Lily - perfect for household linens, guest towels, and whatnot.
Border for Redwork or other techniques - a simple border that would work up quickly.
Pretty Daisies - great for practicing line stitches around curves.
Butterflies! - A couple nice butterflies for any kind of hand embroidery technique.
Acorn Border - a simple border suitable for anything fallish!
Maple Leaf
Flower Border - published under the "Linea" post, this pattern is suitable for any embellishment.
Grape Vine - Exceptionally pretty design for borders on household items.
A Scrolly Border - another versatile border design
Jacobean pattern - an exercise in crewel work, for more advanced embroiderers
The Acorn, revisited - another acorn pattern for seasonal embroidery
Simple Rose Design - a corner design of simple roses
Jacobean pattern with Butterfly
Daisies! - great embellishments for just about anything.
Single Flower - another multi-purpose design, suitable for beginners and beyond; includes stitching suggestions.
A Bunch of Little Flowers - all kinds of uses for this design. A repeat is also shown.
Goldwork Sampler - a magnificent pattern to use as a 'sampler' for learning different techniques of goldwork.
Silk Shading Sampler - a beautiful pattern suitable for practice in silk shading and gold couching.
Sunflower Cross - a nice pattern for basic embroidery stitches - can be used for church embroidery or secular.
Flower Medallion - another pattern that can be used for basic embroidery on household goods, etc.
Decorative Border - this pattern would look great on the edge of household linens.
Simple Lily - this pattern is very simple, and would be great for quick embellishments or even for applique techniques.
Bookmark or ? - a diamond column with a four-petal flower motif within, great for a hand embroidered bookmark or even household linens.
A Circular Thing - I'm not sure what else to call this. It's a nice circle pattern, especially suited to line stitches.
Monogram - the Letter A - a very pretty "A" that can be used to personalize gifts and household items.
Circles - a pattern for stitching on the drawstring bags the kids made in our summer embroidery classes, 2007.
Dancing Daisies Garden - another pattern for stitching on the drawstring bags, Summer, 2007.
Simple Daisy Wreath Pattern - this is another pattern used on the kids' drawstring bags this summer, 2007. The middle of the wreath is perfect for a fancy initial!
A Simple Jacobean Motif - with suggestions for stitching.
Embroidered Bag Sampler Pattern - a simple pattern for the outside of a drawstring embroidered bag. Uses a variety of stitches!
Jacobean Flower and Leaf - this is a typical Jacobean looking flower and leaf pattern, very nice for a single motif or worked into a larger piece.
Single Stylized Leaf - here's a simple single stylized leaf pattern which would combine well with other Jacobean motifs or work on its own.
Hanging Flower Pattern - good for goldwork or any kind of surface embroidery, this is a unique little flower and very pretty.
Jacobean Leaves - three leaves together that would make another interesting addition to a whole Jacobean sampler, or can be worked individually. This one is also adaptable to goldwork.
Fuschia Embroidery Pattern - here's a pattern for a single fuschia, very pretty and simple in design.
Simple Single Flower - another pattern that would work well as Jacobean or crewel embroidery, but is adaptable to any surface technique.
Pretty Stylized Scroll & Flower design - this is a beautiful design suitable for silkwork or other shading techniques. It can be adapted to other forms of surface embroidery. It's one of my favorites!
Tulips ala William Morris - Here's a nice tulip pattern after William Morris. It would make a great pattern for any surface technique.
William Morris Flower Thingy - another motif after William Morris.
Slender Flowers - a tall and slender bunch of three flowers, with very pretty leaves and stems. It would make a great study in whitework, but could be used for almost any surface technique.
Fortune Cookies - Rather a strange little motif, but there it is, nonetheless.
Repeating Scroll Design from Therese Dillmont - perfect for shading and filling techniques. A pretty design!
Corner Motif - A pretty and simple diamond (or square) shaped corner motif perfect for hand towels, bread cloths, or even for goldwork couching practice!
A Leafy Border - another simple line design suitable for all kinds of applications - from household goods to the hem of a skirt.
Scrolly Design - works great for line stitches; pretty on household linens and so forth.
Scrolly Medallion - somewhat diamond shaped (though not perfectly symmetrical) and very ornate; another good pattern for simple line stitches.
Medallion Frame - a simple interwoven, double-lined frame that would look great enclosing a monogram.
L-O-V-E in a Box - a four-box design, with L-O-V-E written in flowered monograms.
Scalloped Heart - very simple and sweet.
Leafy Medallion - I think this one would work well for goldwork.
Blackwork Trees - Well, you can divide up the motif, actually, and use it as trees, or line them up and use them as a decorative edge! Up to you!
Stylized Pomegranate - Pretty design, perfect for needlepainting or goldwork, and would work well for ecclesiastical embroidery, too.
Carnations - a pretty carnation bunch, perfect for needlepainting. There's a colored version along with it, so you can get an idea of shading!
Leaf and Flower Corner - a perfect design for the corner of a handkerchief, or cloth napkins, or a larger tea towel, or - even larger - a tablecloth.
Diamonds and Fleur de Lys - a diamond motif for simple embroidery.
Needlelace Pattern - an egg-shaped pattern for needlelace, with resources for learning techniques.
Cutwork Pattern - flower motif with scroll designs for cutwork. This pretty design can also be used for other embroidery techniques.
Another Scrolly Medallion - perfect for line stitches and satin stitch dots. This design would be great on a square pillow or on the outside pocket of a tote bag.
A Turkey - Great for Thanksgiving and Autumn embroidery, as well as for various kitchen items.
Stylized Tudor Pomegranate - This design would be fantastic for goldwork and silk shading.
Quaker Motif: Bird in Tree - This design is styled after a Mary Wigham cross stitch motif and adapted for hand embroidery. It would make an excellent Christmas ornament or a nice element on your own surface embroidery sampler.
Quaker Motif: Circle, Petals, & Quilt-Square - This is another design adapted from a Quaker cross stitch motif and made into a hand embroidery pattern. This would work well on quilt squares, as it has a kind of quilt-square-look.
Farmyard Scene & Fable Illustration - a neat cutwork pattern that illustrates a fable, this can be used as a regular surface embroidery design as well.
Springy Flower Corner Design - this makes a really nice corner for a brightly embroidered towel, tablecloth, pillowcase, etc. You can see my embroidered version here.
Needlelace Pattern: Easter Egg - This is an egg-shaped pattern for needlelace, perfect for a lace Easter egg or an oval inset.
More to come! Bookmark Needle 'n Thread, or subscribe (in the right column of the website) to my e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, so that you don't miss any updates!
These come from an old embroidery pattern catalog, with no copyright. To my knowledge, they have not been reproduced, digitally enhanced, or printed by anyone recently. I have a photocopy of the original book, so I will be scanning and touching up the images, and then adding them as time allows. So check back often!
Here's a nice stylized flower stalk. It would look great in any kind of thread, but especially in silks, with a combination of stitches for texture. You could also "needle paint" it for a nice, smooth effect. Goldwork is another option, for something very fancy. You could work this in white, on white linen, for a nice guest towel. Vary your stitches for texture, and you'd have a beautiful design in white. Seed stitch inside different line stitches can create a nice effect. Click on the image for a larger version.
Here's a list of more designs for hand embroidery that you'll find on this site:
Passion Flower Design - great for corners!
Fleur de Lys border - lots of options on this one, and easy to stitch, using basic line stitches.
Single Lily - perfect for household linens, guest towels, and whatnot.
Border for Redwork or other techniques - a simple border that would work up quickly.
Pretty Daisies - great for practicing line stitches around curves.
Butterflies! - A couple nice butterflies for any kind of hand embroidery technique.
Acorn Border - a simple border suitable for anything fallish!
Flower Border - published under the "Linea" post, this pattern is suitable for any embellishment.
Grape Vine - Exceptionally pretty design for borders on household items.
A Scrolly Border - another versatile border design
Jacobean pattern - an exercise in crewel work, for more advanced embroiderers
The Acorn, revisited - another acorn pattern for seasonal embroidery
Simple Rose Design - a corner design of simple roses
Jacobean pattern with Butterfly
Daisies! - great embellishments for just about anything.
Single Flower - another multi-purpose design, suitable for beginners and beyond; includes stitching suggestions.
A Bunch of Little Flowers - all kinds of uses for this design. A repeat is also shown.
Goldwork Sampler - a magnificent pattern to use as a 'sampler' for learning different techniques of goldwork.
Silk Shading Sampler - a beautiful pattern suitable for practice in silk shading and gold couching.
Sunflower Cross - a nice pattern for basic embroidery stitches - can be used for church embroidery or secular.
Flower Medallion - another pattern that can be used for basic embroidery on household goods, etc.
Decorative Border - this pattern would look great on the edge of household linens.
Simple Lily - this pattern is very simple, and would be great for quick embellishments or even for applique techniques.
Bookmark or ? - a diamond column with a four-petal flower motif within, great for a hand embroidered bookmark or even household linens.
A Circular Thing - I'm not sure what else to call this. It's a nice circle pattern, especially suited to line stitches.
Monogram - the Letter A - a very pretty "A" that can be used to personalize gifts and household items.
Circles - a pattern for stitching on the drawstring bags the kids made in our summer embroidery classes, 2007.
Dancing Daisies Garden - another pattern for stitching on the drawstring bags, Summer, 2007.
Simple Daisy Wreath Pattern - this is another pattern used on the kids' drawstring bags this summer, 2007. The middle of the wreath is perfect for a fancy initial!
A Simple Jacobean Motif - with suggestions for stitching.
Embroidered Bag Sampler Pattern - a simple pattern for the outside of a drawstring embroidered bag. Uses a variety of stitches!
Jacobean Flower and Leaf - this is a typical Jacobean looking flower and leaf pattern, very nice for a single motif or worked into a larger piece.
Single Stylized Leaf - here's a simple single stylized leaf pattern which would combine well with other Jacobean motifs or work on its own.
Hanging Flower Pattern - good for goldwork or any kind of surface embroidery, this is a unique little flower and very pretty.
Jacobean Leaves - three leaves together that would make another interesting addition to a whole Jacobean sampler, or can be worked individually. This one is also adaptable to goldwork.
Fuschia Embroidery Pattern - here's a pattern for a single fuschia, very pretty and simple in design.
Simple Single Flower - another pattern that would work well as Jacobean or crewel embroidery, but is adaptable to any surface technique.
Pretty Stylized Scroll & Flower design - this is a beautiful design suitable for silkwork or other shading techniques. It can be adapted to other forms of surface embroidery. It's one of my favorites!
Tulips ala William Morris - Here's a nice tulip pattern after William Morris. It would make a great pattern for any surface technique.
William Morris Flower Thingy - another motif after William Morris.
Slender Flowers - a tall and slender bunch of three flowers, with very pretty leaves and stems. It would make a great study in whitework, but could be used for almost any surface technique.
Fortune Cookies - Rather a strange little motif, but there it is, nonetheless.
Repeating Scroll Design from Therese Dillmont - perfect for shading and filling techniques. A pretty design!
Corner Motif - A pretty and simple diamond (or square) shaped corner motif perfect for hand towels, bread cloths, or even for goldwork couching practice!
A Leafy Border - another simple line design suitable for all kinds of applications - from household goods to the hem of a skirt.
Scrolly Design - works great for line stitches; pretty on household linens and so forth.
Scrolly Medallion - somewhat diamond shaped (though not perfectly symmetrical) and very ornate; another good pattern for simple line stitches.
Medallion Frame - a simple interwoven, double-lined frame that would look great enclosing a monogram.
L-O-V-E in a Box - a four-box design, with L-O-V-E written in flowered monograms.
Scalloped Heart - very simple and sweet.
Leafy Medallion - I think this one would work well for goldwork.
Blackwork Trees - Well, you can divide up the motif, actually, and use it as trees, or line them up and use them as a decorative edge! Up to you!
Stylized Pomegranate - Pretty design, perfect for needlepainting or goldwork, and would work well for ecclesiastical embroidery, too.
Carnations - a pretty carnation bunch, perfect for needlepainting. There's a colored version along with it, so you can get an idea of shading!
Leaf and Flower Corner - a perfect design for the corner of a handkerchief, or cloth napkins, or a larger tea towel, or - even larger - a tablecloth.
Diamonds and Fleur de Lys - a diamond motif for simple embroidery.
Needlelace Pattern - an egg-shaped pattern for needlelace, with resources for learning techniques.
Cutwork Pattern - flower motif with scroll designs for cutwork. This pretty design can also be used for other embroidery techniques.
Another Scrolly Medallion - perfect for line stitches and satin stitch dots. This design would be great on a square pillow or on the outside pocket of a tote bag.
A Turkey - Great for Thanksgiving and Autumn embroidery, as well as for various kitchen items.
Stylized Tudor Pomegranate - This design would be fantastic for goldwork and silk shading.
Quaker Motif: Bird in Tree - This design is styled after a Mary Wigham cross stitch motif and adapted for hand embroidery. It would make an excellent Christmas ornament or a nice element on your own surface embroidery sampler.
Quaker Motif: Circle, Petals, & Quilt-Square - This is another design adapted from a Quaker cross stitch motif and made into a hand embroidery pattern. This would work well on quilt squares, as it has a kind of quilt-square-look.
Farmyard Scene & Fable Illustration - a neat cutwork pattern that illustrates a fable, this can be used as a regular surface embroidery design as well.
Springy Flower Corner Design - this makes a really nice corner for a brightly embroidered towel, tablecloth, pillowcase, etc. You can see my embroidered version here.
Needlelace Pattern: Easter Egg - This is an egg-shaped pattern for needlelace, perfect for a lace Easter egg or an oval inset.
More to come! Bookmark Needle 'n Thread, or subscribe (in the right column of the website) to my e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, so that you don't miss any updates!
Labels: beginner embroidery, free embroidery patterns, Hand embroidery stitches
Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 26, 2006
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28 Comments:
I'm looking for an embroidery pattern for violets either single or in a line or small bunches for an edge or border. Can you help me? I'm also interested in butterfly patterns, if you have any. Thanks! Sandy Nelovnik
Mary,
I was going through your website last night and noticed all these beautiful patterns that you suggest would be good for table cloth, pillow cases or guest towels. My question is, how do you embroidery a border pattern on towel material? Also, for pillow cases, do you suggest store bought table cloth and standard pillow cases are fine for embroidery? Please advise.
Many thanks!
For towels, I'm generally talking about flour sack or linen towels, rather than terry cloth towels (like the standard bath towels). You can find flour sack towels at hobby stores or even just in the housewares / linens sections of regular stores - you can use white, but you can also used colored towels to embroider on, too. For pillow cases, just use standard pillow cases - the problem is that there is usually a "hem" or casing on the finished ones you buy in a store, so you might want to make your own (pillow cases are super-easy to make, if you sew - or even if you're just a beginner. OR - you can buy the standard pillow case and undo the casing, do your embroidery, and then sewing the casing back up. OR you can buy pillow cases for embroidery at craft stores... so many possibilities.... so little time!
If you're buying your own fabric to make pillow cases, go for a high thread count cotton (200 or higher).
Hope that helps!
Sorry - for table cloths, you certainly can use store bought! You can embroidery on anything, so it just depends on what you want to do! But you can also buy, for example, white linen or white cotton to make more delicate table cloths!
Check out stores like TJMaxx or similar for good deals on cloth napkins or table cloths. Even if they're colored or "damask," you can still embellish them.
You can also go through sites like www.embroiderthis.com and order a pre-hemmed table cloth and pre-hemmed napkins to embroidery (usually they're a blend of linen and cotton). They're pretty nice!
Thank you so much Mary for your detailed response. It seemed like you were talking to me in person explaining me in detail :)) I appreciate your excellent ideas.
Wishing you much success!
Regards,
_Meeta
Glad it was helpful!
Does anyone know where I can find a large horse/western themed pattern? I need one large enough to almost cover a 45"x41" Afghan. I've looked everywhere and everything I find is so small... thanks bunches!
Hi!
Does anyone know where I can find a lavender pattern to embroider. I am just learning to hand embroider and thought it would be neat to make pretty heart sachets or a small pillow with lavender vines/flowers hand embroidered on them and stuffed with fragrant lavender. Also has anyone tried whitework? It looks so pretty.
Debbie
hiiiiiiii
i must congratulate you for your fabulous site and the amazing patterns you have posted.
iam planning to do some embroidery on my kurti(dress top) could you suggest some pattern and also which fabric
iam planning to do on cotton fabric will your patterns work out well on them
I want to hand embroider onto linen for items such as dresser scarves, sachet pouches, pillows, but I am so confused about which linen to choose and which online to to buy it at. I cannot find linen locally. Does anyone have this kind of information to share? I want to be able to wash the linen and I love the old fashioned crispness.
Thanks
Hi, rgl...
You'll find good linen at a variety of online shops. You might want to try Nordic Needle, Needle in a Haystack, Windham Needleworks - to name a few. If you're looking for a high-count, firm linen for cutwork or whitework, I suggest looking at the ecclesiastical linen by Legacy.
There are other brands of linen that are good, too: Strathaven, Zweigart, etc.
You might want to read my post on fabrics for surface embroidery, which may help you.
Hope that helps!
MC
Hey ya'll,
I would like to know if there is a special kind of ink I should use to print out the pattern of my choice? This is all new to me.
Thanks
Does anyone know how to make a reusable - non-permanent transfer with these patterns? Would like to do it from my computer rather than having to trace the whole pattern.
does anyone know where you can get a map of us to transfer ?
Maybe these would work?
http://www.coloringcastle.com/state_coloring_pages.html
Hope that helps!
MC
Just wanted to say thanks for all the patterns! I'm just starting out, dabbling a bit and needed something to work on since my imagination is terrible, though I can draw.
I am making a poet shirt. Since I am using a solid color, I thought I would embroider down one side of the chest, the same side of the back and down the length of the opposing arm. Can you suggest a nice repeating pattern that is not too bold?
This Site is AWESOME>>>>>>>>
Hey that will be great if you can post some color pictures....that will help ppl to choose the best color
Your site is wonderful!! I mostly embroider pillowcases and sheets and patterns are simply not commercially available. Thank you for posting your site. I like colonial girls or other fancy dressed ladies for pillowcases for little girls. Can anyone help me locate those types of patterns?
Shirley, Louisiana
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your website, I love it! I am starting to get into embroidery, and have just finished a felted wool project. (I love felted wool projects) I have a basic question. How to I transfer the embroidery patterns you have posted on your site to fabric? Do I print the pattern from the computer onto transfer paper, and then iron it on? I have no clue. Thanks again for all of your help on the website, it is really great.
Hi, AJ -
Thanks for your comments!
To transfer the patterns, I'd print them from your computer onto regular paper, then use either a light box or sunny window to trace them. If you are working on darker fabric, you could use dressmaker's transfer paper (use it like carbon paper). You can also buy iron-on transfer pens (sulky are apparently the best), trace the pattern on the other side of the paper, and then iron it on. There are other ways of transferring fabric as well, such as prick and pounce, or using tissue paper, or using a water-soluble stabilizer...
Best of luck!
Mary
Does anyone know where I can find a pattern for a Dahlia and suggestions for stitches. (Not the Pansy type)
For a dahlia, maybe if you tried some dover books on flowers, or maybe some coloring books? You'd be surprised how accurate some of the finer botanical coloring books are! For stitching suggestions, I'd probably just adapt any long and short stitch techniques to the layers of the daisy-like petals. Trish Burr's books would come in handy for this.....
Best of luck!
MC
Thank you so much for posting all these wonderful patterns! Pretty patterns can be so hard to find. I love your site and use the it the time!
Hi Mary
Love the free embroidery patterns. And no need to rename. Great!!
Yvonne
Hi Mary
I've never commented on any website before (so I hope this works!) but I just found your website and just have to say how great it is. I'm certainly a beginner and never thought I could do anything like this so thanks for making me believe that I can. I'm sure your site is going to be a great source of information. Thanks, you're an inspiration.
Lisa,
Canberra, Australia
Hi, Lisa!
Thanks for your comment! I'm glad to hear you're getting into embroidery and enjoying it, and that Needle'nThread is helpful to you!
Your first comment worked great! Good job! :-)
Mary
I have been embroidering since I was 4yrs old.I enjoy making some-thing old into some-thing new.I am always on the look out for nature,fancy ladies & men,puppies & kittens,butterflies,unicorns,fantasy,flowers.Just about any thing that catches my fancy.
I have enjoyed following the different stitches that you post.Thank you so much for doing this.It has been hard to find different patterns that I can do without so much trouble that looks like I have spent many hrs doing on each project.Thank you so much for showing us how to do the different stitches.
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