Regal purple flowers, sprigs of lavender berries, and lush green tendrils are joined by delicate violet swirls, all on a ground of butter-coloured silk dupioni. The entire design is worked in chain stitch on a purchased cushion cover, making this project ideal for a beginning stitcher. The experienced seamstress may prefere to buy fabric yardage and custom-sew the pillow using a commercial pattern.

Click here to view the template (print and enlarge until 28.5 cm x 13 cm)

Materials
• 16 x 16 (41 cm x 41 cm) silk dupioni cushion cover (purchased or sewn from a commercial pattern)
• Six-strand cotton embroidery floss, we used one skein each DMC #500, #552, #554, #3362, #3364
• #9 crewel needles
• 3" x 5" (8 cm x 13 cm) oval embroidery hoop
• silk pins (straight pins with glass or metal heads)
• dressmaker's carbon paper
• stylus

Stitch used
Chain stitch
Skill level
Beginner
Estimated time required
10-12 hours


Step 1
Unzip the cushion cover and remove the down pillow insert. Make two mirror-image copies of the template pattern. Tape both halves together, berries toward the middle, to fit the top of the cushion cover. Follow the Dressmaker's Carbon Transfer instructions to mark the design on the front of the cushion cover.

Step 2
Thread a #9 crewel needle with two strands of purple floss. Anchor the top layer of cushion fabric in the hoop so one of the star-shaped flowers is showing. Begin the chain stitch embroidery at the tip of one of the petals. When you reach the base of the petal, anchor the wtitch to keep the inside angle sharp. Continue embroidering up the base of the adjacent petal, this time anchoring the stitch at the petal's tip. Continue embroidering all around in this manner until you reach the starting point. Tie off.

Step 3
Repeat step 2 to embroider each of the remaining star-shaped flowers. Embroider the other design lines in chain stitch in the same way, using violet floss for the connecting swirls, the two greens (one strand of each) for the tendrils, and lavender for the sprigs of berries.

Excerpted from 1-2-3 Embroidery.