Easy scarf update: add embroidered flowers!

Blissful long summer days mean more time for enjoying the great outdoors, be it at the park, the beach or in your own garden. When warm afternoons roll into cool evenings, there’s no need to head inside just yet – instead, accessorise with a scarf to keep the breeze at bay.

Hand-embellish a scarf with a simple blanket stitched flower motif for a personal touch – this is the ideal first project if you’ve never sewn blanket stitch before. Simply secure a plain scarf in an embroidery hoop, transfer our free flowers embroidery pattern on to the fabric then add stitches!

Master the technique and sew a floral hoop design to practise your embroidered flowers before you reach for your favourite scarf with our free pattern and blanket stitch workshop below. Use bright colours and four strands of cotton to stitch bold flowers and leaves.

Free blanket stitch flowers pattern

Template design by Lisa Jones; stitching & instructions by Rebecca Reid. This project was first featured in Simply Sewing magazine.

How to embellish a scarf with blanket stitch blooms

To sew the blanket stitch

Step 1

Start stitching by bringing the needle up at 1, down at 2 and up at 3. Make sure the thread is under your needle as shown in the diagram. You can angle this vertical stitch to follow the shape of the leaves and petals.

Step 2

Gently pull the needle through the fabric to form a loop. This completes your first stitch – you’ll find it easier to make it even and neat if you hold the thread flat on the fabric as you pull the needle through.

Step 3

Continue stitching to work the blanket stitches around the shapes. You will need to change the length and distance between the vertical stitches to fit the curved shape, so refer to the photo while you sew.

Step 4

To add this design to a light-weight scarf, trace the flowers from our Free blanket stitch pattern onto your fabric lightly with a pencil and secure the section you want to stitch on to in an embroidery hoop. Now stitch on the lines.

Practise your stitches

This design doesn’t just look pretty when brightening up accessories in your wardrobe! Why not stitch it into a hoop and mount on your wall for a pretty home project or to give as a gift?

Rebecca Reid

Rebecca is founder of Amber Makes and has previously worked as Senior Technical Editor of Love Embroidery and Simply Sewing magazines. She works with sewing TV channels including Sewing Street, Yarn Lane and Sewing Quarter. She been stitching since she was a child and has worked on many craft magazines as well as running her own curtain-making business. She is known by her colleagues as a sewing oracle – you name it, she can sew it. She’s hugely knowledgeable about sewing techniques, fabrics and tools and is full of helpful advice for her fellow sewists, from the best place to buy curtain-making materials to which books and websites are handy for that sewing problem you’re stuck on.

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