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When they finally appeared, many people thought they were unnecessary, impractical and even scandalous
Satin Stitch in rich tones on a dark background infuses this sunflower embroidery pattern with a warm vibe. Just look at these wonderfully rich colours!
The sunflower embroidery pattern leaps off the fabric, bordered by a delicious deep burgundy in our stitched model – thought of course you can use other fabric colours for your sunflower embroidery if you prefer.
This design was created by Maggie Schnücker and originally published in Love Embroidery magazine issue 5.
If you are new to embroidery, take a look at our embroidery for beginners article to get you started. For instruction on how to work the different stitches in the sunflower embroidery, take a look at the articles linked to in the Sunflower embroidery stitches section of this article.
Sunflower embroidery materials
- Cotton fabric 35x35cm, deep burgundy
- Stranded cotton 1 skein each of beige, blue-grey, light brown, mid brown, dark brown, bright gold, light gold, dark gold, green, green-brown, light olive, dark olive, pink, deep pink, salmon, light terracotta, mid terracotta, dark terracotta
- Embroidery hoop 15cm diameter
- Basic embroidery kit
- Sunflower embroidery template
Sunflower embroidery stitches
- Backstitch See our How to Backstitch post
- French Knots See our How to do French knots post
- Satin Stitch See our How to do Satin Stitch post
- Seed Stitch See our Seed stitch embroidery post
How to stitch the Sunflower embroidery pattern
Step 1
Transfer the design from the template onto the bag using your preferred method. We traced the design using a water-soluble marker and a light source. Find more advice on how to do this in our embroidery for beginners article.
Step 2
Start by filling in the leaves surrounding the sunflower in Satin Stitch using three strands of all the colours except for the light gold, bright gold and browns. Work the small flowers in Satin Stitch using three strands of blue-grey.
Step 3
Work the sunflower petals in Satin Stitch using three strands of light gold and bright gold. We mixed these two shades of gold to create a deeper, more dynamic look to the sunflower, but you can simply randomise which colour you use on which petal.
Now you can add all the details. Use Backstitch in two strands to add more colour to the sunflower petals and the leaves. Work the stitch just halfway up each petal to add a little colour.
Choose colours which will coordinate but show up on top of the stitching you’re working over. Work the stems in light brown Backstitch using two strands.
Step 5
Work French Knots to add the final touches to the centre of the sunflower. This gives the finished piece texture and dimension.
Use three strands for each knot and wrap them two or three times to make them chunky. Use dark brown for the outer ring, then green-brown and finally medium brown in the centre. If you don’t like working French Knots, then you can fill the centre in Seed Stitch instead if you prefer, using two strands of the same colours.
Step 6
Press the finished embroidery, then cut the fabric so it’s 5cm bigger than the outer hoop all around. Mount the fabric centrally back into the hoop, then work a running stitch around the edge of the fabric and pull it tightly to gather the fabric behind the hoop and hold it taut.
Stitch bold sunflowers
Bring a touch of sunshine to your next project with this cheerful sunflower embroidery pattern, a lovely design you’ll enjoy stitching again and again.
Enjoyed stitching this sunflower embroidery design?
We have more free designs like the sunflower embroidery! Take a look at our tutorial on updating a faded denim jacket with gorgeous embroidered flowers
