Flower embroidery: 8 basic embroidery stitches for people who practice embroidery

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This article was co-written by Kpoene Kofi-Bruce. Kpoene Kofi-Bruce is a tailor, senior bridal designer, and creative director of Mignonette Bridal and Ette the Wedding Tailor in Chicago, Illinois. With nearly two decades of experience as a bridal designer, small business owner, and vintage sewing enthusiast, Kpoene specializes in bridal design and is knowledgeable about the social history of wedding dresses. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Middlebury College and studied fashion business at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She attended Gpdman Sachs 10KSB and Chicago Fashion Incubator and has written about wedding fashion for Jezebel, Catalyst, Sun Times and XO Jane magazines.

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Hand-embroidered flowers are both pretty and fashionable, but how can you embroider them? Actually embroidering flowers is not as difficult as you think! Flowers are the perfect embroidery pattern for beginners and advanced users alike, as it helps you learn and improve your embroidery skills. We have gathered here different floral embroidery designs to help you get the flowers of your dreams. Let’s start!

Table of Contents

Things you need to know

Use straight stitch to create simple petals
Use a woven wheel stitch or a french knot to embroider the roses
Use lazy daisy or long and short stitch to embroider pansy-like curved petals.
Use a chain stitch or a stem stitch to embroider the flower stalks

Straight stitch to embroider simple petals

Use a pencil to draw a dot and 5 radiating lines. Start with a dot to make the pistil. Next, you will draw 5 more small lines radiating from the dot to make the petals.

Try using a heat erasable ink pen so that you can use an iron or hair dryer to erase the ink when the embroidery is done.

Stab the needle up at the tip of the petal and down at the dot. Continue embroidering according to the pattern, stabbing the needle up at the tip of the petal and bringing the needle down to the center dot. This creates a straight stitch. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Use 2 to 6 embroidery threads for this stitch.
The more thread, the thicker the stitch.

Repeat the stitching with the straight stitches. Continue to embroider according to the pattern until the strokes are covered, then finish the stitch. This is a simple stitch suitable for beginners but still produces lovely flowers of any size and color.

Embroider more petals close together to represent the dandelion flowers.
Embroidery stitches on the pistil to tie the stitches together.

Beaded stitch to embroider rose buds and pistils

Pierce the needle from the bottom up. Dot a dot on the fabric to locate. Where you dot the stitch will be there, so you should choose carefully. ^{[2] X Research Source}

To embroider the rose buds: Place stitches along the vines or scatter them over the bouquet drawing.
To embroider the pistil: Place the stitch in the center of a cluster of petals.
Use 6 threads for this stitch if you are going to do a large bead stitch, or use 2-3 threads if you want a smaller stitch.

Lazy Daisy stitch to embroider oval petals

Draw a flower with oval petals on the canvas. ^{[6] X Research Source} Start with a small circle to mark the pistil position, followed by drawing the full petals. Your flower can have 4, 5, even 10 petals – embroider as many petals is up to you!

Each petal will be about 2.5cm long.

Stab the needle up at the base of the petal. ^{[7] X Research Source} In other words, you will insert the needle and pull the thread up from the underside of the fabric toward you. Start at the base of the petal to embroider the first stitch.

Use 3 threads for this stitch. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Pierce the needle down next to the first hole and hold the thread. Pull just enough to hold. There’s no need to pull the thread all the way out, as the thread you’re holding will form the petals. ^{[9] X Research Source}

The length of the loop that you keep should be long enough to reach the tip of the petal.

Use the needle to fix it on the top of the thread loop. Hold the loop with one hand, stab the needle up near the top of the petal, then push the needle down through the loop to secure and form a petal. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Repeat this sequence of operations until all the petals are contoured. This stitch can be used to create a variety of basic hand-embroidered flowers like daisies, lavender, sunflowers and more! Experiment with different thread colors to embroider any flower with oval or teardrop petals.

Twisted nose to embroider flower stalks

Use a pencil to draw a line under the flower. ^{[11] X Research Source} Imagine the shape of the actual flower stalks as you draw. The flower stalk can be straight, curved or twisted, meaning a perfect flower stalk can take on any shape!

Push the needle up through the fabric. ^{[12] X Research Source} Start at the farthest end of the flower stalk.

Use 3 threads for this stitch to embroider the large flower stalk. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Hold a needle-sized piece of thread with your thumb pointing up outside the embroidery frame. You’ll be creating a loop when you’re crocheting, so keeping the thread above the stitch will make looping easier. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Pierce the needle down through the fabric to the length of one stitch. The position where you pull the needle through will be the length of the stitch. Continue holding the excess thread with your thumb – this will form a loop. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Stab the needle up in the middle of the first stitch. Insert the needle between the 2 stitches, release the excess thread and pull the thread towards the flower. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Repeat the above process until you have embroidered all the flower stalks. Continue embroidering one stitch, then return to the midpoint of the previous stitch to embroider the next stitch. The twisting stitch will create a nice and tight thread, which is perfect for embroidering all kinds of flower stalks and flower branches. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Chain stitch to embroider flower stalks and flower branches

Draw flower stalks or twigs before embroidery. Use a pencil to sketch the lines that you will embroider. Draw a straight or curved line. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Create an “anchor” to hold the stitch in place. Stab the needle up through the fabric at the beginning of the stroke, then back down the edge of the needle you just created. Position the two needle holes close enough together to make a small stitch, but far enough away that they don’t touch each other. ^{[19] X Research Source}

Use 2-6 threads for this stitch.
There are many ways to sew a chain stitch, but this is the easiest for beginners.

Stick the needle up the front of the first stitch. Leave some space between the first stitch and start the new stitch. ^{[20] X Research Source}

Thread the needle under the first stitch. Thread the needle under the loop of the first stitch and gently slide it through. Pull all the way through until the entire thread is tightened below the first stitch. ^{[21] X Research Source}

Pierce the needle down through the hole you just inserted. This step will form the first chain hook in the chain stitch stitch. ^{[22] X Research Source}

Push the needle up through the fabric again. Leave a space equal to the length of the first chain link. This step begins the second stitch. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

Place the needle close to the fabric and thread it under the first stitch. Similar to the previous step, you will pull the needle through until the thread is tight. ^{[24] X Research Source}

If you find it difficult to get the needle under the previous stitch, you can insert your finger under the stitch to raise it slightly. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

Insert the needle down through the previous up hole of the second stitch. This step will help tighten the second stitch and form another chain hook. ^{[26] X Research Sources}

Continue to embroider until the end of the drawing. The rough texture of the chain stitches mimics small twigs or rough flower stalks.

Rose nose to embroider roses and poppies

Draw a circle on the canvas with a pencil. Draw a circle the size of the flower you want to embroider. You will embroider in this circle. ^{[27] X Research Source}

Create a 5-pointed star in a circle. The first stitches of the rose nose are relatively simple. Push the needle up through the fabric, starting at the arc. Next, insert the needle down at the center of the circle. Repeat this until you have a 5-pointed star. ^{[28] X Research Sources}

Use 5-6 threads to embroider this stitch.

Knit the needle up and down through the 5 stitches of the star shape. Stab the needle up at the midpoint of the star. Bring the needle above the first stitch and below the second, pulling the thread all the way through. Continue knitting up and down like this counterclockwise until the circle is covered and the star is no longer visible. ^{[29] X Research Sources}

Finish the rose tip by threading the needle under the flower. When you’re done embroidering the flower, you’ll insert the needle into the fabric to finish the stitch. Use a needle to inflate the petals. ^{[30] X Research Source}

Try embroidering rose stitches with thread for a nice ombre effect.

Beads for embroidering leaves

Outline the shape of the leaves. Before you start embroidering, use a pencil to draw a leaf pattern. Draw a vein running in the middle of the leaf. You will rely on this drawing to embroider.

Draw thin lines, as too big of a line will cover up a lot of fabric and the pinholes, making it difficult to locate the needle. ^{[31] X Research Source}

Embroider long, straight horizontal stitches on the left side of the leaf. The base of the seed bundle is the long, straight tips; you just need to stab the needle up, pull the thread over and stab it down. Stab the needle up at the top of the outline and down at the midrib of the leaf. ^{[32] X Research Source}

Use 3-6 threads for this stitch.
Look directly at the embroidery frame when embroidering beads to align the edges to be straight and even. ^{[33] X Research Sources}
Calculate the angle of inclination of the leaf as well. Insert the needle in the direction you want the thread to go through. ^{[34] X Research Source}

Insert the needle again next to the first stitch. This step will start the second stitch. ^{[35] X Research Source}

Embroider long, straight stitches on the right side of the leaf. Switch to the right half after finishing the left half. Start at the bottom edge (or at the position closest to the previous stitch). Embroidery upward until reaching the tip of the leaf. ^{[36] X Research Source}

Embroidery separates the two halves of the leaf to create the fold of the leaf like the midrib divides the leaf.

Bucket tip to embroider pansy flowers

Use a pencil to draw a flower. The bucket stitch will fill in the gaps, so it’s best to draw the outline as a guide, even if you’ve mastered the embroidery.

Pansies usually have 3 front petals and 2 rear petals which are round and somewhat heart-shaped. ^{[37] X Research Source}

Pierce the needle from the bottom up. ^{[38] X Research Source} Start from the outer corner of the petal.

Use 3 threads for this stitch.

Pierce the needle down at the opposite corner of the first long stitch. ^{[39] X Source of Research} Creates the natural shape of the petals by following the direction of the petals growing from the pistil. With pansy petals, vertical stitches will be used most.

If you don’t know the direction of the petals, imagine the flower as a star. Each petal is a wing of the star, and they all radiate from the circle in the middle. It is the direction of the stitches that you will go.

The second stitch is half as long as the first stitch. Stretch the thread, then insert the needle down along the first stitch. This step forms the short nose. ^{[40] X Research Source}

Continue repeating the embroidery pattern alternating long and short stitches until the petals are covered. The stitches don’t have to cover the petal shape all at once. You can try embroidering the top half of the pansies completely first, then the bottom half. ^{[41] X Research Source} This will make the flower look more natural and lively.

Try using light and dark colors to cover the pansy petals. For example, embroidery thread in lilac and aubergine colors will mimic the natural variety of pansy colors.
Scattered thread will add depth and variety to the embroidered petals without you having to change the color by hand.

Things you need

Embroidery frame
Fabric
Needle
Embroidery
Pencil
Heat erasable ink pen (optional)

Advice

Don’t want to draw your own embroidery pattern? No problem! You can either stick the pattern onto the embroidery fabric or use printed drawings and patterns, or use the embroidery pattern printing kit.