Tiny embroidery patterns

I’ve been playing around with the wooden mini embroidery hoops in my shop, and came up with some new mini embroidery patterns to share.  I’m so excited for you to see them all because, of course, I had to make like a million!

I love these mini embroidery hoops because they are such good quality, but still inexpensive.  You can purchase them by themselves or with a chain for a necklace.  Oh, and these free mini embroidery patterns should fit my metal embroidery pendants too.  Click here to see all of the embroidery supplies that I sell in my shop.

To make these mini embroidery hoops, you’ll need:

I re-created my floral unicorn embroidery pattern on a much smaller scale for this one.  Make sure you make really tiny split stitches!

I made a new unicorn necklace pattern with just a unicorn face.  Isn’t it cute?!  My girls are both eyeing it.

Then I went a little mid-century modern / boho / geometric / I don’t really know with these ones.  The “marbled” one was definitely the most difficult to stitch up, but it’s so pretty.  You can make it in any colors.  I had to blow up the image on the pattern so you can see all of the colors.

I also live the simplicity of these arrows.

And the minni succulent embroidery?!  I die!!!

These ones are all made using the 1 inch hoop and kind of have a similar theme of love.  Notice that you can also use the hoops for embroidered key chains!

And then, of course, I had to stitch some mermaid mini embroidery hoops.  The tail one is a recreation of my mermaid embroidery hoop pattern.

The mermaid scales were a bit challenging with all of the tiny satin stitches, but I got it done.  I just have to tell myself that nothing needs to be perfect with embroidery.  In the pattern, the design extends beyond the hoop, so you can make sure all of the fabric is covered.

That’s all of them!  Which one is your favorite?  I think the cute mini unicorn face wins for me.

And if you’re looking for something else, my free hand embroidery necklace patterns should fit the wooden circle hoops.  The oval ones might need some resizing, but I’m hoping to revise those soon, so you can use them on the mini wooden embroidery hoops too.

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I’ve started playing with some miniature pieces of embroidery to use in jewelry bases.

If you’ve been following along on Needle ‘n Thread for a while, this probably won’t surprise you too much, because I love little embroidery projects – and when it comes to embroidering for jewelry bases, well… that’s pretty little!

The fun thing about these little embroidery projects is that they take very little time to work up, if you’re not making anything too complicated. I’m not even talking about a weekend project – I’m talking about a morning or afternoon project!

It all depends, though, on how complex you make the embroidery.

I went with pretty simple. I still need to get some aspects of the whole process ironed out. I’ll tell you what went well, what didn’t, what I will change for the next time, and I’ll share resources and some free patterns with you, so you can stitch up your own little autumn embroidery bits, too!

My first attempt was the brooch / pendant above. This comes from the new collection of jewelry finishing kits from Nunn Design.

The kits are not embroidery kits – they are kits for finishing embroidery into jewelry.

The kits come with the bezel (or setting), the insert that you mount the embroidery on, and instructions on how to set up and finish your little project into a piece of jewelry.

In the photo above, the silver middle is the insert. You remove that little round piece (which is finished so that the edges are smooth) and you mount your embroidery over that.

This silver disk, in fact, gave me a little trouble due to the materials I used for my stitching – I’ll tell you about that below!

The back of this particular brooch / pendant setting is finished so that it can be either a brooch or a pendant. I prefer it as a brooch. The brooch hardware on the back keeps the pendant, if on a chain, from resting flat on the person wearing it. It kind of tilts to one side or the other if it’s resting on the wearer’s chest. So I think these work best as brooches.

The rings there, by the way, tuck to the back so they aren’t visible when worn as a brooch.

I was thinking, in fact, of finding a copper leaf charm and using the pendant rings to add a little dangling charm to the outside of the brooch. Why not add a little extra bling if you can, right?

The new collection from Nunn Designs launched this week, and it has some interesting things in it. In fact, the model embroideries that they use to display the jewelry settings are gorgeous – if you have a chance to visit the website just to take a look at the embroidery, do!

What I especially like, though, is the idea of the hardware for finishing the pieces into small ornaments. This approach to little embroidery mounted in pretty settings for ornaments actually captures my interest more than the jewelry aspect.

But I also like the idea that you can create a little seasonal piece of embroidery, mount it in a pretty brooch base, and pin it onto a coat lapel, for example. It’s a fun way to “season” things up!

What Went Right, What Went Wrong

Whenever I first start playing around with some kind of new-to-me stitchy idea, I generally plow headlong into experimenting without necessarily thinking the whole thing through!

And this can be problematic, because I will, inevitably, make mistakes that I could have avoided, had I bothered to think for a minute or two.

This is the sanguine side of me. I get a wild hair to try something, and I jump right in, eager to see the quickest results …which will then tell me if I want to pursue the whole thing any further.

I don’t really recommend this approach. On the bright side, it allows me to make mistakes for you, so that you can avoid them!

I began by doodling up some little twiggy and leafy things that smack of autumn.

I traced these onto fabric.

My first mistake was my fabric choice. I grabbed whatever I had close at hand, which happened to be a small scrap of shadow work linen. This linen is really too sheer for this type of finishing, unless you put another fabric behind it. The silver insert of the jewelry kit shows through if you use a fabric that’s too sheer.

With the first leafy embroidery, I stuck a piece of non-woven interfacing behind it when I mounted it over the silver disk. This whole process was a pain in the… neck, so the upshot: best to choose fabric that isn’t quite so sheer!

Additionally, I found the linen a little stiff for the finishing method. It was hard to get a really smooth edge around the insert. In the future, if I use a different linen for the same process, I’ll probably experiment with other approaches to finishing.

My second mistake was including the outline of the circle in the design.

Don’t trace the circle or “frame” around the embroidery! If you’re not stitching over that circle as part of your embroidery design, you’ll just have to remove the lines somehow from your fabric. And that’s another big pain in the… neck.

For the leafy piece, I based the design on Octoberfest!, so if you already have that e-book and you’ve worked the project or plan to work it, you probably have all the threads and beads on hand to make this little brooch. The instructions are the same instructions for Octoberfest. And the design is included in the free printable below.

I like this little leafy piece, but here’s another thing I did wrong!

I didn’t have any clear nylon beading thread on hand, and I didn’t want to use colored thread behind the lightweight linen, so I used a white sewing thread to sew the beads on.

Looking at the pendant directly on, it’s not so noticeable, but looking at it from the side, I don’t really like seeing the white thread used to attach the beads.

The fix: if you’re using beads, either invest in nylon beading thread that’s clear and practically invisible but is a pain in the (neck) to work with; or use a color that corresponds with the beads, as long as your ground fabric is either colored or heavy enough not to show the thread passing between the beads.

This is one of the plain bezels from Nunn Design. Their bezels (which are made in the US) are all plated with either copper (the first one I showed you), 24k gold (this one), or .999 silver, so, material-wise, they’re very sturdy and they’re nicer materials than the cheaper bezels from made-in-China markets.

One of things I really like about their settings, though, is that the “tray” that takes the insert is deep – much deeper than most bezel trays, which are normally 1mm deep. These are at least 3mm deep, which works great when you’re mounting something like embroidery – it covers the edge of the mount well.

So, this little twiggy bit above is simple – just some stem stitch and some 15/0 seed beads. Again, next time around, I’ll pick different ground fabric and I’ll use different thread for attaching the beads. But I like the simplicity of the twigs, and I like the sparkle of the beads!

In fact, after experimenting a bit, I like the whole process, and I plan to pursue a few more ideas in this whole vein. I’m not going into full scale jewelry production or anything – I just have a few notions for Christmas gifts and perhaps for ornaments. We shall see what develops!

Free Patterns Printable

If you want to toy with some quick little embroidery for fall to mount in jewelry settings, here is a printable with three twiggy and leafy designs that fit into a 32mm round bezel.

When you print the designs, choose “no scaling” or “100%” in your print dialogue box, to get the correct size.

Three Autumn Embroidery Bits for Jewelry (PDF)

I strongly suggest that you do not transfer the dashed line “frame” around each design.

The whole set up and finishing instructions for making into jewelry or ornaments using bezels like the ones above are explained in the jewelry kits from Nunn Design, and they also have a link to a video tutorial on their kits page for the embroidered jewelry items.

Resources

You can find the bezels that I used for these samples here through Nunn Design. Look under their “embroidery kits,” which include the bezels, the insert, and instructions for setting up and finishing into jewelry.

You can find Octoberfest! here, if you’re looking for something a little larger to stitch for autumn.

I used House of Embroidery threads on these samples, but you can use any variegated or overdyed threads in autumn colors to stitch something similar. The color pack from House of Embroidery for these projects is no longer available.

This article may contain affiliate links, which means that Needle ‘n Thread gets a small kickback for any purchases made through those links, at no additional cost to you. Thanks! Every little bit counts!

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While embroidery can be large, formal and detailed, it doesn't have to be. Small, playful embroidery patterns are cute and so fun to stitch. With motifs ranging from nature to kawaii (Japanese for "cute") to fun phrases, these free patterns are sure to be a delight to stitch on pins, patches and more.

Because each of the 12 patterns only measures a few inches, you can work up a simple design or two in an evening. Or, take some time and fill in the patterns with satin stitch to create a small but special embroidery.

Some of these patterns are designs that kids will love, including a few that are inspired by emojis. But you can easily skip stitching the faces if they aren't for you. Make them your own as you stitch.

Working With the Patterns

All 12 patterns are on one JPG file. Download the mini embroidery patterns and print the entire page in "landscape" mode on a standard size piece of paper. This will make them a good size for most small projects.

You can also open and edit the file in any image software to resize the patterns or print only the motifs you want. Image software is also useful for reversing the images if you plan on using an iron-transfer pen.

Mark the patterns onto your fabric using one of these five transfer methods. Or, if you plan on using all or most of the designs, print the entire page onto a sheet of water-soluble stabilizer for fast and easy pattern marking.

Embroidering the Designs

After your fabric is in an embroidery hoop, it's time to start stitching! Prepare to get creative, because there's really no right or wrong way to stitch any of these designs. 

With the small size of these motifs, working with one to three strands is best, but it's possible to use more. The flower in the photo uses all six strands!

If you're just getting started in embroidery, work the patterns in the stitches you are most comfortable with. Backstitch, french knot, and detached chain will take care of every part of these patterns.

Some stitches will add a lot to certain motifs. For example, a stem stitch looks like the twisted threads for the skein of floss. Satin stitch makes the pit of the avocado really stand out. And for the faces, fly stitch worked as a gentle curve makes a great smile.

Making Projects From the Patterns

Mini patterns like these are perfect for adding to a number of projects, and with such a variety of styles, you'll find lots of places to work them into your stitching.

This collection is good for making pins and badges, using any of the four embroidered patch techniques on this site. Choose your method before starting to stitch.

Add these designs onto journal covers, pockets, small zip pouches, coasters and more. 

You could even enlarge the designs or repeat a single pattern (such as the feather) to create a larger pattern.

Note: As a reminder, these patterns are copyright Mollie Johanson, but they may be used for both personal and cottage industry projects.

This week, I’ve been enam­ored with art­work and illus­tra­tions where small ele­ments make up a spec­tac­u­lar whole. On Tues­day, I shared the metic­u­lous cut paper work of Mar­garet Scrin­kl, who uses a com­bi­na­tion of scis­sors and an X‑ACTO knife to achieve fine details. Bran­non Addi­son of Hap­py Cac­tus Designs does the same thing with a nee­dle and thread. Her tiny embroi­dery fea­tures a host of beau­ti­ful blooms, from five petal plants to leafy ferns. After fin­ish­ing a piece, Bran­non usu­al­ly frames it.

A per­pet­u­al doo­dler, Bran­non began hand embroi­dery in late 2014 while recov­er­ing from an ankle injury. She taught her­self the stitch­es, and in 2015, had pro­duced enough work that she had a col­lec­tion for sale. “The hours of stitch­ing that go into the cre­ation of each piece, com­bined with the final framed pre­sen­ta­tion, gives a sense of heir­loom quality.”

Bran­non starts her embroi­deries with a gen­er­al con­cept in mind, but she refrains from cre­at­ing a tem­plate and prefers to work free­hand. Rather, “She finds beau­ty in the unknown of how a piece will turn out.”

Shop Hap­py Cac­tus Designs online. And, be sure to fol­low Bran­non on Insta­gram where you’ll learn more about her cre­ative process.

Brannon Addison of Happy Cactus Designs creates tiny embroidery that’s completely freehand without a template in mind.

embroideryhand stitchinghappy cactus designhoop arttiny embroidery

Miniature embroidery has a fascination about it, doesn’t it? So many things can fit into such a tiny hoop. It opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities. Especially for jewelry, miniature embroidery plays a big role. You can make pendants, rings, earrings, or medallions – whatever you can think of.

All about miniature embroidery

Get started with mini embroidery! Choose from a variety of tutorials, recommendations, tips and free patterns all you have to do is take your supplies and get started. If you want to give mini embroidery a try, this is the time to start.

Shops & Reviews

Mini embroidery tutorials

Mini embroidery patterns

Free mini patterns

Try out one of the free miniature designs for your personal use. The perfect opportunity to get started with mini hoops!

1. Ocean sunset
2. Autumn Leaves
3. I love dogs
4. blooming cactus

Mini embroidery pattern bundles

BUY THE TROPICAL SET

The new mini patterns come with a brand new layout with even more info on how to make the pattern than any of my previous patterns did. They include all the info you need to transfer and stitch the pattern (including stitch tutorials) and two step-by-step tutorials on how to finish your mini embroidery in a mini hoop or a bezel to use as jewelry. You can buy the miniature embroidery patterns in my Etsy Shop.

BUY THE PET SET

Interviews with embroidery people

Do you want more tips and tricks on hand embroidery?

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