Summer Dreams Embroidery Pattern

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Welcome, welcome! Today I’ll be showing you how to make this lovely, beginner-friendly Summer Dreams Embroidery Pattern! It’s super simple and will only take you about 3 hours to make, and there are only a few stitches used. It’s the perfect slow, easy project to work on in the evenings while you visit or watch a show.

The Inspiration

You’re probably wondering what this embroidery pattern was inspired by. Well, I must confess that I think I was at work and just quickly doodled it out. I put it in my pocket and took it home and set it on my desk. I knew I wanted to do another pattern, so I pulled that little doodle out, took a picture, and turned it into a pattern.

Why is it called Summer Dreams? Well it’s a summer-y pattern and it’s got gold dots and it just seemed a little dreamy to me.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get onto the pattern! The PDF version is at the bottom of this post.

Materials List

1. 6″ hoop
2. Fabric, preferably cotton or cotton/linen blend in white or cream
3. Water-soluble marker or heat-erasable pen. I really like this heat-erasable pen from this Etsy shop: Black Frixion Pen for Embroidery Pattern Transfer, Heat Erasable Transfer Method, Hand Embroidery Supplies, Pilot Disappearing Ink – Etsy Canada
4. Embroidery needle
5. Seam ripper or scissors
6. Embroidery floss:
   Anchor 897 (DMC 902) – Burgundy
   Anchor 847 (DMC 3072) – Blue
   Anchor 373 (DMC 3828) – Gold
   Anchor 845 (DMC 730) – Dark Green
   Anchor 4146 (DMC 950) – Pink
   Anchor 869 (DMC 3743) – Purple
   Anchor 1 (DMC 5200 or any white) – White
   Anchor 859 (DMC 523) – Light Green

Step 1 – Trace the Pattern

As always, the first step is to trace your pattern. I wrote a blog post about the basics of embroidery, which includes a few ways on how to trace a pattern. You can find that blog post here: Everything You Need to Know About Starting Your First Embroidery Project – Friendstitch Embroidery. If your fabric is light enough, you can place your fabric in your hoop and then put it on top of the pattern and trace it straight from there. You don’t necessarily have to use a pan or lightbox or window. Go ahead and do whatever works best for you.

Step 2 – The Burgundy Rose

Using 6 strands of Anchor 897 (DMC 902) – Burgundy, make a woven wheel rose. Not sure how to do a woven wheel stitch? Watch this tutorial by Cutesy Crafts: How to do a Woven Wheel Stitch.

Step 3 – The Blue Rose

Using 6 strands of Anchor 847 (DMC 3072) – Blue, make a woven wheel stitch for the blue rose.

Step 4 – The Gold Rose

Using 6 strands of Anchor 373 (DMC 3828) – Gold, make a woven wheel for the gold rose.

Step 5 – The Dark Green Leaves

Using 6 strands of Anchor 845 (DMC 730) – Dark Green, fill in the leaves using a fishbone stitch. Watch this tutorial if you don’t know how to: Embroider Leaves with the Fishbone Stitch.

Step 6 – The Pink Flowers

Using 3 strands of Anchor 4146 (DMC 950) – Pink, fill in the petals using a satin stitch. Here’s a tutorial if you don’t know how: How to do a Satin Stitch.

Step 7 – The Purple Flowers

Using 6 strands of Anchor 869 (DMC 3743) – Purple, fill in the purple petals with a satin stitch.

Step 8 – Fill in the Flowers

Using 6 strands of Anchor 1 (DMC 5200) – White, fill in the centre of the flowers with French knots. Here’s a tutorial if you don’t know how: How to do a French Knot.

Step 9 – The Other Leaves

Using 3 strands of Anchor 859 (DMC 523) – Light Green, fill in the stems using a stem stitch. Watch this tutorial if you need to: How to Stem Stitch. Then, fill in the leaves with the same colour and thread amount with a satin stitch.

Step 10 – The Fancy Little Bobbles

I don’t know what exactly these would be called, but I like fancy little bobbles. These French knots help the whole project to be sweet and round and give it a little more sparkle.

Step 11 – Erase the Pattern

Alright, you’re pretty much done! Wasn’t that so easy and quick? All that’s left now is the finishing touches.

If you used a heat-erasable pen, all you have to do is plug in your iron and run it over the stitches and you’re done. If you used a water-soluble marker, run your project under lukewarm water for a minute or two until the lines have disappeared. Set the wet piece face down onto a towel and leave it to dry overnight. You could also hang the wet piece to dry, but some of your darker colours may bleed, so placing it face down is your best bet.

Step 12 – Finish the Back

How you finish the back depends on what the piece will be used for. If you’re displaying it in your home, you don’t have to get too technical. You can simply trim the excess fabric and tuck it all behind the hoop. If you’re giving it to a friend or selling it, you’ll want to finish it in a bit more of a professional manner.

I’ve written a blog post that explains the different methods. Give it a read if you’re interested: How to Back Your Finished Embroidery Piece – Friendstitch Embroidery.

The Final Product

Here’s the final piece looking all cute and precious left in the hoop.

And here the project is looking all cute and precious in a square frame.

I do think the gold frame is quite complimentary, don’t you?

The PDF Pattern

Here’s the pattern you can use. I have included a few different sizes in case you’re using a different size hoop than just a 6″.

As always, thank for being here for this Summer Dreams Embroidery Pattern! Let me know what you think in the comments below! I am always open to compliments, concerns, constructive criticism, callous call-downs, cute kudos, etc – you get the point!