Simple Heart Embroidery Pattern in Three Stitches

A heart is a good shape to practice on because it contains the three things every outline has: a straight run, a curve and a sharp point. This design uses it to teach three flat stitches with no loops and no knots. A solid backstitch outline is echoed by a dashed running stitch heart inside it, and the middle is sprinkled with seed stitch. It suits a complete beginner, a child learning with an adult, or anyone who wants a small gift that can be finished in an evening.

What You Need

• A 4-inch (10 cm) embroidery hoop
• A square of cream or white cotton, about 8 in (20 cm) on each side
• Six-strand cotton floss in terracotta, dusty rose and blush pink
• An embroidery needle that takes two or three strands comfortably
• Small sharp scissors
• A fine water-soluble pen or a sharp pencil
• The pattern outline below

Print the outline or trace it directly from the screen. It can be scaled to fit a different hoop, as long as the heart keeps a clear margin inside the circle.

Stitch and Color Key

The three colors step from dark at the edge to pale in the middle, which is what keeps the outline crisp. The guide to planning embroidery colors explains why that light-to-dark order matters more than the exact shades.

Transferring the Design

Cream and white cotton are easy to see through, so trace the design against a window or a lit screen. Draw part 1 as a solid line and part 2 as dashes, exactly as shown, since each dash will become one stitch. Do not draw the seed stitches at all. Marks that small are hard to cover, and the fill looks better when it is placed freely. Use a light hand, because the open center leaves nowhere for a heavy line to hide. All four transfer methods are compared in how to transfer embroidery patterns.

Stitching Order

Hoop the fabric drum-tight with the heart centered. If any of the stitches are new to you, the diagrams in basic embroidery stitches show the needle positions for backstitch and running stitch.

1. Part 1, the outer heart, in backstitch. Use three strands of terracotta and start at the bottom point. Come up at A, one stitch length along the line, and go down at B, exactly on the point. Come up at C, one stitch length beyond A, and go back down into A. Continue up one side, around the lobe, into the dip at the top, around the second lobe and back down. Keep stitches about 1/8 in (3 mm) long and shorten them slightly around the top of each lobe. At the dip and at the bottom point, end one stitch exactly on the corner and start the next from that same hole, so the corners stay sharp.
2. Part 2, the inner heart, in running stitch. Change to two strands of dusty rose. Come up at the start of a dash, go down at its end, and come up again at the start of the next dash. Work one stitch at a time, straight up and straight down through the taut fabric, and follow the drawn dashes so stitches and gaps stay even. Make sure a stitch, not a gap, lands on the bottom point and in the dip. That keeps the dashed line readable as a heart.
3. Part 3, the scattered fill, in seed stitch. Thread two strands of blush pink. Make tiny straight stitches, each about 1/8 in (3 mm) long or a little less, and turn each one to a different angle from its neighbors. Leave roughly one stitch length of bare fabric between them. Start at one side of the inner heart and drift across to the other, staying a small distance inside the dashed line.
4. Secure the ends. On the back, slide the needle under several stitches of the outline and trim. Avoid ending threads in the open center, where there is little to weave into.

Common Problems and Fixes

• The bottom point looks rounded. The last stitch on each side stopped short of the corner. Unpick two stitches and bring both sides into the same hole at the tip.
• The lobes look bumpy. The stitches are too long for the curve. Shorten them and the line will follow the drawing more closely.
• The running stitches vary in length. Several stitches were probably loaded onto the needle at once. Go back to one stitch per movement and follow the drawn dashes.
• The seed stitches line up in rows. Turn the hoop a little after every few stitches. Changing your own viewing angle is the easiest way to keep the directions mixed.
• The fill looks patchy. Step back and look at the whole heart, then add single stitches only where the bare areas are largest. It is easier to add than to remove.
• The fabric dimples around the seed stitches. They are pulled too tight. Each one should rest on the surface without denting it.

Variations

• Colors: three values of one color always work, such as three blues or three greens from dark to pale. For a bolder version, stitch all three parts in a single deep red on white.
• Density: a sparse scatter looks airy and modern. A dense scatter, with stitches almost touching, reads nearly as a solid pale fill.
• Size: reduce the heart to about 1 1/2 in (4 cm) for a pocket or a baby bib and drop to two strands for the outline. At that size, leave out either the inner heart or the fill so the design does not crowd.
• Personalize it: skip part 3 and stitch an initial in the center instead. The guide to embroidery lettering basics covers letter height and strand count for small letters.
• Repeat it: a row of three small hearts makes a simple trim along a pillowcase hem or the edge of a tea towel.

Finishing

Rinse the piece in cool water to remove the pen lines, checking the open areas between the two hearts where marks are most visible. Dry it flat and press it face down on a towel. Then center the heart in the hoop again, tighten the screw and trim and gather the spare fabric at the back, following the steps in how to finish the back of an embroidery hoop. A felt backing is worth adding to this design, because it hides the back of the stitching if the hoop is given as a gift.