How to Embroider a Sunflower (Hand Embroidery, Step by Step)

Start by getting your sunflower onto the fabric and the fabric drum-tight in the hoop. You need a round flower head, the little petal marks around its edge, a stem, and two leaves with a center vein drawn in.

Trace the design with a water-soluble pen, or iron on a transfer if you have one. Clear lines take the guesswork out of every stitch that follows, so take a minute to get them crisp before you thread a needle.

Thread a light green and outline-stitch the stem and the center vein of each leaf. Outline stitch is a row of overlapping slanted stitches that reads like a smooth cord, so it gives the stem a raised, rope-like line rather than a flat one.

Keep your stitches short and even, and bring the needle up just ahead of the last stitch each time. Follow the drawn line so the stem stays straight and the leaf veins land in the middle of each leaf.

Switch to a medium green and fill the leaves with satin stitch. Lay the strands side by side, running from the outer edge of the leaf in to the center vein at a slight slant so both halves tilt toward the middle. That angle is what makes the leaf look like a leaf instead of a solid blob.

Keep the strands flat and packed snug against each other with no fabric peeking through. Take your time here; smooth satin stitch is the difference between a leaf that looks polished and one that looks fuzzy.

Now the petals. Work each one as a lazy daisy loop: bring the needle up at the center end of the petal, dip it back in the same hole, and pull through over a small anchor stitch at the tip so the loop lies flat. Drop one or two straight stitches down the middle to fill the petal out.

Go all the way around the head in a bright golden yellow, keeping the petal lengths even so the flower stays round. Overlap the bases slightly toward the center; the brown knots will cover where they meet.

Time for the seed center. Bring the brown floss up in the middle of the head, wrap the thread once around the needle, hold it taut with your free hand, and push the needle back down right beside where it came up. Pull slowly and a neat little knot sits on the surface.

Pack the knots close together, working from the outer edge in, until the center is a dense field of brown. That raised, nubbly texture is exactly what a real sunflower center of seeds looks like.

Both flowers are done. You have satin-stitched leaves, cord-stem outlines, a full ring of golden petals, and a dense brown seed center on each one. Flip the hoop over and tuck in any loose tails so the back stays tidy.

Dab away any visible transfer pen with a damp cotton bud and let the fabric dry flat. Then leave it stretched in the hoop as instant wall art, or trim and mount it for a card or a small frame.