How to Embroider Snowflakes Three Simple Ways

I love the warm days and cool nights of fall, but I am actually looking forward to cold winter days, drinking hot tea, cozying up on the couch under a blanket to read or watch a movie with the kids. So, in getting ready for the cold and a couple of Christmas projects coming up, today I’m going to show you how to embroider snowflakes in three simple ways!

Even if you’ve never embroidered before, I promise that you can handle these three easy designs. The red snowflake to the left is veeery easy and the green snowflake in the center only slightly more complicated. The blue snowflake to the right is actually no more complicated than the green one, but just requires a tiny bit more time and matching up of stitches.

These snowflakes are perfect for decorating all your Christmas and winter projects, or to just embellish a table runner or napkins for your holiday feast.

Have you always wanted to learn to embroider? This is a great project to get started on! Watch the video below or continue reading to learn how to embroider snowflakes in three simple ways!

Materials:

• printable Stick ‘n Stitch*
• fabric shears*  
• 4” embroidery hoop*
• thick white flannel (or other fabric)
• DMC embroidery thread, color 666 (red)*
• DMC embroidery thread, color 910 (green)*
• DMC embroidery thread, color 996 (blue)*
• embroidery scissors*
• embroidery needles*
• FREE printable snowflake embroidery pattern (My free patterns are available to all Cucicucicoo Newsletter subscribers. The Newsletter is sent out every two weeks and you can unsubscribe whenever you want. Sign up for the Newsletter here for access to dozens of free downloads, templates and patterns! If you are already subscribed, just look at the bottom of the last Newsletter you received for the link and password.)

GET THE FREE PATTERN!
Sign up for the Cucicucicoo Newsletter. You’ll receive an email with a link to click to confirm your subscription. After you click it, you will receive another email with the link and password to the private area with the free downloads.
If you’re already subscribed, click on this link and insert the password. You can find the password in your Newsletter welcome e-mail or at the bottom of any Cucicucicoo Newsletter. If you still cannot find the password, send an e-mail to lisa@cucicucicoo.com from the e-mail address you used to subscribe. Write “Password” in the subject box, and I will send it as soon as I can.

(If you’d prefer receiving the free pattern and newsletter in Italian, just sign up here instead!)

Print out these instructions!
Scroll down to the end of this post and click “Print”.

How to use Stick ‘n Stitch:

Stick ‘n Stitch* is a FABULOUS product and makes it incredibly easy to recreate embroidery designs. If you embroider, you know all too well what a pain it is to trace out the pattern onto fabric. It can also be difficult to transfer it perfectly.

It’s a whole different story with Stick ‘n Stitch*. Simply print out the embroidery pattern (with an ink jet printer. I’m not sure if it works with a laser printer.) onto the fabric side of a sheet of Stick ‘n Stitch*. After you’ve finished embroidering, simply wash it away!

Cut out the part of the design you want (using regular, not fabric, scissors), remove the backing, and stick the printed design on to the right side of the fabric.

Press the design well onto the fabric, flattening it out as you go. Stick ‘n Stitch* sticks to pretty much all fabric, even flannel and wool!

Put the fabric into a 4” embroidery hoop* and you’re ready to embroider your snowflakes!

How to tie a knot in embroidery thread:

I used all 6 strands of classic DMC embroidery floss, but you can separate the strands and use fewer for a more delicate snowflake.

Cut off a length of embroidery thread and tie a knot in the end. There are quite a few ways to tie a knot in thread, but I always do it the way my mother taught me about 30 years ago!

A) Form a loop between your thumb and forefinger.
B) Bring the end of the thread UNDER the loop.
C) Pinch the end of the thread with your other thumb and forefinger and pull it partway through the loop, but with the very end still BEHIND the loop.
D) Slide your right thumb and forefinger along the thread, tightening a knot at the end.

How to embroider a French knot:

One thing I love about embroidery is that you don’t really need to know fancy stitches to do most designs. But there is one stitch that I really love that can add a lovely decorative touch to your work, and that is the French knot.

I show how to embroider a French knot a few times in the video above, but let me explain it here, too.

A) Pull the thread up through a circle. Hold the thread between your left thumb and forefinger and wrap it twice around the needle, from the front.
B) Continue to hold the thread taut with your left hand. Stick the tip of the needle into the fabric VERY close to where the thread came up, but be sure NOT to go back through the same hole.
C) Pull the needle through the fabric, still holding the thread in your left hand. When the loop gets tighter, you can hold the thread down against the fabric with your thumb, as seen here.
D) Keep pulling the thread with your right hand. When the loop of thread is almost pulled through, let go of it.

When you’ve pulled the thread all the way through, you’ll have a really cool twisted knot!

I usually embroider with just 4 strands of embroidery floss, in which case I wrap the thread around the needle three times when making a French knot. However I prefer using all 6 strands for this project, so wrapping the thread around twice is plenty.

Ok, now that you know how to tie a knot in the thread and how to embroider a French knot, let’s learn how to embroider the first, most simple, snowflake.

How to embroider snowflake #1:

A) Make a French knot at the end of one of the longer “spokes”.
B) Pull the thread back up at the end of the spoke, next to the knot, and go back down in the middle of the spoke.
C) Pull up towards the center of the spoke, and back down in the middle of the spoke, in the same hole from step B. This helps create the effect of a single line. Then move on to the next spoke, embroidering the straight line, then the French knot.
D) Move on to the next, long, spoke, starting at the French knot, and repeat steps A-C.

Note that the spokes of this snowflake do NOT touch in the center.

Continue like this all around until you’ve finished the snowflake. Simple, but pretty!

(And no, I have no idea why I was holding the hoop upside down here!)

How to clean your embroidery needle:

Stick ‘n Stitch* is awesome, but can sometimes leave some sticky residue on the embroidery needle*. If this happens, simply use a cotton ball (or reusable fabric makeup remover) to wipe it with rubbing alcohol.

The second embroidered snowflake is only slightly more complicated, but I find it prettier than the first.

How to embroider snowflake #2:

A) Starting from the tip of one spoke, embroider the center part, then each side. Make sure that all three join in the same hole in the fabric.
B-C) Work your way towards the center, similar to how you did in snowflake #1, then embroider the French knot to the right.
D) Repeat steps A-C with the next spoke. You can start from the center or from the top left “branch”.

If you have made sure to connect all the lines by inserting the needle into the holes made by previous stitches, your snowflake will look beautiful!

The third embroidered snowflake is worked in a simlar way to the second one, but just has more parts to it.

How to embroider snowflake #3:

A) Embroider a French knot at the top of one of the spokes, then embroider the two “branches” at the top.
B) Embroider the center part of the spoke, being sure to insert the needle into the hole made in step A.
C) Embroider the next two branches below.
D) Continue down to the following two branches below. Notice that the star shape in the center is really just the innermost branches meeting.
E) Continue embroidering all the way to the center of the snowflake, inserting the needle into the exact center.
F) Work your way back up the next spoke, starting from the center.
G) Make sure that the center branches meet in the same hole so as to create the star effect.
H) Continue all the way up the second spoke.
I) Continue from the top of the third spoke, repeating steps A-H all the way around.

Make sure that the centers of all the spokes meet in one point in the center of the snowflake.

This is my favorite of these three snowflake designs! It’s not difficult and just takes a few minutes more to embroider.

How to rinse off Stick ‘n Stitch:

Now that we’ve finished embroidering, we need to remove the Stick ‘n Stitch*. This product is water soluble, however it’s best to cut away as much as possible first.

Peel up an edge of the Stick ‘n Stitch* and cut it off, being very careful not to cut into the thread or fabric. Use your regular scissors so you don’t gunk up your fabric scissors.

Rub the fabric with your thumbs under warm running water. You will feel the Stick ‘n Stitch* start to get slimy, then dissolve away completely as you rub it.

Gently squeeze out excess water, pull the fabric gently back into shape, and lay it out flat to dry.

When the fabric is dry, iron it on hot with a protective ironing cloth.

And you’re done! Use this snowflake embroidery to to embellish all your winter and holiday decorations and decor!

You can use these embroidered snowflakes to decorate any fabric item you want or for these two Christmas projects!

DIY Snowflake Embroidered Felt Christmas Ornaments

DIY Felted Wool Sweater Stocking Pattern with Embroidery

Do you want all the new sewing techniques and cool modern sewing projects, in addition to the FREE snowflake embroidery pattern? Then sign up for the Cucicucicoo Newsletter here for access to dozens of free patterns and other printables! 

Click here to save this snowflake embroidery tutorial on Pinterest!

*All starred links are affiliate links which help fund this blog. When you click, you will not spend anything extra, but I earn a small percentage. I cannot see what you clicked nor which products you have seen. Please read my affiliate link disclosure for more information.