Book Petals

Equipment: Tracing paper; Blue dressmaker's carbon; Soft-lead pencil; Small embroidery hoop; Embroidery needle and scissors; Regular scissors; Ruler; Sewing machine with zig zag stitch abilities; Pattern and color code below.

Materials: Unbleached muslin or off-white tightly woven cotton fabric scraps; Six-strand embroidery floss; one of each color in code; Mercerized sewing thread, matching colors; Fusible web.

What to do:

1. Cut two pieces of fabric and two pieces of fusible web. Cut pieces 4" x 9". Trace design below and complete half patter by flipping pattern at center stem. On one fabric piece, mark area 2" x 7" for finished size. Transfer design below in center of this area.

2. Place fabric in hoop. With three strands of floss in needle, work embroidery following the color code and stitch key below. Use satin stitch wherever no stitch is indicated.

3. To finish, use iron to fuse fabric together with two pieces of fusible web between. Stitch around marked edges using satin stitch on machine. Make all the leaves in satin stitch leaf. With golden brown thread in machine, satin-stitch along marked outline; trim to this outline. Trim off fabric just outside satin stitching.

Color code: 1 = light yellow; 9 = gold; 4 = light green; 6 = brown

Stitch key: b = French knot.