Scatter Joy Free Embroidery Pattern!

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I’m pretty excited about our theme for the year! I am planning to make a great selection of free designs ….. I am not sure about the exact number of designs there will be this year, but there will be at least one new one each quarter. 

This quarter it is called “Scatter Joy!” and is a combination of applique and simple embroidery.

I really enjoyed stitching this up last week, and I love the addition of the applique. The threads in the photo above are the ones I used to stitch, and I used a selection of scraps from my Lori Holt fabric collection.

For the applique, I used Steam-A-Seam and did raw edge applique with a blanket stitch (#41) on my Bernina 240.

Materials Needed

• DMC thread (or any other brand)
• Background fabric cut to 12″ square
• Embroidery hoop ~ optional
• Scraps of fabric for applique
• Steam-A-Seam or similar for applique
• Sewing machine for applique (optional)
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery scissors

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this design suitable for beginners?

Yes! Since we only use basic stitches, this design is perfect for beginners as well as more advanced stitchers.

What kind of fabric is used?

Unlike a cross stitch pattern, there is no need to have fabric with a certain stitch count.

You can use any type of fabric to stitch this embroidery design, but it is easier to trace a design onto a lighter fabric, so I usually choose white, cream, or grey. Of course, any pastel color would work well too.

Sometimes I will use a printed white on white, or cream on cream – however it is often harder to see the design when tracing, so keep this in mind.

I only use 100% cotton fabric, but other types can be used.

What kind of Embroidery Stitches are used?

As with all of our embroidery designs, we only use basic embroidery stitches. This is because I am not an expert embroiderer!!! Believe me, I have tried to add some harder stitches to my repertoire like stem stitch, herringbone, and satin stitch… they have not turned out very well! I can do a pretty good chain stitch, but mostly I just like to stick with backstitch, running stitch, lazy daisies, and knots of some sort – French or Colonial.

In this particular design I have only used backstitch, running stitch and French knots.

You of course can use any stitch you like!

What kind of Embroidery Floss should be used?

I use DMC floss, but you can use any type you like. Anchor is also a good brand, and I am sure there are some others.

How many strands of Floss are used?

I use two strands. Again it is up to personal choice.

What is the best way to print the design and can it be resized?

All our designs are made to be printed in A4 format. If you are using a different size of paper, make sure your printer settings correspond to that paper size.

It is always good to check on your printer settings before printing any pattern.
However, as long as you are consistent in printing the embroidery designs from the same document, you should have no problems.

You can also make these embroidery designs smaller or larger to fit your chosen project. Again, check your printer settings to change the sizes, or use a photocopier to enlarge or shrink them.

What is the best way to transfer the design to fabric?

I use a lightbox to trace my embroideries. You can also place the design and fabric on a window and trace it that way. I have even used a glass table with a light under it! But the easiest way is to use a lightbox.

Which type of marking pens are best to use for tracing?

I use Frixion pens. They are more accurate than chalk pens. Washable pens are also accurate, but since most of my stitcheries become wall hangings that don’t get washed, I prefer not to use them.

Does the Stitching Need to be Perfect?

No. If you are a beginner and you are worried that your stitching is not going to be perfect, let me put your mind at ease. My stitches are nowhere near perfect!!! This is how it goes with hand embroidery. None of my stitches are the same size…. some are on slight angle when they should be straight. Some are short, when they should be long….

Then why do I design and stitch embroideries?

Because I love it! And I hope you will too! Don’t stress about perfection, just enjoy the experience!

Tips for Applique

For the purpose of photography, I put the applique pieces down on the fabric above after I had traced the design. But after that, I took them off and stitched the embroidery part first, and then placed the applique pieces back in the right position and ironed them down.

While I could have ironed them down and then done the stitching, I was concerned that the constant rehooping of the design would cause the applique to fray.

Since I do raw edge applique, I have found that touching the sides of the applique as little as possible is very important. Even when using a product like Steam-A-Seam, the fabric can still fray if it is handled too much.

Download the Pattern

As with all our free patterns and printables this year, I have put the design in both our membership and freebie corner of the web. Just click on the download button below to get the design for free:

* Downloading the freebie requires signing up to a “course”. This is not a course, it is just an area on the web that I pay for to host all the freebies as a matter of convenience. It is free for you to sign up and download whatever you want. *

This embroidery design is FREE until the end of March, after which it will go into the membership area. Even if you don’t think you have time to stitch it now, you may want to download it for future use.

Of course, I hope you will choose to make it your next project and join in with me!

Happy Stitching!