Remembrance Poppy Pin - Free Pattern and Instructions

This is the pattern I created, along with some basic instructions, to make the Remembrance Poppy Pin. If you stitch a poppy, please send me a link/photo. I would love to see what you do, especially variations. Feel free to adjust the pattern, threads, etc. Most importantly, have fun!

Make sure you read through all of the instructions before stitching!

The poppy is a very simple (and fast) thread painting project. These instructions assume that you are familiar with this technique. There are many good online resources that can show you how to do thread painting/needlepainting.

Technical note: All images in this post are presented at full size. However, when printing from a browser the output is usually scaled. To print a full-sized pattern, I set my browser to print at 100% (not scaled) and printed only the page that contained the pattern.

Fabric, Needle, and Threads

Fabric	6" black square mounted drum tight in a 4" hoop I used cotton quilting fabric and/or silk dupioni. Any closely woven fabric should work (e.g., high thread count linen suitable for surface embroidery). A heavy weight fabric will probably not work well when mounting in the pin setting as the fabric will be too bulky.
Needle	#10 crewel
Threads	These are the colours used for the basic DMC poppy as well as the Piper's silk poppy. Please note that I used the two Piper's reds I have in my stash. There are other reds available from Piper's that would work well, possibly better than the ones I used.

DMC			Piper's Floss Silk
R1	666		R1	Flame
R2	817		R2	PO Red
R3	3777		G1	Lettuce
G1	704		G2	Conifer
G2	904		B1	Black
B1	310
DMC: Use 1 strand unless otherwise noted. Piper's: Use 3 strands unless otherwise noted.

Pattern

IMPORTANT: This is a copyrighted pattern. It is made available for your personal use and may not be used for commercial purposes. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it for other than your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not sell this pattern or any products made with this pattern.

The pattern is designed for a 30mm round pin setting. After printing, check the scale for size accuracy.

There are lots of colours on the pattern. What does it all mean?

Line Colour	Description
Black	Poppy design lines (trace these).
Blue	Stitch direction for the petals (tracing optional).
Red	The inner line is the outer edge of the bezel/internal mounting disc. You don't need to trace all of it, but I found it useful to trace the 'compass points' (north, south, east, west). The lines helped when I was making the running gathering stitch and also with mounting. The outer line is the cutting line and should be traced, but it can be a rough trace. A running stitch will be stitched between the two red dotted lines when you prepare to mount in the setting.
Green	Use for aligning the design on the ground fabric. Tracing is optional. I found the top one useful when I was mounting into the pin setting when I wanted to know where the top of the design was located.

In summary, trace the black outlines, the outer red dotted line (no, you don't need to replicate the dotted part!), and bits of the inner red line. Optionally, trace the green and blue lines.

Instructions

1. Trace Pattern onto Ground Fabric

I generally use tracing paper to trace designs onto dark fabrics. I then use a chalk pencil to reinforce the lines. There are other methods that can be used. Use the one that works best for you.

2. Petals

All petal edges on the DMC poppy are outlined in split stitch before filling with long and short stitch. The Piper's poppy is not outlined, but certainly could be if you want a smoother edge. Work petals one at a time. Do not do all the split stitch outlines first! Only outline the exposed edge of the petal, not the parts that are behind other petals. After outlining, fill from the outer petal edge towards the centre, working from light to dark. Fill all the way to the centre with red.

If you add black accents, wait until all the red parts of the petals are complete and do all the black at the same time.

Petal Stitching Order

Petal(s)			DMC		Piper's Floss Silk
1 and 2	Outline		R2		None
	Fill		R2, R3 Ensure R3 is along the edges of the adjoining petals.		R2
3	Outline		R2		None
	Fill		R1, R2, R3 Ensure R3 is along the left edge to create contrast with petal 5.		Primarily R1 R2 along left edge and in the centre.
4 and 5	Outline		R2		None
	Fill		R1, R2, R3 Ensure left and right edges of petal are R1 to create contrast with underlying petals.		Primarily R1 especially along top and edges. R2 in petal centre.

DMC reds in progress

DMC version with completed reds

Piper's Floss Silk version with completed reds

Black Accents

Add scattered B1 stitches along the bottom edges of all the petals (right over the top of the underlying red stitching). (The version of the Piper's poppy I stitched does not have black accents, but they could be added.)

Notice that I made sure to leave the edges of petals 4 and 5 red. I want them to have some definition. I also used the black stitches on petals 1 and 2 to help define the edges of 4 and 5 by putting stitches right along the edges of the upper petals.

3. Green Centre

Outline the centre with split stitch in G1 and satin stitch over the top with G1.

Switch to G2 for the stitches on top of G1. I did bullions on my first examples and straight stitches on the rest. Bullions create nice texture. If you do bullions, use a single strand of DMC or 3 strands of Piper's.

For straight stitches:
    DMC: 2 strands of G2 (straight stitch)
    Piper's: 6 strands of G2

Before adding straight/bullion stitches, first make a single wrap French knot in the middle of the satin stitched centre. Add straight stitches (or bullions) from the edge of the green centre towards the French knot. I decided I liked 7 stitches, but you can make as many as you like. I suggest that you do at least 6.

4. French Knots Around Centre

Scatter single wrap French knots randomly on the petals around the green centre. The French knots are very useful if the thread painting is a little wonky. They can be used as a distraction!

DMC: 1 strand G2 and 1 strand B1 together in the needle.
Piper's: 6 strands of B1

5. Mount in the Pin Setting

Cut the poppy out along the outer border (approximately .5" from edge of pin setting). Use floss or thread and do a running stitch between the edge of the pin setting and the outer border.

Mount the fabric on the inner disk of the pin setting. I used some double stick tape to help hold the poppy in place. I don't consider the poppy to be an heirloom piece so don't mind using tape. I did, however, use archival tape. Pull the running stitch to gather the edges of the poppy around the mounting disk.

Place the outer setting ring over the poppy and check that the design is properly centred. Adjust accordingly. When you are happy with the design placement, put the back on the pin and fold down the metal tabs from the front bezel. I was able to bend the tabs with my fingers on the silver and gold versions. The black version required pliers because the black paint makes the tabs harder to bend.

A note on the black settings: When you bend the tabs the paint may break off especially when using pliers. I used a piece of fabric to protect the outer bezel from the pliers, but the tabs still lost their paint and I got some nicks on the outer edge of the bezel. Thank goodness for a black sharpie! It easily covered up the nicks in the paint.

After I bent down the tabs, the pin back would still rotate so I used small pliers to gently push the tabs down more tightly.

Done--send me a photo!!
Gmail: sharpneedler (or use the contact page)
You can also post links in the comments.

References

• Pin Settings on Etsy
  I've ordered from both of these vendors, but I prefer Kalia because she's physically closer and items arrive very quickly.
• Kalia (located in US/Florida, she was able to order black frames for me)
• Pantopolium (located in Germany)
• Piper's Silk
• Needle 'n Thread: Long and Short Stitch Lessons