Single Peony in DMC - PAT0337 - Downloadable PDF

DMC Secret Garden – Single Peony Embroidery Pattern (PAT0337)

The Single Peony is a free, downloadable PDF embroidery pattern from DMC, released as part of their beautiful Secret Garden collection. Designed for intermediate embroiderers, this pattern guides you through stitching a lush, botanically inspired peony bloom — one of the most beloved floral motifs in needlework. The finished piece captures the layered, voluminous petals and delicate character that make peonies such a popular subject for hand embroidery.

What You Will Make

This pattern produces a single, detailed peony flower design — referred to in French as Pivoine Solitaire — suitable for framing, mounting in an embroidery hoop, or applying to fabric items such as tote bags, cushion covers, or clothing. The design is presented with both a colour guide / diagramme en couleur and a technical chart / diagramme, giving you clear visual references for placement, colour, and stitch direction throughout the project.

Techniques and Stitches Used

As an intermediate-level embroidery pattern, the Single Peony design incorporates a range of hand embroidery techniques suited to rendering realistic floral forms with depth and dimension. Typical techniques used in DMC's Secret Garden series include:

• Satin stitch – used to fill petal shapes smoothly and create a silky, lustrous surface that mimics the soft texture of peony petals
• Long and short stitch – ideal for blending multiple thread colours across larger petal areas to achieve naturalistic shading and gradients
• Stem stitch or outline stitch – used to define the edges of petals, stems, and leaves with clean, flowing lines
• French knots – commonly used in floral embroidery to suggest stamens or textural detail at the centre of blooms
• Lazy daisy stitch – may be employed for smaller petal or leaf details within the composition

The pattern includes a colour-coded diagram with labelled thread zones (marked as A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B6), allowing you to follow the design section by section and apply the correct DMC thread shade to each area of the peony with confidence.

Colour Palette and DMC Thread References

The colour guide identifies multiple distinct thread colour zones across the peony design. The labelled areas — A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and B6 — correspond to specific DMC stranded cotton thread shades. DMC stranded cotton is the recommended thread for this pattern, as it is the brand's own product line and is referenced throughout the chart. Stranded cotton (also known as embroidery floss) consists of six divisible strands, allowing you to adjust the thickness of your stitching to suit the level of detail required — typically two or three strands are used for most surface embroidery work of this type.

Materials Required

• DMC stranded cotton embroidery floss – in the specific colour references indicated by the A1–A5 and B6 zones on the colour chart
• Embroidery needle – a fine, sharp needle appropriate for surface embroidery, typically a crewel needle in a size suited to the number of strands being used
• Embroidery hoop – to keep the fabric taut and ensure even, consistent stitching across the design
• Fabric – an even-weave or plain-weave fabric such as cotton or linen is recommended for surface embroidery of this style

Pattern Format and Availability

The Single Peony (PAT0337) pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF directly from DMC. The PDF includes five pages covering the colour diagram, the technical stitch chart, and step-by-step instructions. It is presented bilingually in English and French, reflecting DMC's international heritage. This pattern is part of the broader Secret Garden – Jardin Secret collection, and DMC offers additional free patterns and tutorials on their website and across their social media communities using the hashtag #dmcthreads