DMC Around The World - Parasol Girls Embroidery Pattern - PAT0621 - Downloadable PDF

DMC Around The World – Parasol Girls Embroidery Pattern (PAT0621)

This free downloadable PDF embroidery pattern from the DMC Library is part of the charming Around the World collection. Titled Parasol Girls (also known by its French name Jeunes Filles au Parasol), this design depicts elegant figures carrying parasols, rendered in a delicate and illustrative embroidery style. The finished design measures approximately 14.4 cm x 10.2 cm, making it an ideal project for framing, decorating a tote bag, or embellishing a garment or hoop display.

Rated as advanced beginner in difficulty, this pattern is well suited to stitchers who have a basic familiarity with hand embroidery and are ready to explore a slightly wider range of techniques. The combination of stitches used gives the finished piece a painterly, dimensional quality that is characteristic of classic hand embroidery illustration.

What Is Being Made

The project is a hand embroidered decorative panel featuring stylised girls holding parasols, designed as a standalone artwork or embellishment. The pattern is presented as a colour guide and technical chart, allowing stitchers to faithfully reproduce the design with the correct thread colours and stitch placements. The motif has a vintage, travel-inspired aesthetic consistent with the broader Around the World DMC series.

Techniques and Stitches Used

The pattern incorporates several core hand embroidery techniques that together create depth, texture, and fine detail:

• Long and Short Stitch (Passé Empiétant): Used for shading and filling larger areas with a smooth, blended appearance. This technique involves alternating longer and shorter stitches in adjacent rows, allowing colours to interlock and create a gradual transition — ideal for rendering skin tones, fabric folds, and other areas requiring subtle graduation.
• Satin Stitch (Passé Plat): A classic filling stitch worked in closely packed parallel stitches to create a smooth, solid surface. It is used here for bold, flat areas of colour such as clothing, parasol panels, and decorative accents.
• Backstitch (Point Arrière): A fundamental outline stitch that creates a continuous, firm line. In this pattern it is used to define edges, add fine linear detail, and bring crispness to the overall composition.
• French Knot (Point de Noeud): A textured knot stitch formed by wrapping thread around the needle before inserting it back into the fabric. In this design, French knots are worked using 4 strands of thread, creating bold, raised dots ideal for decorative accents and detail work.

Colour Palette and Thread Details

The pattern uses DMC Mouliné Spécial Art 117 stranded cotton embroidery floss — the brand's flagship six-strand divisible thread, renowned for its consistent sheen, wide colour range, and excellent coverage. The design calls for six individual thread colours, each requiring one skein:

• DMC 3841 – a soft pale blue
• DMC 3821 – a warm straw yellow
• DMC 606 – a vivid bright orange-red
• DMC 3810 – a deep teal
• DMC 3808 – a dark cyan teal
• DMC BLANC – classic white

The colour guide included in the PDF assigns each shade to a specific letter code (A through D) corresponding to stitch areas on the technical chart, making colour placement clear and straightforward to follow.

Materials and Tools Required

• Thread: DMC Mouliné Spécial Art 117 stranded cotton in the six colours listed above
• Needle: A No. 12 embroidery needle is recommended — a fine needle appropriate for detailed surface embroidery work on fabric
• Fabric: The pattern recommends using a DMC Magic Sheet in combination with a transfer pen and transfer paper to accurately transfer the design onto your chosen fabric. This method ensures precise placement of