DMC Pineapple Cooler - PAT1293S - Downloadable PDF

DMC Pineapple Cooler Embroidery Pattern (PAT1293S) – Free Downloadable PDF

The DMC Pineapple Cooler (pattern reference PAT1293S) is a free downloadable embroidery pattern from the DMC Library, part of the celebrated DMC 1000 Patterns collection. This cheerful, summery design features a pineapple motif — a perennially popular image in needlework — rendered in a vibrant, tropical colour palette. The pattern is bilingual, presented in both English and French (Jus d'Ananas), reflecting DMC's international reach and heritage.

This is an intermediate-level embroidery project, making it a wonderful next step for stitchers who have moved beyond the basics and are ready to work with a more detailed colour chart and a greater number of thread shades. The finished piece would suit a wide range of applications, from a framed wall hanging to an embellishment on clothing, tote bags, or soft furnishings.

What Is Being Made

The project produces a hand-embroidered pineapple design — a detailed, colourful motif capturing the distinctive texture of a pineapple's skin and the spiky crown of its leaves. The design is part of DMC's broader #DMC1000Patterns initiative, a vast library of free embroidery motifs available through the DMC website.

Colour Guide and Thread References

The pattern includes a full colour guide (diagramme en couleur) alongside a technical chart (diagramme technique). The colour guide maps out a rich selection of thread shades across the design, with references including:

• A-series threads: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15 — covering the warm yellows, golds, greens, and accent tones of the pineapple body and leaf crown
• B-series threads: B5, B6, B7, B8, B15 — providing contrast shading, shadow tones, and detail work throughout the motif

These coded references correspond to specific DMC stranded cotton embroidery floss colours, which are identified in full within the pattern's colour key. DMC stranded cotton is the world's most widely recognised embroidery thread, known for its consistent dye lots, silky sheen, and vast colour range — making it easy to source replacements or alternatives at any craft retailer.

Materials Used

• Thread: DMC stranded cotton embroidery floss in multiple colours as specified by the A-series and B-series colour references in the chart
• Fabric: An even-weave or Aida embroidery fabric is recommended for counted work of this type, though the pattern can also be transferred to plain woven fabric for surface embroidery
• Needles: Standard embroidery needles (also called crewel needles) with a sharp point, sized to suit the fabric and number of thread strands used
• Hoop or frame: An embroidery hoop or stretcher frame is recommended to keep fabric taut and stitches even throughout the project

Techniques and Stitches

As an intermediate embroidery pattern from DMC, the Pineapple Cooler design employs the kind of careful colour placement and shading that characterises polished needlework. While the PDF's stitch key details are contained within the technical chart section, designs of this style from the DMC Library typically make use of a combination of classic hand embroidery techniques, which may include:

• Cross stitch — the foundational counted stitch used to build up the pixelated colour blocks of the pineapple's body and leaf sections, following the technical chart grid
• Backstitch — commonly used in DMC chart-based designs to add fine outlines, define edges, and create crisp detail lines around the pineapple's geometric skin pattern and crown
• Colour blending — working with multiple shades across the A and B thread series to achieve realistic shading, depth