DMC Christmas Pine Tree Embroidery Pattern - PAT1119_2

DMC Christmas Pine Tree Embroidery Pattern (PAT1119_2) – Free Downloadable PDF

This free downloadable embroidery pattern from DMC guides you through creating a beautifully detailed Christmas pine tree design, known in French as Sapin de Noël. Part of the celebrated DMC 1000 Patterns collection, this festive motif is rated as beginner-friendly, making it an ideal seasonal project for those new to hand embroidery as well as a satisfying quick stitch for more experienced needleworkers. The finished design measures 9.2 cm × 14.6 cm, making it perfectly sized for greeting cards, hoop art, holiday ornaments, or fabric gift tags.

About the Design

The pattern depicts a classic, stylized Christmas pine tree rendered in rich, layered embroidery. The design uses a carefully considered colour palette of deep purples and forest green to give the tree a striking, contemporary feel rather than a traditional red-and-green look. The overlapping branch effect, achieved through deliberate stitch placement, gives the finished piece a sense of depth and dimension that belies its beginner difficulty rating.

Techniques and Stitches Used

Three core embroidery stitches are used throughout this pattern, each assigned a specific code letter to make following the chart straightforward:

• Long and Short Stitch (Code A): A classic shading technique where alternating long and short stitches are worked in rows, allowing colours to blend seamlessly into one another. This stitch is ideal for filling larger areas with smooth, painterly gradations of colour.
• Split Stitch (Code B): A versatile outline and filling stitch where each new stitch pierces the centre of the previous one, creating a neat, rope-like line. In this pattern, split stitch is used to form the overlapping branch effect (noted in the colour guide as chevauchement de branches du point fendu), giving the pine tree its characteristic layered silhouette.
• Satin Stitch (Code C): Smooth, closely packed parallel stitches that lie flat against the fabric to create a solid, polished fill. Satin stitch produces a lustrous surface that catches the light beautifully, particularly when worked with DMC Mouliné Étoile thread.

Materials Required

The pattern is designed to be worked with DMC Mouliné Étoile Art 617 stranded embroidery thread, using 2 strands throughout. The following three thread colours are specified:

• DMC C554 – 1 skein
• DMC C550 – 1 skein
• DMC C890 – 1 skein

Additional materials include:

• A No. 12 embroidery needle
• Fabric suitable for embroidery (the pattern references a magic sheet or transfer pen for transferring the design onto your chosen fabric)

Pattern Format and Accessibility

This pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF directly from DMC. The PDF includes a full colour guide, a technical chart, and step-by-step instructions in both English and French, making it accessible to a wide international audience. The bilingual format reflects DMC's global community of embroidery enthusiasts.

Tips for Beginners

Because this pattern combines three foundational stitches, it serves as an excellent introduction to hand embroidery technique. Split stitch is widely recommended as one of the first stitches to learn, as it is forgiving and produces clean outlines. Satin stitch rewards careful, even tension, while long and short stitch teaches the principles of colour blending that underpin more advanced embroidery styles such as needle painting. Working through this single festive motif gives beginners practical experience with all three in one compact project.