Poppy Flower Embroidery Design, Botanical Machine Embroidery Pattern, Instant Download

A big open poppy with 4 to 5 petals spread wide, the kind of botanical illustration style where each petal is its own section with directional satin stitching running from the centre out toward the edges. The middle of the flower is dark, almost black, which gives the red petals contrast to pop against. Then theres the green stem and a leaf curving away from the base. Its a proper botanical art piece, not a simplified cartoon version. I love this one for the range of places it works on.

Four colours across 4 sizes from 4.51 inches wide at the smaller end to 7.51 inches at the full size. Counts go from 28,889 to 51,441 which makes the largest size one of the densest designs Ive put together. Density is at 1,038 so this is a long run. Mapped in Wilcom with petal underlay laid in before each satin section so the petals dont bunch or pucker on the finished piece. The leaf uses a lighter satin density than the petals so theres natural variation in the fabric texture across the whole design.

Layer a thick backer behind everything. Slow your speed down to around 600 stitches per minute for the petal sections. Press water-soluble film on velvet, terry cloth, or any pile fabric before hooping so the satin finish stays smooth and doesnt get trapped in the fibres. Last summer a customer stitched the 7.5-inch design on a white linen cushion cover and said it looked like she had bought something from a boutique, which was really gratifying to hear.

Choose cream, white, sage green, or black fabric as your base. The scarlet red and dark centre work best when theres a neutral behind them. Skip busy prints or stripes because this poppy needs space to read as a full composition. Add it to a plain denim shirt back yoke and you get something genuinely impressive.