Free 12-Day Advent Embroidery Pattern: Frost & Flora Bauble
Welcome to this year’s Advent Embroidery Pattern – The Frost & Flora Bauble! 🎄
I’m continuing the bauble theme for another year, and this design is a fun, festive way to count down to Christmas! It’s a 12-Day Advent design, and just like last year, the pattern is completely FREE! 🎉 If you'd like a full embroidery kit with everything ready to go, I have those available in my shop too.
🪡Start stitching on the December 13th and enjoy 12 days of festive embroidery as you count down to Christmas 🎄
🪡Or, if you’d like to pace yourself and leave room for allll the other festive things going on, start on the December 1st and stitch every other day
🪡And of course, you can always skip the Advent timing and stitch entirely at your own pace, whenever you like! 🎄🪡
Simply print out the template, trace it onto your fabric, and enjoy 12 days of stitching instructions to guide you through each step. Happy stitching!
✨ This free pattern includes:
A Black and White downloadable template to print and trace onto your fabric
A supplies list with suggested threads
Instructions for each of the 12 days of stitching
✨ The FULL Embroidery Kit includes everything you need to start stitching right away. They are available in my shop here….
A pre-printed fabric panel, ready to pop straight into your hoop
A 5" stitching hoop
A 4" display hoop
12 bobbins of Anchor threads
6 embroidery needles
Red and white cotton cord to hang your finished bauble
A booklet with step-by-step instructions, embroidery guides, stitch guides, tips, a QR link to this blog for quick access to the videos and a countdown tick sheet
🪡Just like last year, I'll be making a reel for each day’s stitching and posting them on my social media! I'll add links to each video here in the blog as they go live, so you can easily follow along.
NOTE: I’ll start posting video links from December 1st, adding a new one every other day as they’re shared on social media.
What You Need
An embroidery hoop for stitching. The finished design is 4”, but since the pattern goes right to the edges, you’ll need a larger hoop to stitch comfortably - I used a 5” hoop.
A 4” hoop for displaying your finished bauble
Fabric
Embroidery threads (see suggested thread list below)
Embroidery needles
Fabric pen (I recommend a heat-erasable pen)
Scissors
Cord or ribbon to hang your bauble
The Threads
This pattern uses 12 beautiful colours of Anchor thread. I love this brand for its quality and the vibrant range of colours.
Getting started
When printing the template, just make sure you scale the printing settings to 100%.
To transfer the design onto your fabric, there are several methods, but my go-to is tracing. Simply print out the black and white design, place it on a lightbox (or use a window if you don’t have a lightbox), and trace the design onto your fabric with a fabric pen.
You can watch me doing this here……….
Once traced, you’re ready to start stitching.
The 12 Days of Stitching
Eeeee! Lets get started with this fun countdown!
Day 1 – Band Padding
This is a nice way to ease in - no need to be too fussy since we’ll be stitching over them for Day 2.
Stitch three rows of Chain Stitches with 6 strands of thread 47.
✨ My little tips:
Alternate the direction of your rows. It’ll help smooth out any dips
Not a fan of chain stitch? No worries - just pick a stitch that works for you!
Day 2 – The Band
Finish stitching the band using Satin stitch with 6 strands of thread 47 over the top of the three rows of chain stitches.
✨ My little tips:
Start at the center and work your way outwards - I find this really helps to keep the stitches nice and straight
Don’t worry if they’re not perfect; small wobbles add character (and no one will notice once the bauble’s finished!).
Day 3 – Holly Leaves and Berries
Stitch the holly leaves using Leaf stitch with 3 strands of thread 255.
For the berries, use Rhodes Circle stitch with 2 strands of thread 46.
I tried Rhodes Circle Stitch for the first time during last years advent…. and I don’t think I’ve used it since 🙈 But berries look so good with it, don’t they? Perfectly raised - chefs kiss! And it makes such a lovely change from classic French Knots 😊
Day 4 – The Branches
Stitch the branch stems using Stem stitch with 3 strands of thread 358.
For the pine needles, use Straight stitches with 3 strands of thread 257 and 255. Alternate the pine needle colours between 257 and 255. Stitch some pine needles into the branch stem, and stitch others underneath by angling your needle so they appear beneath the branch.
You can really make these branches your own - go as bushy or minimal as you like! I used two greens here, but you could stick to one or use more if you fancy it 😊
Day 5 – The Orange Inner
Stitch the orange inner using Split stitch with 4 strands. Use thread 303 for the center circle and thread 316 for the outer part of the inner section.
✨ My Little Tips:
Angle your rows of split stitches outward toward the edge of the orange.
Insert the outer part stitches into the center circle to blend them together nicely.
Day 6 – The Segments, Pith & Peel
Start by stitching the segment lines using Straight stitches with 1 strand of thread 1037.
Next, stitch the pith using Split stitch with 6 strands of thread 1037.
Finally, stitch the orange peel in the same way as the pith, using 6 strands of thread 316.
We’re halfway through Advent already! 🎄🪡
Day 7 – The Big Snowflake
Stitch the big snowflake with 3 strands of thread 168.
Start by stitching the smaller snowflake spokes, using a single Fly stitch for each spoke.
Next, stitch the inner ring with Backstitches, placing one stitch between each point.
For the longest spokes, begin with a Lazy Daisy stitch at the end of the spoke, followed by a short Straight Stitch. Then, stitch two Fly stitches - the first one shorter, and the second one extending to the center of the snowflake.
✨ Variations you might want to try out:
- I kept to one colour for this one, but you could try adding extra colours and stitch each section in a different shade.
- Try out other stitches for different effects. A whipped backstitch could look super cute, especially if you use two colours 😍
Day 8 – The Poinsettia Red Leaves
Stitch the red leaves using Fishbone stitch with 6 strands of thread 47.
✨ The solid lines on the template will guide your stitches, while the dashed center line shows where the crisscross effect of the fishbone stitch happens. I always draw these lines on when stitching Fishbone, so I added them to the template to make things easier for you 😊
For the partial leaves (those extending beyond the design), fill them with diagonal Satin stitches. The center of these leaves is off the design, so we don’t need to worry about creating the crisscross – just keep the satin stitches angled the same as the fishbone stitches.
Day 9 – The Poinsettia Green Leaves
Stitch these green leaves using Fishbone stitch with 3 strands of thread 257.
These are stitched in the same way as the red leaves but with fewer strands so they look like they’re further back.
✨ The Tricky Half Leaf:
For this one, stitch so that the fishbone remains consistent:
Right side: Extend the stitches all the way to the edge of the design.
Left side: Keep the stitches shorter to match the partial shape.
Day 10 – The Poinsettia Flower
Stitch the flower using French knots with 6 strands of thread 295, wrapping the thread 3 times for each knot. I stitched these in rings, starting from the outside and working toward the center.
✨ A Few French Knot Tips:
• Take it slow 😊 Pull the thread through nice and slowly. If it starts to twist, you can untwist it before it turns into a knotty mess.
• Dangle your thread and needle regularly to let the thread untwist itself. Twisted thread = knots (and not the lovely French knot kind of knots) 🪡
• Before pulling the needle through, slide the wraps down so they’re snug against the fabric🪡
• If you’re going for neater look, stitch each knot in the same way direction. But sometimes, I like a more random look 😊
Day 11 – The Rosehips
Start by stitching the rosehips using Padded Satin stitch with 6 strands of thread 47. For padding, I used 3 small horizontal Lazy Daisy stitches in each rosehip.
Next, add highlights to the rosehips with Straight Stitches using 3 strands of thread 46. Insert these straight stitches into the padded satin stitches partway down at varying lengths.
Then, stitch the rosehip stems using Stem stitch with 3 strands of thread 375.
Finally, finish the tops of the rosehips with Lazy Daisy stitches using 3 strands of thread 375. Stitch 3 Lazy Daisies at the top of each rosehip.
✨ Oh, we’re nearly there! Just 1 last stitching day to go to finish this year’s advent!
Day 12 – The Small & Tiny Snowflakes
The final stitching day is here! 🎄🥹 We’ve made it! Now it’s time for the finishing touches - stitching all the remaining snowflakes ❄️ There are two different types to stitch, and both are nice and simple - perfect for this last day ❄️
🪡 Stitch all of the small and tiny snowflakes using 2 strands of thread 167.
Start by stitching the small snowflakes with a single Fly stitch on each longer spoke and a Straight stitch on the shorter spokes.
For the tiny snowflakes, use a Cross stitch.
✨ A Little Tip:
To avoid thread shadows showing through on the front, I tied off and started each snowflake anew. It does take a little extra time, but after all the work we’ve put in, I think it’s completely worth it 😊
So, with Day 12 stitched, that means it’s Christmas! 🎉 Now all that’s left is to turn our stitching into a beautiful hanging bauble 🎄
Finishing Your Embroidery in a 4” Display Hoop
If you used a heat erasable pen, give your embroidery a little pass with a hair dryer to remove any remaining pen marks that aren’t covered by stitching.
Place your embroidered fabric in the 4” display hoop, arrange it so the stitches reach the outer edges. Position the screw mechanism at the top of the design, and pull the fabric tight before fully tightening the hoop.
Trim away excess fabric from the edges of the hoop, leaving about 4cm around the hoop. Stitch a running stitch about 1cm in from the fabric edge, leaving an unknotted tail at the beginning and end. Pull the two tails to gather the fabric neatly, and tie a knot to secure it in place.
Take a look at this little video to see how I do this bit…
If you’re gifting your embroidery, you might want to glue or stitch a felt circle onto the back for a polished finish.
Thread a ribbon or cord through the top of your hoop and tie a knot to create a hanger. Your beautiful Advent bauble is now ready to display for Christmas!
Now all that’s left….
Stand back and admire your beautiful bauble! I really enjoyed stitching mine, and I hope you did too!
Please do share your progress and tag me on social media - I absolutely love seeing your stitching! 🥰
Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅
Until next time,
Liz x