It was my Dad’s birthday at the start of the month, and he is so difficult to buy for. Instead of buying him something he doesn’t want or need, I decided to stitch a picture of our bunny Archie for him. It was a time-consuming project but not a difficult one. If you like the idea you could follow these steps to make an embroidered picture of anything – but pictures of pets are the best!
I looked for some embroidery inspiration online and most patterns used solid stitching for the whole picture. I prefer embroidery that looks more like a drawing than a painting (if that makes sense!), so I stitched most of Archie using the spaced out stitches that you can see. I think it makes him look fluffy, and this method is much quicker! I just did some occasional solid stitching to emphasise his features.
You will need:
Linen
Embroidery Hoop
Embroidery Needle
Embroidery Floss ( I used black, white, light grey, dark grey, light orange and dark orange. It’s nice to have some different shades of the same colour.)
Scissors
Paper
Pencil
Step 1: Sketch out your design onto paper. Then put your linen in the embroidery hoop and pull tight (if you’re new to embroidery, check out these embroidery basics by Wild Olive for help!) Transfer your pattern onto the linen.
Step 2: Start filling in the pattern using these randomly spaced stitches. I made sure my stitches went in the same direction as Archie’s fur. I overlapped the colours a little and made sure the stitches were shorter where his fur is shorter.
Step 3: Fill in prominent features with solid stitching! Archie’s eye, nose, the inside of his ears, and his tail are all filled in with solid stitching. I also stitched a line around his four feet, his ears and his nose for emphasis.
Step 4: Add some tone! At this point, I used my dark grey and dark orange floss to bring the picture alive. Right at the end, I also stitched his whiskers.
Step 5: Cut the linen an inch or two away from the embroidery hoop, and glue to the back of the hoop (I used my glue gun for this.) This way, the embroidery hoop becomes the frame for the picture.
What do you think? Have you ever stitched a picture?
Thanks for leaving such a darling comment on my blog!
You are so talented and your bunny turned out so absolutely cute! Just bookmarked this…
Have the best day ever,
-Kati
This is *excellent*!! What a great gift and it turned out to be so adorable. The shading you gave it with stitching is really impressive.
Congrats with your dad, you made him a super cool gift!
You’re so clever Jess! This is inspired!
XX
Great gift, Archie looks so cute.
such a sweet gift! xx
What a thoughtful idea! I love this – must have been a lot of fun to embroider too, I haven’t crafted in so long -you’ve definitely inspired me to start making more things!
What a nice idea–your father with like this better than anything you could’ve purchased! That’s a cute bunny!
this is so cool! you are so cool!
so it’s a good choice when MCR decided to break up when they are still legendary.
i think the altenative rock era – the era we grow up with, is no longer in favour anymore
What a beautiful gift! I love it! <3
Diana
http://www.ManhattanImageandStyle.com
New Blog Post: 7 Ways to Spice Up Your Look
what a lovely rabbit and you are so creative
How adorable & cute is this! <3 I love it
I used to embroid some stuff too, but it seems like it was ages ago! <3
http://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/
♥
This is so lovely! You’re a talented stitcher! I hope your dad loved it!
-Becca
Ladyface Blog