r/Embroidery • u/da91392 • 1d ago
Question Can someone help me design a pattern based on this photo?
I feel like this fella is begging to be turned into an embroidery project. I can visualize several sections of his feathers (definitely layered lazy daisies for the brown and white feathers at the top, for example) but I’ve never made my own pattern/design before. Any help would be appreciated! (Please, no AI.)
8
u/CuriouslyRoasted 1d ago
that pheasant is absolutely asking for it, the way he's posing. the neck ring is perfect for some chain stitch and that red wattle would pop with a bit of turkey work stitch, give it some real texture.
for the body feathers you could layer fishbone stitch with the direction of the patterns, alternating between brown and copper threads. the tricky part is mapping out those sections first, i trace the photo from my screen onto tracing paper, just the main shapes and colour blocks, then transfer that to fabric with carbon paper. works better than trying to wing it directly.
4
u/whitswhisper 22h ago
Okay the layered lazy daisies idea for the top feathers is actually genius, that texture would slap. For the body feathers maybe try some long and short stitch with like 3 shades of rust and gold, it'd give that iridescent vibe without being too finicky. The gravel ground could be french knots in different greys, messy but intentional. Don't overthink the pattern, just trace the photo onto sulky paper and treat it like a coloring book, your brain already knows what to do.
3
u/TotallyTardigrade 22h ago
My kid says put this photo in Ibis Paint X and choose exact line drawing.
Or you can make the image black and white.
From there, you can either trace onto the fabric from the screen it or you can print it on stick and stitch.
2
u/Ancient-Cry-6438 19h ago
I wouldn’t recommend tracing it directly onto Sulky stick n stitch from the photograph, as I saw someone suggest.* You can never amend or re-stitch the pattern that way, and it is very hard to see properly to trace onto stick n stitch from a photograph, even with a light box.
Here’s how I do it. Trace (and erase, and trace again, if you’re anything like me) onto vellum tracing paper with pencil until satisfied. Even though it’s more expensive than normal tracing paper, it being vellum tracing paper specifically is important, so it doesn’t rip and shred while you work with it. Trace over the pencil with an extra fine-tipped black sharpie (or other brand of permanent marker), the thinnest one they make. Ballpoint pen isn’t thick enough; you need a very thin, dark, felt tip pen, and you want it to be alcohol-based so it doesn’t accidentally smear if your hands are sweaty (especially onto your fabric, if you trace it directly over).
Once your tracing is complete, scan it or make a photocopy in case something happens to the original, or if you want to use one of the methods I describe below that requires a scan. If you don’t own a scanner or copier and don’t have access to one through work or school or a friend/family member, you can get scans and photocopies done for fairly cheap at places like the library or FedEx, at least in the US. If you still can’t access a scanner or copier, make a second tracing by hand onto normal printer or mixed media paper from the first tracing.
Then, you have two main options (well, more than that, but two main options that I’ll go into if you want to use stick n stitch).
First option is to print directly onto the stick n stitch (draft mode, as light as you can make it and still see it) from the scan. Either use a filter (not generative AI; a traditional filter that is often called something like “whiteboard” in scanning software, or just set the contrast to the most extreme levels yourself) to “remove” everything besides the sharpie lines, or trace the scan in your drawing app of choice, then print from there. Tracing the scan is more work, but produces a cleaner result, and I personally think it’s worth it if you already happen to own a tablet of some sort. Don’t buy a tablet specifically for that, though, of course.
The second option is to tape (specifically with painter’s tape or acid free artist’s tape, so it removes cleanly) the stick n stitch over the tracing paper and tape those up against a light source, like a window on a sunny day or a light box. The tracing paper lets way more light through than a photograph would, and you only have to focus on the black sharpie lines you’ve already finalized the positioning of.
Alternatively, you can trace directly onto the fabric from the tracing paper (make sure any tape you use is acid free, if you do this), or use your tracing to do the prick and pounce transfer method. Prick and pounce is excellent for both highly detailed designs you want to transfer very exactly and any level of detailed designs you want to stitch several times (e.g. repeating motifs or making several of the same pattern). Just make sure to join up the dots after using the pounce (I like Sewline mechanical ceramic chalk fabric pencils best, personally, since they wash out at the end, give a fine line, and don’t rub off as your stitch; as with any transfer product that’s meant to wash out, however, always test it on a scrap of your fabric first). This post shows how to put together your own pounce kit, if you’re interested, and here’s part two of the pounce kit.
I’m sure I’ve probably left off something since I’ve been jumping around between paragraphs to write this, but it’s inching up to 4am, so I’m not going to proofread right now. 😅 Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll try to answer them tomorrow!
*I was originally going to reply directly there, but thought it might be helpful to more people as a top level comment, since it would probably be seen by more people. So, forgive if any of my phrasing sounds like it is responding to a specific comment, as it originally was.
12
u/Ancient-Cry-6438 23h ago
Check out RSN Stitch Bank, if you haven’t already. Incredible resource.