How to Design Dog Embroidery

Designing hand embroidery patterns is an easy and fun way to add a personal touch to garments, handbags, tea towels or home accessories. Show your love of dogs by making your own dog embroidery patterns. While you can find commercially produced dog embroideries or use a coloring book to make a dog embroidery pattern, using a photo of your dog will create a meaningful piece of embroidery.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sharpened pencil Tracing paper, carbon paper, or pattern transfer paper Good photo of your dog, preferably with high contrast Photo editing software, like Photoshop, GIMP or Photoshop Elements (optional)

How to Design Dog Embroidery

1. Start with a photograph. You may find that you have a photo with a clear view of your dog and strong contrast available. If so, no additional work will be needed. If not, use a good photo of your dog or your choice for a dog embroidery pattern and increase the contrast using photo editing software. You may also use photo editing software to change the size of your image to the size you want your final dog embroidery. Print out your altered photo.

2. Trace the dog in your photo using tracing paper and a sharp pencil. If you wish to replicate other details of the photograph, trace those as well. If not, add in background elements you prefer from other embroidery patterns, freehand drawings or coloring book pages.

3. Place carbon paper or dressmaker's transfer paper over the item you will be embroidering on. Put your newly created dog embroidery pattern over the top of this and trace over it using a sharp pencil. The image will transfer through the carbon or transfer paper and onto your fabric. If you are working with a fabric that will not take a transfer well, such a dark colored fabric, a knit or a fabric with some texture, simply pin your tracing paper directly to the fabric and embroider your dog embroidery through both layers (see References 1).

4. Choose colors for your dog embroidery. Choose a bright color and do not worry about a realistic look if you want a retro and whimsical dog embroidery pattern. If you are trying to replicate the actual appearance of a dog in your dog embroidery, select a range of shades of embroidery floss. Try using one strand each of two different colors and working in satin stitch to fill in your dogs fur.

5. Lay out the stitches for you dog embroideries. If you are aiming for a simple or playful look, opt for outline, chain and back stitches. Accent these with lazy daisies and French Knots. A more realistic dog embroidery will rely on satin stitches, arranged in the direction the dog's fur would grow (see References 2).