Here is the subject for my embroidered portrait, Button. You can’t tell from this photo but Button is only about 8 pounds. He is a little guy.
This is the drawing I’ll base the portrait on. The image has been made a bit more graphic and with embroidery in mind, such as the shading is done with dots. Not everyone would approach a portrait like I do. Another technique is a embroidered painting. A embroidered painting is created by filling the whole image using embroidery floss as your “paint”. Or, you could make the image more graphic, heavily stylized or even flat. For me the challenge is to create a a portrait that captures the subject. I don’t want a image that is a picture of a terrier mix but a portrait of Button.
I Think a lot about how I want this piece to look as I make the drawing. I constantly ask myself, ” How will I represent the hair?” or, “How will I add the deepth, from light to dark, to this piece?”. I have certain techiques I use, such as outlining, dotted shading, and flat filling stitches and I try to keep them all in mind.
Above is my finished pattern. Even though it is pretty detailed it is still just for reference. As I stitch the design I am free to make changes.
Compare the photo, drawing, and the pattern. You’ll be able to see the differences. I try not make an exact copy of the original photograph, but my own personal interpretation. I’ve added flowers to this piece which will add color and I just like stitching flowers.
Here is some other embroidered dog portraits:
Berlin Embroidery Designs
Mr. X Stitch
William Schaff
