Guide · design your own
You can picture exactly what you want to stitch, but you can’t find a pattern for it, and you’re not sure how to turn a sketch into something you can follow with a needle.
Here is how to design a hand embroidery pattern yourself, step by step: drawing it, choosing stitches and colors, writing a key, and what every good pattern includes.
Sketch it, or trace a photo, a drawing or a plant you have pressed. Work at the size you will stitch: draw a circle the size of your hoop’s inside and keep the design within it.
Ink over the lines that matter and drop the rest. Every line should be an edge you will stitch to: the boundary of a color, a petal, a stem. Tiny details under a few millimeters are hard to stitch, so merge or leave them out.
Fills get satin or long and short stitch, lines get backstitch or stem stitch, petals can be lazy daisies and dots French knots. Mark the stitch and the direction you want inside each shape.
Choose floss by holding skeins against your drawing, number each color, and label every shape with its number and stitch. Note the strands, too.
Trace it on a light box, or redraw it mirrored for an iron-on pen, or print onto stick-and-stitch stabilizer. See how to transfer an embroidery pattern to fabric.
| Part of the design | Good stitch | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wide areas, shading | [Long and short stitch](/embroidery/stitches/long-and-short-stitch) | Blends shades and covers big areas without long loose stitches |
| Small, smooth shapes | [Satin stitch](/embroidery/stitches/satin-stitch) | Glossy, solid fill; keep stitches under about 1 cm (3/8 in) |
| Outlines, lettering | [Backstitch](/embroidery/stitches/backstitch) | Crisp, even line that follows curves when stitches are short |
| Stems, curving lines | Stem stitch | Rope-like line that bends smoothly |
| Small petals, leaves | [Lazy daisy](/embroidery/stitches/lazy-daisy) | One loop makes a whole petal |
| Dots, centers, eyes | [French knot](/embroidery/stitches/french-knot) | Raised texture in one stitch |
The [embroidery stitches guide](/embroidery/stitches) has a numbered diagram for each.
If your idea starts as a photo or a child’s drawing, you can skip the drafting. Make a hand embroidery pattern from your photo: pick a frame and a size from 2 to 7 inches, and the generator simplifies the colors to real threads, splits the picture into shapes and chooses a stitch and direction for each one.
Then make it yours in the editor: change any stitch, turn a direction, recolor, split or merge shapes, add outlines or draw your own backstitch lines. It is free to design and preview, and the PDF has everything a hand-drawn pattern would, worked out for you.
Every thread by brand and number, with the strands to use and enough skeins to finish. A numbered key keeps similar shades apart.
Each shape labeled with its stitch so nothing is left to guess, plus how to work any stitch the stitcher may not know.
Arrows or ticks showing the angle for each fill. Direction is what makes satin gleam and long and short look natural.
Back to front: big fills first, then smaller fills, raised stitches and knots, line stitches and outlines last.
Line art printed at the finished size with a ruler to check the scale, and a mirrored copy if the stitcher uses an iron-on pen.
Every StitchThis embroidery pattern includes all five, along with fabric, hoop and needle sizes. If you prefer a different floss brand than the one you designed with, the floss converter finds the closest match.
Trace the drawing at the size you want to stitch, simplify it to clear outlines, choose a stitch and color for each area and write a key. Or upload it to the embroidery pattern generator and it does those steps for you.
Paper, a pencil and a fine pen, a ruler or compass for the hoop outline, your floss to pick colors, and a way to transfer the design, such as a light box and a water-soluble pen.
Yes. Print the photo at the size you want, trace only the main shapes and edges, then simplify the colors. How to embroider a photo walks through it.
Small enough to fit inside your hoop with room around it. Leave at least 2 inches of fabric beyond the design on every side so it can be hooped and framed.
Trace it on a light box or bright window, use an iron-on transfer pen with a mirrored copy, or print onto stick-and-stitch stabilizer. The transfer guide explains each.
Yes, for any fill bigger than a few millimeters. A few light lines or arrows inside each shape keep satin and long and short stitches at the angle that catches the light the way you planned.
Making and editing a pattern is free with a StitchThis account. Saving it or downloading the PDF uses a pattern credit ($5.99 per pattern, or 5 for $20). Embroidery is included in Maker ($5.99/month) and in Craft Unlimited, with unlimited patterns.
