17 Im-peck-able Bird Embroidery Patterns

ByAmanda Updated on

There is just something about birds that I find amusing and interesting, and, seeing as you came to this post, you find them pretty cool too. I have so many photos on my phone of random birds I have encountered out in the wild: owls, crows, woodpeckers, and more. They seem to come visit me a lot, or maybe I just notice them more than usual. Naturally, I have made quite a few bird embroidery patterns, and I have also enjoyed scouring the internet for some really fun and unique looking designs! Some of these patterns are purchasable and a couple of them are free. I also included some fun facts…hope you enjoy!

Bird Hand Embroidery Designs

Pigeon Embroidery Designs

Pigeons tend to get a bit of a bad wrap, but they have interesting history. Did you know that the wild rock dove, which is the bird that was selectively bred to make domesticated homing pigeons, uses magnetoreception (sensing/detecting the earths magnetic field) to fly home? I was curious how it worked for them to end up in a particular location and how accurate they were. They can apparently be trained by placing their food in one location and home in another. Probably easier said then done, but still interesting nonetheless!

Sadly, passenger pigeons, which were wild pigeons, went extinct over 100 years ago. The very last one known to be alive was a 29 year old bird named Martha. 🥺

This pattern uses the technique of thread painting create a semi-realistic pigeon. It’s available for purchase here at crewelghoul.com.

Parrot Hand Embroidery Designs

We all know parrots can talk, but did you know that the sounds they make are actually from the muscles in their throat and not vocal cords like us humans have?

Lovebirds

The Lovebirds Pattern by Jess Long Embroidery is a beginner friendly pattern featuring two colorful parrots. Like the example photo of the pattern, this design would look great on darker fabric to make the colors really pop.

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Anatomical Macaw

This next pattern is another beginner friendly pattern that features a colorful Macaw by KF Needlework Design. The design is a bit more minimalistic and is made up of beautiful linework. I could see this pattern being a good weekend project if you’re looking for something to keep you occupied but not for too long!

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Rooster Embroidery Patterns

With their vibrant, beautiful feathers, roosters crow all day despite the common misconception that they only crow at dawn.

Rooster / Cockerel Pattern

This pattern by Chloe Redfern uses back stitch and straight stitch in various directions and patterns to create gorgeous textures in the feathers of the rooster.

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Little Rooster PDF Pattern

Stitched on sage green background fabric, this rooster pattern by Amanda Barnes is another beautiful one. It’s comb is made up of little beads!

Purchase On Etsy

Chickens

Chickens reportedly have great memories and they even dream when they sleep. They also have a phase in their sleep where half of their brain is awake and the other asleep!

Fat Feathered Chickens

This fun cottagecore style embroidery pattern by Bustle and Sew uses a few basic stitches and beads for the chicken’s feed.

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Stitch this semi-realistic embroidery of some hens at feeding time. The texture of their feathers is such a joy to stitch.

Hummingbird Embroidery Patterns

Hummingbirds apparently have no sense of smell, but they are attracted to the vibrant colors of flowers!

Citrus Hummingbird

This pattern by Magnus and Quill features a hovering hummingbird among some orange slices, most likely attracted to their vibrant color! It includes an introduction for beginners as well as YouTube videos for instruction.

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Beachy Hummingbird

This design by Maggie Jo’s Studio includes a pastel color palette, tropical flowers and a vibrant green hummingbird.

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Owls

Owls can’t turn their heads around the entire way, but they can rotate them an impressive 270 degrees.

Barn Owl Thread Painting Pattern

This gorgeous white barn owl is a needle painting pattern that’s available here at Crewel Ghoul. This pattern is over 20 pages long and walks you stitch by stitch through completing this impressive design.

Geese

Garden Geese

Another fabulous embroidery pattern by Magnus and Quill, this step by step beginner pattern features 2 white geese surrounded by flowers, bees, and a cute red wagon.

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Ducks

Ducks are social creatures. They usually live near other ducks and form groups, partly to help keep themselves safe, but I’d like to imagine they enjoy the companionship as well.

Darling Duck Embroidery

A linework duck wearing an adorable woven hat with flowers and a bow. What more could you want in this embroidery design by Stitching Sabbatical?

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Songbirds

Blue Jay

This pattern by FaimyxStitch is a beautiful thread painting pattern that features a blue jay bird on a snowy branch with a few leaves surrounding it. The pattern is 45 pages long with highly detailed instructions, perfect for anyone wanting to try their hand at this technique.

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Japanese White Eye

The unique coloring with hints of yellow and green are delightful to stitch. This Japanese white-eye bird is perched on a blossoming branch. The pattern is for a 6 inch embroidery hoop and is available for purchase here on the blog.

Crows

This spooky embroidery pattern features a crow perched on a gravestone. It uses the thread painting technique to create beautiful feathers with a dark blue sheen.

Free Patterns

Free Cardinal Embroidery Design

This tutorial is a free one here on the blog. It’s a very small embroidery design, but you could take inspiration from it and add into a larger embroidery or make the design bigger! Check out how to embroider a cardinal.

Swan Embroidery Design

Another small design, this swan uses a handful of stitches and is super simple to make. Learn how to make it in the tutorial.

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