In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to embroider a bird. This quaint little cardinal is a great design that you could add to a piece of clothing or include in a border or larger design!
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Supplies You’ll Need
- A small embroidery hoop
- Embroidery Needle
- Embroidery Thread – I recommend DMC
- Embroidery Scissors
- Water soluble or heat erasable pen
- Linen or cotton fabric – Kona cotton is my favorite
Marking the Fabric
I used heat erasable pen to hand draw directly on the fabric to create my bird. Draw a circle for the head and a long tapered shape for the body. Mark out where you’d like the beak and wing to be. Then add a little tail, legs, and branch to perch your bird on.
Each stitch is linked below if you are unsure or need a refresher on how to do it!
How To Embroider A Bird Step By Step
- Make horizontal satin stitches with 3 strands of black thread to fill in the face
- Make satin stitches using 6 strands of red to fill in the rest of the head. These stitches can be at a slight diagonal at the top of the head and horizontal along the side of the head.
- Make vertical satin stitches using 6 strands of red to fill in the body.
- Make stitches running the length of the wing using 6 strands of red.
- Fill in the tail with satin stitches using 6 strands of red floss. These stitches can run the length of the tail.
- Split stitch along the branch using 6 strands of brown.
- Add a French knot using 2 strands of red thread for the eye. Then add back stitches along the legs using 3 strands of black thread.
- Finally, fill in the beak with satin stitches using 3 strands of orange thread.
And there you have it! A simple cardinal. I hope this gave you an idea of how to embroider a bird. The best thing about this design is it is not only limited to a cardinal…you can stitch them in any color you’d like!
Looking for even more bird designs? Check out this post that features 15 different bird embroidery patterns.
More Mini Embroidery Tutorials
