How To Embroider A Fish - Step By Step Tutorial -

In this tutorial, I’ll share with you how I like to embroider fish. Using a few basic stitches, you’ll be able to create beautiful color gradients and add delicate details!

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Fish Embroidery Tutorial

Supplies Needed

embroidery hoop or slate frame
embroidery floss – I like to pick a few different colors for the scales and fins
embroidery needle
fabric
traceable design to follow along – download here

I am using Valdani silk threads for this tutorial. If you’ve never embroidered with silk before, it’s a lovely experience. This floss is slightly variegated which adds a nice extra pop of color. However, any stranded cotton floss will work just fine too.

How To Embroider A Fish Step By Step

A Few Things Before Starting

You can use whatever colors you’d like for this embroidery. For my fish, I decided to use red, orange, and 2 shades of blue floss.
We’ll be using the long and short stitch quite a bit to help blend the colors together.
If you decide to use different colors, it looks best to pick 2 colors that go well together for the body and the fins. Then pick 2 shades of a contrasting color for the eye.
I’ll be adding small details and blending colors together, so I’m using 1 strand of floss at a time in this example.

how to embroider a fish step by step part 1

Transfer the design to the fabric using a removable marker or pen.
Make vertical long and short stitches with dark red floss along the bottom 1/3 of the fish’s body.
Begin making long and short stitches with the orange floss, overlapping into the darker stitches to blend the colors together.
Continue making rows of these stitches until the entire body of the fish is filled in.
Make horizontal satin stitches using light blue to fill in the eye.
Split stitch around the outside edge of the eye with dark blue. Then add a few stitches in the center of the eye.

how to embroider a fish step by step part 2

Make some long and short stitches along the top fin with orange floss.
Fill in the back fin with long and short stitches, first using dark red, then orange floss.
Fill in the bottom fins with long and short stitches using dark red floss.
Add a few long and short stitches beside the eye to add another little fin.
Add some highlights to the middle of the orange area. Using an off-white color, make long and short stitches.

And there you have it! A little fish!