Swan Embroidery Tutorial

It’s no surprise why swans are commonly the inspiration for stories and fairytales. Their elegance and grace make them seem almost magical. In this swan embroidery tutorial, I’ll guide you through the process of creating a small and simple yet beautiful design. Regardless of your experience, you will find this tutorial easy to follow and fun to create. So grab your needle and thread, and let’s get started on an embroidery that would make even the most enchanting fairy tale jealous!

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Supplies Needed

• A small embroidery hoop
• Embroidery Needle
• Embroidery Thread – I recommend DMC
• Embroidery Scissors
• Water soluble or heat erasable pen
• Linen or cotton fabric – I’m using this beautiful hand dyed fabric by Stuart Moore’s Textiles

Embroidery Design

Below is a PDF of the swan design I used. You can download it, size it to your liking, and print it out so you can transfer it onto the fabric before you get started.

Swan Embroidery Tutorial

• Start at the top of the head and work your way down the neck
• Make split stitches using 4 strands of white thread. Continue making rows along the neck until it’s filled in.
• Fill in the area from the base of the beak with satin stitches using 2 strands of black embroidery floss.
• Fill in the beak by making satin stitches along the length of the beak using 3 strands of orange floss.

• Starting at the tail, make satin stitches using 4 strands of white embroidery floss.
• Next, start to fill in the feathers above the tail using white and making more satin stitches.
• Fill in the next row of feathers the same say. These stitches should end directly beside the other feathers you stitched and not overlap into them so you can slightly see a crease that forms between them.

• Split stitch along the middle of the wings using 4 strands of white floss
• Make diagonal satin stitches along the back wing and overlap these stitches on top of the split stitches.
• Then begin filling in the rest of the other wing with horizontal long and short stitches, again overlapping on top of the split stitches. Continue until the entire wing is filled in.

• Add a few straight stitches underneath the swan to look like water, and you’re done!

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial. Maybe you can use this in a larger design or make it larger and add in even more detail into it!

And if you’re interested in even more mini embroidery tutorials, check out this page.