This cat isnt just playing with yarn, its practically made of yarn. The whole design is a swirling circular composition where the cats body curls around to almost close in on itself, one front paw stretched out toward a round yarn ball in the centre. Surrounding the cat are these big ink-style flourishes, teardrop shapes and flowing curved strokes that blend with the actual fur. Honestly it looks more like a linocut print than a machine embroidery design until you see it stitched out.
The density on this one is genuinely high. At 905 density and 42,519 stitches on the 6.75-inch size, theres alot of thread going down. professional embroidery software digitised it with underlay that keeps everything locked flat so the surface doesnt bubble. The cats face, tucked in the upper right of the circle, has whisker lines, eye shading and ear definition all within a compact area. Customising the thread colour is easy since its single colour, you could run this in burgundy, navy or sage thread rather than black and the whole mood shifts completely.
Use cutaway stabiliser for every size, even the smaller 3-inch. The density is kinda high for tearaway to hold reliably without pulling at the edges. Hoop your fabric snug, especially on the bigger sizes. Add a layer of water-soluble topping on terry cloth or velvet if you want the swirling detail to sit cleanly on top. Avoid rushing the stitch speed on the first 8k stitches through the circular underlay.
I made this originally for a fiber artist friend last december who runs a yarn studio and wanted something for her shop totes. She uses the mid-size 5 on charcoal canvas bags and the swirling flourish shapes look brilliant against the dark ground. The 3-inch version fits a shirt pocket or small zipper pouch without losing the design character. Five sizes from 2.92 to 6.75 inches, one colour, no stops, and the file covers nine machine formats aswell. Reach out if you need advice on thread weight for the smaller sizes.
What people are using this design for
A starting point. The design works for plenty more than just this list, this is what folks have stitched it onto most.
- Yarn shop and fiber arts studio tote bagsStitch the 5-in centred on charcoal canvas tote for a yarn shop and the ink-style flourishes look brilliant on dark fabric.
- Knitting bag or project bag front panelEmbroider the mid-size on the front panel of a knitting project bag, perfect sizing for a standard canvas zip tote.
- Charcoal sweatshirt chest embroideryPop the 6-inch on a charcoal crewneck chest and the swirling composition reads like a print graphic from across the room.
- Zipper pouch for needles or scissorsUse the 3-inch size on a small zipper pouch for a knitter to keep scissors, tapestry needles and stitch markers.
- Cat-themed gift wrap muslin bagsSew the small size onto a muslin drawstring bag for gifting a skein of yarn, it lifts a basic bag into something keepsake-worthy.
- hoop-frame piece for a craft room wallHoop the large size in a 7-inch ring on oatmeal linen and hang it in a craft room as a cat-meets-fiber-arts wall piece.
- Denim jacket sleeve or cuff detailEmbroider the 3-inch chest on a denim jacket cuff for a subtle detail that fiber artists and cat people both notice.
- Cushion cover for a reading nook or craft studioCentre the 5-inch on a natural linen pillow panel for a reading chair in a home craft studio.
Dimensions
5 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 2.92 × 3.01 in | 16,735 |
| 3.89 × 4.01 in | 22,692 |
| 4.86 × 5.01 in | 28,860 |
| 5.73 × 5.91 in | 34,841 |
| 6.75 × 6.96 in | 42,519 |
Files & Formats
Eight machine formats included in one zip. Whichever your machine reads, its in the pack.
Plus a color chart for thread matching. See full format guide.
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About the artist
Reyazul Masud Riham, hand-drawing every design on this site
Every design on Re Embroidery is hand-digitized by one person. Each file gets sketched, color-matched, and stitch-tested on real fabric before it earns a place in the shop. No team. No auto-conversion from images. Just slow, deliberate work, sometimes three or four days per design.
That's the joy I work for.
The hard part is finding my designs re-uploaded and resold elsewhere. So when you buy from Re Embroidery, you're paying one real person for the file you're about to download. That matters.
