This cardinal portrait is not the stiff symmetrical bird-on-a-branch type. Its a close-up bust shot of the male bird with its crest fully raised and the feathers around the head and throat ruffled outward in loose overlapping layers. The eye is sharp and alive. The beak is that distinctive orange-yellow, solid and chunky. The tail and wing feathers trail off loosely at a downward angle like the bird just landed and hasnt settled yet.
Ten colours make up this portrait and the professional digitising tools digitising does something genuinely nice here. The feather strokes are done with directional satin work where each individual feather area has its angle shifted slightly from its neighbour, which is what gives the plumage that painterly layered depth. The scarlet red body merges into darker crimson at the feather edges, the grey wing patches sit against the red with a blue tone that keeps them readable, and a few warm orange-brown streaks run through the tail section.
I sell a lot of these to bird watchers, which surprised me a bit at first but makes complete sense when you think about it. One customer last november ordered 9 different bird designs for a set of linen kitchen towels she was making as gifts, and the cardinal was the first one she stitched. She said it looked like a proper illustration. Comma splice aside, that was nice to hear.
Back with heavyweight cutaway on any stretch or softly woven fabric, the feather detail areas are dense at 47k stitches on the 7.49-inch and need a firm base. Tearaway works on tight woven cotton and canvas at the smaller sizes. Skip patterned fabric because the colour palette is busy enough on its own and competing background prints lose the detail. Place it on plain cream or white or charcoal for the best read. Try the 5-inch on a natural linen tea towel corner and it looks like a piece from an art print shop. Hoop the larger size firmly before starting because that loose feather spray at the lower right needs the outer edges pulled taut.
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.
- Linen kitchen towel corner or borderKitchen towel corner at the 5-inch on natural linen, a customer ordered 9 different bird designs for a gift towel set and said the cardinal was the first one she stitched.
- Birdwatcher tote bag or canvas carryallBirdwatcher tote at the 7-inch on cream canvas, the loose feather detail at the large size looks like a proper painted illustration rather than embroidery.
- Framed wildlife hoop artWildlife gallery wall, hoop the 5-inch on white cotton in an 8-inch frame and hang it alongside other bird portraits for a nature print collection.
- Denim or canvas jacket chest panelDenim jacket chest panel at the 6-inch, the scarlet red against indigo denim is one of those combinations that just works without any styling effort.
- Nature journal cover or notebook embroideryCanvas journal cover at the medium size for a nature-themed personalised gift, stitched on the front cover it looks like something from an art stationery shop.
- Cotton cushion cover for nature themeCharcoal cushion cover centred at the 5-inch for a study or reading room with a nature aesthetic, the red cardinal against dark grey is a strong pairing.
- Wildlife-themed nursery wall pieceBaby quilt panel at the 3.5 small build as part of a nature or bird theme, the bird portrait scale works well alongside botanical motifs on a quilt block layout.
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.46 × 2.30 in | 17,953 |
| 3.99 × 2.62 in | 21,279 |
| 4.48 × 2.95 in | 24,613 |
| 4.97 × 3.28 in | 28,176 |
| 5.49 × 3.60 in | 31,783 |
| 5.96 × 3.94 in | 35,408 |
| 6.48 × 4.27 in | 39,205 |
| 6.98 × 4.60 in | 42,885 |
| 7.49 × 4.92 in | 47,048 |
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.
