Its a traditional old-school anchor, the type that looks like it came off a 1950s navy tattoo design: thick black fill, round shank ring, crossbar, and two curved flukes at the bottom. Wrapped around it from the ring all the way down is a strand of Christmas light bulbs, the old-fashioned teardrop-shaped kind, strung loosely the way actual fairy lights would drape. The bulbs alternate between red, teal and orange with a small white highlight on each to suggest the glass catching light. One customer ordered this last year from people who live on the coast or work on the water, and its one of the designs that doesnt feel like a generic Christmas thing.
5 thread colours total: black for the main anchor shape, red, orange and teal for the bulbs, and white for the highlights. The fill density in the anchor runs around 542, which is fairly dense, so use a medium-weight cutaway stabiliser on woven fabrics and a firm tearaway on canvas. Hoop it snug so the anchor outline stays crisp. The bulb highlights are satin stitches, tiny but they read well even at the 3.5 small. Runs taller than wide, so it suits a shirt chest or a tall bag panel better than a cap.
Stitch it on the front of a navy sweatshirt at 4 or 5 inches, Hoop it on a chambray pouch for a coastal Christmas gift, or put it on a stocking for someone who spends their summers on the water. Skip pale or light cream fabrics, the black anchor needs contrast to read properly. Comes in 4 sizes, largest at 6.5 inches tall.
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.
- Coastal and nautical themed Christmas giftsGets bought a lot for gifts aimed at sailors, fishermen or anyone who spends summers on the water and wants a Christmas design that fits their actual life
- Holiday sweatshirts and tees for people who live near the oceanAt 4 or 5 inches on a navy or dark teal sweatshirt the black anchor disappears into the fabric and the coloured lights become the hero, which is a nice effect
- Boat cushions and cabin decor for the festive seasonStitch it on a canvas boat cushion cover using a heavy stabiliser under the fabric, the dense black fill needs support
- Christmas stockings with a nautical or fishing themeOn a wide-cut Christmas stocking it sits nicely centered in the main panel at the 5 or 6 inch size
- Tote bags and canvas shopping bags for coastal marketsA natural canvas tote with this centered on the front is about the most useful coastal Christmas gift you can make
- Aprons for a seafood or coastal restaurant during the holidaysAt 6.5 inches it fills a large apron bib area well, good for a coastal cafe or fish shop doing holiday branding
- Kids Christmas items for a family with a boating backgroundKids love the anchor-plus-fairy-lights combo, stitch the 3 in mini on a zip jacket chest for a holiday kids look
Dimensions
4 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.51 × 2.75 in | 8,532 |
| 4.51 × 3.53 in | 11,374 |
| 5.51 × 4.31 in | 14,553 |
| 6.51 × 5.10 in | 18,011 |
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.
