Colorful Macaw Parrot Embroidery Design, Instant Download

Pulled together this macaw design for people who want maximum colour impact in a compact piece. Its a scarlet macaw portrait, the bird most people picture when they think macaw, that vivid mix of red body, blue flight feathers, yellow shoulder patches and the white bare face patch around the big curved beak. The colouring is accurate to the actual bird, 14 thread colours total, density 1,138 which is one of the highest in the catalogue. Thats alot of colour changes but each one is worth it.

Stitch count goes from 18,937 on the 3 in run up to 31,367 on the 5.5 inch version. Only 3 sizes on this one. The density is what limits how small you can go while keeping the feather detail readable, so these 3 sizes are the sweet spot where the colour graduation in the wings actually shows properly. The feather fills use a combination of directional satin sections and underlay stitching to build up depth that makes each colour band look three dimensional. Im pretty happy with how it came out.

Hoop your fabric firmly and back with cutaway stabiliser. The density here means the fabric will pull significantly without solid backing. Cotton canvas, twill and heavy cotton are the right choices. Avoid thin cottons or any stretch fabric entirely. Dont rush the colour swaps, with 14 changes its easy to lose track and mis-thread.

I get steady orders from people doing tropical themed items. One customer last spring made a small run of canvas pouches with the macaw on the front for a parrot sanctuary fundraiser. Occured to me that bird people are genuinely passionate buyers, they want accurate detailed pieces and this delivers that. She said people wouldnt stop asking about them.

Try it stitched on navy or black fabric, the red and yellow really sing against dark backgrounds. Also works on white if you want the classic tropical bird poster look. Avoid pale pastels, the colours are strong enough to need a fabric with contrast behind em.