One colour, all black, and the whole stitch design works because of the shape. Its one of those things that sounds too simple until you see it finished. The hair takes up most of the frame, a huge cloud of tight spiral curls fanning out from crown to shoulders. Round glasses sit square on her face, the lens area filled with a slightly lighter crosshatch fill that reads as a glass-reflection effect in thread. The collar line is a clean minimal outline so the hair and face do all the heavy lifting.
The curl detail is really the thing. Each spiral is a small coiled stitch path running in a different direction to its neighbour, so the whole dark mass of hair reads as textured and three-dimensional even though it is a single black thread colour. The shoulders use a dense crosshatch fill to push them back into shadow, which lifts the face and glasses forward visually. The stitch direction alone creates value contrast where most designs would use colour changes, and thats an impressive bit of digitising work on a single-colour piece.
Stitch range runs from just over 15,000 on the small end up to 40,443 on the full nine-sizes largest. Use a medium to heavy cutaway stabiliser and hoop a woven cotton or denim rather than knit fabric. Dense tatami fills on a stretchy base will pull the fabric inward and distort the curl outline. Dont hoop knit or jersey without a firm cutaway backer. Slow your machine speed on the curl section if yours tends to run hot, and use a fresh sharp needle to keep the dense fill clean. A customer who wore the sweatshirt version to a craft fair last autumn said strangers kept stopping to ask what the portrait was.
Pick a light or mid-tone background so black reads clearly. Pale cream, natural canvas, slate blue, dusty pink or a warm burnt orange all work. Skip black or very dark fabric, the black thread simply wont read against a dark surface. Single colour means zero thread changes and its a straightforward stitching session once the machine starts running.
Nine sizes, from a small 3 inch tall version up to the full 7.5 inch wide panel size. Use the contact page if anything stitches out of line and the stitch file will get checked over.
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.
- Tote bags for natural hair community marketsStitch the 6-in size on a cream cotton tote and sell or gift it at natural hair markets or locs events where the portrait resonates immediately
- Denim jacket back panel portraitPlace the largest size centred on a denim ranch jacket back, the black thread on indigo denim reads as a proper screen-print-style panel without any ink
- Pillow cover for a vanity room or beauty studioPut the medium size on a white or blush pillow cover for a vanity or dressing table corner, it reads as intentional decor rather than craft
- Sweatshirt chest graphic for Black-owned brand merchandiseUse on fleece or French terry sweatshirts for a small brand selling Black beauty or haircare merchandise, single colour means low production complexity
- Framed hoop art as a bedroom wall pieceStitch on natural linen in a 10-inch hoop and frame it, the graphic weight of the portrait holds up as standalone wall art in a bedroom or studio
- Canvas apron for a hair salon or beauty schoolEmbroider on the front chest pocket of a canvas apron for a hairstylist or cosmetology student as a personalised uniform detail
- Book bag front panel for teen or college studentSew onto the front panel of a canvas book bag for a teenager or college student who wants something bolder than a logo
- Tee shirt design for a natural hair care brandRun on white or pale grey tees for a natural hair brand capsule collection, the clean silhouette works across sizes without losing clarity
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.51 × 3.00 in | 15,649 |
| 4.01 × 3.42 in | 16,379 |
| 4.51 × 3.85 in | 20,768 |
| 5.01 × 4.27 in | 23,684 |
| 5.51 × 4.70 in | 26,687 |
| 6.01 × 5.13 in | 29,906 |
| 6.51 × 5.55 in | 33,306 |
| 7.01 × 5.98 in | 36,751 |
| 7.51 × 6.41 in | 40,443 |
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.
