Heres the dolphin jumping over ocean waves and its got real japanese woodblock print energy. The dolphin arcs through the air mid-leap, body curved into a perfect bow shape with the tail trailing back. Top half of the body is a deep navy with that signature dorsal fin pointed up. Belly underneath shines silver white with soft directional shading along the ribcage so it reads sleek not flat. The eye is a small ink black dot, beak pointed downward. Behind the dolphin sits a circular wraparound wave done in the hokusai style. Concentric rings of soft aqua and deep ocean teal swirl inward, white foam crests curl off the wave tips like little finger-claws. The whole composition reads circular, the dolphin completes the loop with its arching body. I went with directional stitching on the wave rings so the water looks like its actually moving. Nine colours total, abit chunky for a marine piece but every shade earns its place.
I drew this design last summer for a customer whos digitising staff hoodies for a small surf school in cornwall. He wanted classic surf-art energy but with embroidery weight, something that reads bold across a chest panel. Real classy. Last month a coastal aquarium gift shop opened up nearby and the manager ordered the dolphin for staff visor pouches and merchandise tags. Another customer wrote me wanting three sizes for a coastal cottage gift hamper before the holiday rush hit.
Stitch on cream cotton, charcoal hoodie, navy sweatshirt, soft white tee. Pop the bigger 7 inch on a hoodie back panel or a tote. Pair the smaller 4 inch on a chest pocket. Skip patterned fabric because those swirling water concentrics need a clean ground to read. Run a denim apron pocket aswell, the navy and silver palette holds up great on indigo cloth.
Densest sections sit in the dolphin back fill and the inner wave swirl rings. Hoop firm with a heavy cutaway stabiliser. 62k stitches at the largest hoop size needs ya machine running calm so ease the rpm during the wave passes. industry tools did a clean job realising those concentric rings without skipping registration so the circles stay round.
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.
- Surf school staff hoodie backStitch the biggest 7 inch on the back of a charcoal hoodie and the navy dolphin reads sharp against dark cotton.
- Beach yoga canvas tote frontRun the medium chest on a sage canvas tote and the wave rings anchor a beach yoga goody bag set nicely.
- Coastal cottage cushion coverRun the 6 inch on a cream cushion cover for a coastal cottage sofa, the foam crests reading delicate in light.
- Charcoal sweatshirt chest panelDrop the 4 inch hoop on a navy sweatshirt chest panel and pair with the surf schools name in chain stitch beneath.
- Dive instructor zip pouchesEmbroider the small size on a denim zip pouch for dive instructors, gear bag identifiers in a uniform set.
- Cream cotton tee back graphicAdd the medium on a soft white cotton tee back panel as a quiet surf graphic without front-of-shirt branding.
- Marine charity shop merch totesUse the 5 in on canvas merch totes for a marine charity shop and stack as a market stall display run.
- Cornwall holiday gift hampersHoop the 7 inch on a cream linen pillow as part of a coastal cottage holiday hamper, neat and travel ready.
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.51 × 3.25 in | 24,491 |
| 4.01 × 3.71 in | 28,913 |
| 4.51 × 4.18 in | 32,360 |
| 5.01 × 4.64 in | 37,074 |
| 5.51 × 5.10 in | 41,524 |
| 6.01 × 5.57 in | 47,044 |
| 6.51 × 6.03 in | 51,666 |
| 7.01 × 6.49 in | 56,909 |
| 7.51 × 6.96 in | 62,469 |
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.
