Elegant Bee Gnome Embroidery Design, Machine Embroidery Pattern, Instant Download

A lady from Missouri sent me a photo last spring after stitching this on a linen apron for her mum and honestly it made my week. The gnome is dressed head-to-toe like a bumblebee, yellow and black diagonal stripes wrapping around his round little body, tall golden hat flopped over to one side, and three actual bees orbiting him mid-air. Thats the thing that makes this one special, its not just a gnome holding a bee prop or standing next to a hive. Hes wearing the costume, fluffy grey beard spilling out from under a big peach button nose, feet planted like he owns the garden. The satin fill on that hat is gorgeous, smooth directional stitching that catches light different depending on the angle, and the tatami underlay on the body stripes keeps everything from pulling on looser weaves like cotton jersey.

At the 5 inch size this sits perfectly centred on a canvas tote or the front panel of a zip pouch. The largest at 7 inch is dense, 42,000 stitches at that scale, so use a cutaway stabiliser and dont skip the topping on terry cloth or it'll sink into the loops. Im especially happy with how the three bees turned out, each one a tiny satin-wing piece with black antenna accents that hold their shape even on denim. Stitch this on cream linen for a spring table runner, or pop it on a charcoal fleece for someone who just likes bees in general. Skip light-coloured topping on the white beard area, it actually reads cleaner without it. Pair a bobbin thread match with the background fabric and the density blends in without any stray jump stitch showing through on the front.

Flag me down if your thread keeps breaking on the dense bits.