Worked this up from an art nouveau reference. The woman's silhouette is rendered simply, a refined face in profile, hair swept up, and then the feathers take over the top third of the composition. They fan outward in a wide arc, each one drawn with long satin columns that shade from dark at the base to light at the tip. Thats the part that makes this feel different from a standard portrait, the feathers read like real feathers in thread form, with that natural vane-and-barb texture the stitching creates.
Six colours and a light density of 468, which keeps the thread flat without that stiff boardy feel you'll get from over-dense digitising. Smallest hoop is 7,961 stitches at 3.5 inches, topping out at 23,717 at the 7-in cap. Each feather plume uses a split-fill with a running-stitch spine down the quill centre, so the individual shapes stay clean even at 3.5 inches. Skin tone comes from peach and warm sand layered in a low-density topstitch, not a solid fill, so it lays soft and doesnt bulk the face section.
Last autumn a customer wanted a fashion portrait for satin pochettes she was making as market stock. She told me she needed something that felt like a collectors illustration rather than a novelty. This one was her pick and she came back requesting 3 different colourways as custom orders off the back of it. Hoop the medium size on champagne satin and you can see exactly why it worked for her.
Use cream, ivory, or champagne satin for the full art nouveau effect. Its also strong on matte black fabric where the ivory thread has maximum contrast. Run a water-soluble topping and a cutaway stabiliser underneath for silk or organza. Slow the machine on the feather sections and keep your bobbin tension consistent throughout. Skip heavy fabrics like denim or canvas, theyre too stiff for the delicate plume detail at smaller sizes.
9 sizes running 3.5 inch at smallest, 7.5 at biggest, all 8 machine formats in the file. And if you hit trouble with a size just drop me a line.
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.
- luxury satin pouch or pochette embroideryStitch the 5 in on a cream satin pochette and it reads like a collectors illustration, not craft-shop merch
- art nouveau wall hoop for bedroom or studioRun the 7.5-inch on ivory dupion or matte linen and frame it as wall art for a bedroom or dressing room
- fashion boutique tote or packaging pieceGrab the 4-inch for a boutique gift bag and stitch onto the front panel in champagne thread on black fabric
- evening bag or clutch personalisationEmbroider the medium size on a satin evening clutch for a bridal party member as a wedding-day gift
- bridal getting-ready robe or sash designPut the 3.5-in centre on a silk robe lapel for a bridal getting-ready set with a monogram or name alongside
- black fabric cushion cover for a dramatic interiorRun the 6-inch in ivory on a black cushion cover for a dramatic living room piece that reads from across the room
- small batch artisan market fashion accessoryHoop the small size on a handmade accessory for artisan market stock and it stands out in any fashion display
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.50 × 3.15 in | 7,961 |
| 4.00 × 3.60 in | 9,496 |
| 4.50 × 4.05 in | 11,168 |
| 5.00 × 4.50 in | 12,961 |
| 5.50 × 4.95 in | 14,897 |
| 6.00 × 5.40 in | 16,890 |
| 6.50 × 5.85 in | 19,071 |
| 7.00 × 6.30 in | 21,365 |
| 7.50 × 6.75 in | 23,717 |
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.
