Thirteen colours on a chicken is kinda ridiculous and I know that, but theres a reason for it, this design is supposed to look like it jumped off a kids book illustration and the only way to get that bright cartoon energy in thread is to commit to the full colour range. I digitised it in Wilcom with the colour sequence going from the largest body fill zones down to the smallest accent details, which is the standard approach but on 13 colours you really really need to label your bobbins before you start or youre gonna lose track halfway through. The comb and wattle reds are a lil tricky because theyre adjacent to the face yellow and the outline between them needs to be tidy.
Nine sizes from from a 3.5 to a 7.5 inches wide. Stitch range from 1,007 at the smallest to 45,740 running the 7.5 inch. Density 126 means its a solid stitch-out, plan for a longer run time on the larger sizes. Cutaway stabiliser on knit fabrics, tearaway on woven cotton or canvas. I dont usually recommend topping for cartoon designs on smooth fabrics but on any pique or textured knit a light water-soluble topping helps the colour blocks stay crisp. Use it on kids items especially, the topping washes away clean and leaves the design looking fresh.
I had a customer order this last february who runs a small chicken-themed homestead goods stall at a weekend market. She was doing the 4-inch size on linen tea towels and cotton aprons, all in the full 13-colour version, and she said customers were stopping just to look at them before she even mentioned theyre embroidered. Run the body fill first, the wing and tail accents second, and leave the comb, wattle, and eye details for last. Those small red and accent pieces stitch faster if they go last when the stabiliser is still held firm by all the previous stitching.
Pair this with a cream or pale sage background fabric and the 13 colours really pop, on white cotton it looks particularly sharp and clean. A light colour background lets every one of those 13 colours come through without any muddying.
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.
- Kids apron fun farm animal frontKids apron at 4 inches, cotton blend, cutaway, label your bobbins before the 13-colour sequence starts or youll lose track halfway through.
- Linen tea towel kitchen chicken motifLinen tea towel at 4.5 inches, tearaway on the woven base, the warm cartoon colours read vividly against natural linen without any muddying.
- Tote bag farmers market chicken designFarmers market canvas tote at 5 inches, tearaway on smooth canvas, comb the body fill and wing accents first and leave the face details last.
- Kids t-shirt cartoon chicken chestKids t-shirt chest at 4 inches, cutaway on jersey, topping on any pique knit so the colour blocks land clean and stay clean.
- Cotton zip pouch farm animal giftCotton zip pouch farm gift at 3.5 inches, tearaway on woven cotton, 13 colour stops feel manageable once youre actually at the machine.
- Homestead craft fair canvas badgeHomestead craft fair canvas badge, 4-inch, stitch on canvas squares and cut out after stitching for a clean hand-sew finish.
- Baby onesie cheerful farm friendBaby onesie at 3.5 inches, soft cutaway on knit, baby-safe poly thread, one of those designs thats genuinely cute even before you press it.
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.23 × 3.49 in | 19,165 |
| 3.69 × 4.00 in | 21,972 |
| 4.15 × 4.49 in | 24,915 |
| 4.61 × 5.00 in | 27,889 |
| 5.07 × 5.50 in | 31,255 |
| 5.53 × 6.00 in | 34,489 |
| 5.99 × 6.50 in | 38,223 |
| 6.45 × 7.00 in | 42,019 |
| 6.91 × 7.49 in | 45,740 |
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.
