Knocked this one out for anyone with a friend who has the office mug collection, this ostrich is them before 9am, and theyll know it immediately. Its a tight close-up portrait, just the face, the ridiculous spiky head plumage, a bit of grey neck, and a pair of thick black rectangular glasses sitting right on the beak. The expression is completely flat. Not angry exactly, just done. Done with everything.
The feather texture is whats interesting from a stitching perspective. Each individual strand of head plumage runs in a long loose radiating fill so the feathers actually fan out from the crown the way real ostrich plumage does, wild and going in slightly different directions rather than a uniform blob of orange. Thirteen colours sounds like alot but half of them are variations of the warm amber-orange range used to build that feather depth. Ive had customers tell me they didnt realise how many colour changes they ran because the transitions blend so naturally.
The eyes behind the glasses are their own small challenge, concentric fill rings in blue and brown with a warm amber iris, then the thick black frames sitting in front of them. Beak is a solid satin fill in orange with a darker underside so it reads as three dimensional. At 22k stitches on the 7.5-in run, density sits at a light 425 stitches per square inch, so this stitches out quicker than youd expect for thirteen colours. Run it last autumn on a canvas tote as a test and the whole thing was done in under forty minutes on a mid-range home machine.
Use a medium tearaway on woven fabric, or cutaway on anything stretchy. Avoid fluffy pile fabrics, the long feather fills need a firm base to sit flat. Works on denim, canvas, felt, or a smooth sweatshirt fleece. Pop the face on a tote, stitch it on a hat, add it to a tea towel if you want your kitchen to have some personality. Text me if those long radiating feather fills are sinking into your fabric pile and Ill tell you exactly which topping weight sorts it out.
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.
- Funny tote bag for a bird lover or colleague with a deadpan sense of humourStitch the 5-inch on a natural canvas tote and give it to the coworker who will immediately put their lunch in it and carry it to every meeting
- Novelty tea towel for a kitchen that doesnt take itself too seriouslyPop the 4-inch on a cream linen tea towel and hang it in a kitchen as a daily reminder that not all mornings are good mornings
- Quirky embroidery hoop art for a home office or reading room wallMount the 6-inch in a wide wooden hoop on natural linen and hang it in a home office above the monitor for some low-key moral support
- Birthday gift cushion cover for the grumpy morning person in the familyStitch the large size on a cushion cover in charcoal grey and give it as a birthday gift to the family member who hates mornings more than anyone
- Denim jacket sleeve or pocket accent for a fun fashion statementAdd the 3.5 inch to the upper sleeve of a denim jacket as the only embroidery detail needed -- it speaks for itself
- Kids room wall hoop as a conversation-starting animal characterFrame the 5-inch in a colourful hoop and hang it in a kids room as a funny animal character that will genuinely make children laugh every time
- Book bag or backpack patch for a school or college studentStitch the medium size on a canvas book bag or backpack front pocket as a signature patch for a student who appreciates weird things
- Canvas pencil case or pouch for a desk with some personalityUse the 3-inch on the side of a canvas zipper pencil case for a desk accessory that starts conversations in open-plan offices
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.50 × 3.28 in | 9,973 |
| 4.00 × 3.75 in | 11,370 |
| 4.50 × 4.22 in | 12,753 |
| 5.00 × 4.68 in | 14,255 |
| 5.50 × 5.15 in | 15,774 |
| 6.00 × 5.62 in | 17,322 |
| 6.50 × 6.09 in | 19,014 |
| 7.00 × 6.56 in | 20,708 |
| 7.50 × 7.03 in | 22,432 |
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.
