The koi is shown mid-glide with its big fan tail spread out behind it, the fins almost filling the bottom half of the design. Body colour is a sandy warm peach with salmon-pink scale markings layered on top, ya get that proper carp colouration without it looking too literal or flat. A golden-yellow accent runs along the upper fin edges, and then theres a ring of small green leafy sprigs and round berry clusters framing the whole fish, which makes it feel more like sea-art than a plain animal illustration.
Wilcom handled the digitising for the fin layering, which was the tricky bit. The fan fins are digitised in open satin columns with underlay running underneath so they dont pucker on lighter fabrics. Density sits at 572, which is on the lighter end for a 7-colour file, meaning this one works well on cotton voile, linen, and even a silky-feel cotton without the fabric buckling up. Use a cutaway stabiliser under the body area because of the dense scale work, but the outer fins can handle tearaway if youre doing a bordered placement.
5 sizes from 3.22 inches up to 6.91 inches wide, with stitch counts ranging from 12,324 to 29,643. 3 colours and nine sizes would be simpler to run but having 7 stops is what gives the fish that layered, almost watercolour quality. The directional satin on the scales runs curved rather than straight across, so the fish body reads as rounded instead of angular. Stitch the smaller size on a tote pocket or shirt cuff, and run the 6-inch version on a linen cushion cover or wall panel. Pair it with warm cream or natural oatmeal fabric so the peach and amber tones have space to show up properly.
A customer asked me last year about doing this on a beach bag in natural jute-style canvas and it came out really well, the warm sandy tones of the peach thread matched the fabric colour so the fish seemed to come out of the material rather than sit on top of it. Add topping over any textured fabric to stop the satin columns sinking into the weave. Ping me if you need a version with less background foliage or want to talk thread substitutions for the scale colours.
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.
- Linen cushion covers for a coastal or zen home decor lookThe sandy peach and green foliage palette suits natural linen cushion covers without needing thread changes.
- Cotton canvas tote bag with the koi as a large front panelAt 6.91 inches wide the koi fills a canvas tote front well on medium-weight cotton with cutaway backing.
- Bathroom towels in cream or sandy cottonThe lighter 572 density means cream bathroom towels wont pucker, even on terry with topping over the loops.
- Framed hoop wall art in a living room or meditation spaceHooped on natural oatmeal linen and stretched in a 9-inch frame this reads as proper coastal textile art.
- Silk-feel cotton kimono wrap or robeThe open satin fins and low density suit a smooth cotton-silk blend robe without pulling the weave.
- Cotton tote pocket or bag cuff with the smaller sizeThe 3.22-inch version fits a tote pocket or bag cuff cleanly with tearaway stabiliser on the fin outer edges.
Dimensions
5 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.22 × 3.50 in | 12,324 |
| 4.14 × 4.50 in | 16,146 |
| 5.07 × 5.50 in | 20,267 |
| 5.99 × 6.50 in | 24,680 |
| 6.91 × 7.50 in | 29,643 |
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.
