Peacock Line Art Embroidery Design, Bird Machine Embroidery Pattern, Instant Download

Played with symmetry on this one for a while before it clicked. The peacock faces you head-on, tiny slim body centred at the bottom, and every tail feather radiates outward in a perfect arc above it. 3 rows of feathers, maybe 30-plus stems total, each one ending in a small fan-shaped eye spot that looks a bit like an open shell from a distance. Its that cathedral window effect where repeating a simple unit creates something that looks way more complicated than it is.

Body is a narrow satin column with a small head at the top. Legs are barely there, just two slim lines touching the base. All the drama comes from the tail display, which fans from about 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock in a near-perfect semicircle. Each feather stem is a single run stitch line, and the eye spot at the tip is a tiny satin fan shape with 5 or 6 segments radiating from a centre point. The whole thing reads as lace when stitched in white on a dark ground.

One colour only, so theres no stopping mid-run unless you want to. Density is light at 248 stitches per square inch with a max of about 11k stitches at the biggest size, so it stitches out quick. Five sizes from 2.97 wide up to 6.35, heights 3.5 to 7.5 inches. The 6-inch version on a dark navy linen throw pillow is a proper statement, I had a customer last spring who ran the full 6.35-inch version in gold thread on a black silk cushion cover for a gallery opening and said people kept asking where she bought the pillow not realising it was handmade.

Use a tearaway stabiliser on woven cotton or linen since the low density means minimal pull. For stretch fabric, go cutaway. Hoop firm, the fine feather stems need even tension or they drift off the radial lines. Best thread weights are 40wt for the main run and 60wt if you want the eye spots to look extra fine. Skip sheer fabrics, you want enough ground for the stems to read clearly. Drop me a note with your order number and Ill resend a corrected file.