Surfing Sea Turtle Embroidery Design, Instant Download

So this is the surfing sea turtle and its genuinely one of the most colourful designs Ive done. The turtle is mid-ride on a yellow surfboard, leaning into a massive cresting wave that arcs overhead in rainbow bands. Pink sunglasses on the face, green shell with rainbow segments, white foam spray spitting off the wave tips. And its big. The wave fills almost the entire hoop area on the bigger size options.

The shell alone has 6 colour sections inside it, basically a spectrum from warm gold through to cool teal. Thirteen colours total across the whole piece, which is alot of thread swaps but the payoff is enormous. industry software digitised the wave foam in loose satin columns that actually look like spraying water rather than just white fill. The turtle body uses directional stitching on the flippers so the scales read properly. I spent alot of time on the underlay for the wave sections because with that density you really need the stabiliser to hold everything flat.

I get messages from surf shop owners asking about this one almost every week. One customer last summer bought six copies and put different colourways on a whole rack of kids rashguards for her beach kiosk. She sent photos and honestly they looked class. Also works brilliantly on canvas tote bags for coastal market stalls, beach towels, swim bag embroidery and summer camp gear.

Run this on white or cream cotton, the 13 colours absolutely need a neutral base or the palette goes muddy. Pop the biggest 8.5-inch on a hoodie back panel or a beach bag front panel for max drama. Skip stretch jersey on the bigger pieces because 89k stitches and lycra dont mix. Use a firm cutaway stabiliser underneath, full stop. The wave arch is wide and the outer teal sections will tunnel if you skimp on backing.