Heres the woman with dreadlocks portrait and shes drawn in side profile from the chest up. Long locs cascade down past the shoulder. Each loc carries directional satin runs so they catch light from different angles. The face has soft full lips, lashes with a hint of liner and a single gold hoop earring sitting just below the jawline.
The style is fashion illustration meets portrait embroidery. Skin uses smooth blended tatami in a warm umber tone, then the locs layer over in honey brown with caramel and chestnut highlights running through individual strands. Lips sit in plum satin for definition. Lashes and brow are tiny precise satin columns in black. And the gold hoop is a metallic-yellow satin oval that genuinely reads as jewellery once stitched.
I drew this last spring after a customer recieved her first portrait order and asked if I could do something with locs. She sent photos of the finished piece on a deep cream linen wall hoop and I was suprised how regal it came out. Since then this design has been one of my best sellers for natural-hair salons, beauty clients, and folks ordering custom apparel for Black-owned business launches.
Best fabric choices are smooth woven cotton, linen, denim or a thick canvas tote. Cream, soft beige, dusty rose, mustard and forest green all set off the umber skin tone beautifully. Skip patterned or busy fabric, the portrait needs clean negative space around the locs. So if youre aiming for apparel, a plain heavyweight tee or a linen tunic gives the cleanest read.
This is dense work. Around 100k stitches on the biggest 7-in size, 38k on the smallest. So go with a sturdy cutaway stabiliser, two layers if youre on jersey or anything with stretch. Hoop firm, slow the machine for the loc satin runs and the result is gallery quality. Drop a note if the file ever occured to glitch on your machine, ill rebuild it the same day.
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.
- Natural-hair salon merch and apronsStitch on a black or cream apron for a natural-hair stylist working out of a salon or home studio
- Beauty industry tote bagsHoop a 6-inch piece on a heavyweight canvas tote in cream or olive for daily beauty-pro use
- Black-owned business launch apparelRun a large size on the back of a tee for a Black-owned brand launch event or pop-up market
- Linen wall hoops for living roomsFrame the 8 inch portrait in a natural wood hoop and hang it on a cream linen background wall
- Cushion covers for boutique decorEmbroider centred on a linen cushion cover in dusty rose or mustard for a fashion-forward sofa
- Denim jackets and statement back patchesAdd as a back-yoke patch on a vintage denim jacket to give a plain piece serious fashion impact
- Cream cotton tunic and dress accentsStitch on the chest of a cream cotton tunic dress for a soft wearable portrait piece
- Gift portraits for friends with locsHoop and gift it to a friend who wears her locs proud, especially for birthdays or graduation
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.51 × 3.41 in | 37,726 |
| 4.01 × 3.90 in | 44,049 |
| 4.51 × 4.39 in | 51,634 |
| 5.01 × 4.88 in | 58,376 |
| 5.51 × 5.36 in | 66,982 |
| 6.01 × 5.85 in | 74,286 |
| 6.51 × 6.34 in | 83,422 |
| 7.01 × 6.82 in | 92,230 |
| 7.51 × 7.31 in | 101,857 |
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.
