Cat skull hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Cat skull: preview of the stitched design

A cat skull is seen from the front, with two pointed ears, wide cheekbones, large round eye sockets, a nose hole like an upturned heart, a cracked brow and two long fangs beside a row of tiny front teeth. The outline, sockets and nose are stem stitch, the crack, the ear folds, the cheekbones and the line down the muzzle are back stitch, and the whisker pits are French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in two colors.

2 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches and knots:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.4 × 1.6 in	3.6 × 4.1 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.4 in	5.3 × 6.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 3.2 in	7.1 × 8.1 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.6 × 4 in	9.1 × 10.2 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5 × 5.5 in	12.7 × 14 cm

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 336 Navy BlueSkull outline, fangs and front teeth, eye sockets, nose hole, and line down the muzzle
DMC 414 Dark Steel GrayEar folds, cheekbones, crack in the brow and whisker pits

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsSkull outline, fangs and front teeth, eye sockets, nose hole
Back stitch 2 strandsLine down the muzzle, ear folds, cheekbones, crack in the brow
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsWhisker pits

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.