Whale tail through a porthole hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Whale tail through a porthole: preview of the stitched design

A whale’s tail rises from the sea, seen through a round porthole. The frame is a set of navy rings in stem stitch, with twelve gold bolts at equal steps between the outermost ring and the next. In the glass the tail stock stands up from the top row of waves and the two flukes spread to the left and the right above it, all in navy satin stitch. The waves are rows of teal chain stitch, the top row the longest and each row below it shorter. The bolts are satin stitch as well.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.7 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.6 in	6.6 × 6.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 4.3 in	10.9 × 10.9 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.1 × 6.1 in	15.5 × 15.5 cm	11/16 in (17 mm)

In a 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

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 BlueFrame, flukes and tail stock
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawBolts
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseWaves

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 strandsFrame
Satin stitch 2 strandsBolts, flukes, tail stock
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsWaves

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.