Pet Portraits

Enjoy a beautiful, one-of-a-kind portrait of your pet! Each piece is handmade on cotton-linen fabric with long-staple cotton thread.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big are the portraits?
My standard size for one pet is 6”. For double portraits, I recommend 8”. If you’re looking for a different size, please contact me and I can price it out for you.

How can I order one?
First, check if I’m open to commissions. I post my commission status on the Embroidery page and in the bio of my Instagram profile. If I’m not currently taking commissions, you can join my mailing list (sign-up below) to be alerted when I’m open again (please check your spam folder for the “Welcome” email after you sign up!). I typically open commissions every six weeks and accept three or four commissions at a time.

How long does each piece take to create?
The exact time depends on the complexity of the piece. A six-inch portrait takes between twenty-five and forty hours of work, not including prep time, preliminary sketches, and finishing. I typically budget two weeks per portrait.

Can I pick the color of the background?
Yes! Most of my pieces have been stitched on cotton-linen fabric from the Robert Kaufman Essex line, which is available in a wide range of colors. You can see the full range here; if you’re interested in another color, please contact me directly.

Can I pick the color of the hoop?
I use bamboo hoops for my pieces, which are naturally a pale tan. The hoops can be stained or painted any color you request for an additional $20 fee.

Will you make a portrait of any animal I want?
Typically I just stitch portraits of cats and dogs, but I am happy to stitch all kinds of animals! Because each piece is highly personalized, I only make portraits of pets the client knows personally. You’re of course welcome to commission a portrait of your own pet or the pet of a friend or family member, but, respectfully, I have to decline commissions of famous animals you don’t have a personal connection to. The only exception is if you’d like a commission of a favorite animal that is not typically a pet (like a wild animal) or a made-up animal (like a unicorn!).

How do you make these?
Each piece starts with a consultation with my client, where we talk about the pet and go over pictures. The best pictures are clear, large, and evenly-lit with soft natural light. You can look over my Pet Photography Guide for more tips and information. Once we’ve selected a photo, I use that to make a detailed preliminary sketch, showing how the finished piece will look. After the client approves the sketch, I get to work! I create all my patterns on my iPad Pro using Procreate and an Apple Pencil. I try to keep my patterns as simple as possible, while paying close attention to the shape and location of important details like eyes, noses, and mouths.

To transfer the patterns to the fabric, I use a variety of methods depending on the color of the fabric. For light-colored fabric, I typically use a Pilot Frixion heat erasable pen or a water-soluble marker to trace the pattern onto the fabric, while for darker-colored fabric, I use a white tailor’s pencil. For the lettering underneath the portrait, I use water-soluble transfer paper, which allows me to print directly onto sticky paper that attaches to the fabric. When I’m all done, I just wash the paper away!

When I create the portrait, I go back to front, meaning I first stitch the parts of the pet that are farthest from the viewer (typically the ears) and end with the closest part (which means I almost always finish with the nose!). Because of my background in painting, I build each portrait very similarly to how I’d make a painting: first placing down a background color with two strands of thread and then going on top of that with single strands of thread to add detail and complexity.

Are your portraits made with thread painting?
Actually, no! Thread painting, also called long-and-short stitch, is a technique used to give the embroidered piece the look of seamless transition between shade and color. The threads are placed down in even stitches typically in a single layer. The final piece will have a smooth surface, almost a sheen, and it can be very difficult to see individual stitches. It’s an absolutely stunning technique and I love looking at thread painters’ work!

Because I’m self-taught, I started doing pet portraits without knowing about thread painting, and only realized after my third or fourth portraits that my technique was completely different! Since I build my portraits up in layers—sometimes as many as five or six—my portraits have a very unique texture and depth to them. They are a bit more chaotic-looking and painterly, and they don’t have the same sheen as thread-painted portraits. It’s a lot easier to see my individual stitches, since they vary in length and shape, and my portraits take a bit longer to complete.

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