Dachshund embroidery pattern: stitch your own doxie from a photo

The real pattern: Pretzel, our sample doxie

Our pattern maker made this from a photo of Pretzel, a smooth-coated dachshund and one of the sample dogs we use to test it. The drawing, the dots and the stitched preview are its real output.

It's a head-and-chest portrait, not the whole sausage dog, and it still reads as a dachshund straight away. The long ears frame a long, narrow face, and that's the breed.

What makes a dachshund look like a dachshund in thread

Dachshunds come in three coats: smooth, long and wire. All of them have long drop ears, a long muzzle and that famous long body on short legs. Whether you call yours a doxie, a sausage dog or a wiener dog, the same few lines do the work.

• The ears are long and soft. Back stitch each outline in one smooth curve from the top of the head down. Two or three lines inside each ear show the fold.
• The muzzle is long. Keep the line of the nose bridge clean and unbroken. It's what makes the face a dachshund's.
• Full body or head only. A side-on, full-body pose shows off the long back. A head-and-chest portrait like Pretzel's gives the face more room in a 6-inch hoop.
• Match the fur lines to the coat. A smooth coat needs only a few short strokes. A long coat gets longer curved lines on the ears and chest. A wire coat gets short, slightly uneven strokes on the brows and beard.

Getting a good photo of your dachshund

• Get down low. A dachshund is short, so a photo from standing height looks down on the top of the head. Sit on the floor at eye level.
• Keep both ears in the frame, tips included. They're half the likeness.
• Long-haired and wire coats are fussier. Wispy hair can turn into lots of extra little lines, so brush the ears and use soft, even daylight.
• A black-and-tan doxie in a dim room can come out as one dark shape. Shoot near a window.

More photo tips in how to choose a photo for a pet portrait.

Stitching order for a dachshund

1. Head and ears. Back stitch the top of the head and the outline of each long ear, one smooth curve per ear.
2. Face and muzzle. Stitch the line of the nose bridge, the cheeks and the jaw.
3. Eyes and nose. Satin stitch the pupils from the middle out, leaving the highlight bare, then fill the nose with the nostrils left bare.
4. Chest and fur. Add the outline of the chest and the fur lines, root to tip. On a smooth coat, stop early.
5. The squint test. Prop the hoop up across the room and squint. If it already looks like your dog, you're done.

Common dachshund mistakes

The ears look stiff.

Follow every dot around the curve. Skipping dots to go faster turns a soft ear into a polygon.

The face looks too short.

The nose-bridge line was cut short or wobbles. Stitch it in one steady run, dot to dot.

Questions people ask

Keep going

• How-to guideHow to embroider a dog: a beginner's step-by-stepWhere to start, which stitches to use, and how to make the portrait look like your dog, not just a dog.
• How-to guideHow to embroider fur in one color of threadLine-art fur in black thread, stitched root to tip, and when to switch to long and short stitch for realistic fur.
• How-to guideHow to choose the right photo for a pet portraitThe light, angle and framing that make a photo stitch well, and the checks a photo has to pass.
• Stitch guideHow to do a back stitchA solid, unbroken line for outlines, lettering and fine details.
• Stitch guideHow to do a satin stitchStraight stitches laid side by side to fill small shapes, like eyes and noses.
• Dog breedGolden retriever embroidery pattern: stitch your own golden from a photoA real golden retriever pattern from our pattern maker, and how to stitch the feathering, eyes and coat in black thread.
• Dog breedFrench bulldog embroidery pattern: stitch your own Frenchie from a photoA real Frenchie pattern from our pattern maker, and how to stitch bat ears, wrinkles and a flat face in black thread.
• Free toolThe free 3D Stitch SimulatorPractice back stitch and satin stitch on a 3D hoop you can turn, zoom and flip.