French bulldog embroidery pattern: stitch your own Frenchie from a photo

The real pattern: Bruno, our sample Frenchie

Our pattern maker made this from a photo of Bruno, a fawn French bulldog and one of the sample dogs we use to test it. Everything after the photo is its real output.

Notice how few fur lines there are. A Frenchie's coat is short and smooth, so the pattern spends its stitches on the ears, the wrinkles and the face.

What makes a Frenchie look like a Frenchie in thread

French bulldogs have a short, smooth coat in fawn, brindle, cream or pied, large upright bat ears, a flat face with deep wrinkles and a stocky chest. In black line art, the shape does almost all the work.

• The bat ears are the likeness. Stitch their outline slowly and land exactly on every dot at the tips. Get the ears right and people know the breed from across the room.
• Two or three wrinkles, no more. Back stitch only the deepest forehead wrinkles. Every extra wrinkle makes the face look older and busier.
• Satin the nose. A Frenchie's nose is wide and flat. Fill it with satin stitch from the middle out and leave the small nostril highlights bare.
• A short coat needs very few fur lines. A few short strokes on the chest and cheeks are plenty.

Getting a good photo of your Frenchie

• Use bright, even light. In a dim room, brindle and dark coats lose their wrinkle lines, and the pattern maker can only draw what the photo shows.
• Keep both ears fully in the frame, tips included. Cropped ears make a Frenchie look like a pug.
• Get down to eye level. A photo from above shrinks the ears and flattens the head.
• If your Frenchie is black or dark brindle, shoot near a window in daylight, so the face doesn't come out as one dark shape.

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

Stitching order for a French bulldog

1. Ears first. Back stitch the outline of both bat ears, then the top of the head between them.
2. The face. Stitch the cheeks, the jaw and the edges of the muzzle.
3. Wrinkles. Add two or three forehead wrinkles, the deepest ones only.
4. Eyes and nose. Satin stitch the pupils from the middle out with the highlight left bare, then fill the nose the same way.
5. A few fur lines. Add the short fur strokes on the chest and cheeks, root to tip, and stop as soon as it looks like your dog.

Common Frenchie mistakes

The ear tips look blunt.

Go down in the exact corner dot at each tip before you turn. Rounding the corner softens the ear.

The face looks crumpled.

Too many wrinkles. Pick the extras out from the back and keep two or three.

The nose looks lumpy.

Come up just inside the nose line, not right on it, and keep every satin stitch parallel to the last.

Questions people ask

Keep going

• How-to guideHow to embroider a dog's nose in satin stitchA satin-stitched nose with the shine left bare, stitched the narrow way across the shape.
• How-to guideHow to embroider eyes for a pet portraitSatin-stitched pupils with a bare highlight: the step that gives a stitched pet its expression.
• 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.
• Free toolThe free 3D Stitch SimulatorPractice back stitch and satin stitch on a 3D hoop you can turn, zoom and flip.