German shorthaired pointer embroidery pattern: stitch your own GSP from a photo

The real pattern: Remi, our sample GSP

Our pattern maker made this from a photo of Remi, a liver-and-white German shorthaired pointer and one of the sample dogs we use to test it. The photo is an AI-made sample image. Everything after it is the pattern maker's real output.

Remi's head is solid liver, so it's drawn almost bare: a clean outline, the ears, the eyes and the long nose. The stitches go into the ticked chest, as rows of short strokes that suggest the flecks without copying them.

What makes a GSP look like a GSP in thread

The standard describes broad ears that lie flat and reach about to the corner of the mouth, almond-shaped eyes, and a large nose with broad, open nostrils. The coat can be solid liver or liver and white, ticked, patched or roan, and there are black versions too. The ticking is what trips people up, and the fix is to suggest it.

• Head and chest is easier. A head-and-chest portrait keeps most of the ticking out of the hoop. A 3-inch ornament keeps just the face, so the ticking drops out altogether.
• The ears are broad and flat. Stitch each one as a smooth outline that hangs to about the corner of the mouth. One fold line inside is plenty.
• The nose is big. Satin stitch around the nostrils and leave them bare. A big, open nose is part of the pointer look.
• Ticking is a few short strokes. Stitch short lines in loose rows on the chest, all following the coat. Want more texture afterwards? A few seed stitches add flecks. They're an extra, not part of the pattern.

GSP eyes are almond-shaped, not round. Keep the soft point at each corner of the eye outline, and satin stitch only the pupil.

Getting a good photo of your GSP

• Shoot in daylight with the light on the face. A solid liver head is dark, and in dim light its edges disappear.
• Get down to eye level so the long muzzle doesn't shrink.
• Keep both ears in the frame, down to the tips.
• Black or dark liver coats need your brightest photo: outdoors in open shade, or right by a big window. The pattern maker turns away photos that would come out as one dark shape.

More in how to choose a photo for a pet portrait and black and very dark dogs.

Stitching order for a German shorthaired pointer

1. Head and ears. Back stitch the outline of the head, then each broad ear from the top of the head down.
2. Face lines. Stitch the eye outlines, the long bridge of the nose and the mouth line.
3. Eyes and nose. Satin stitch the pupils from the middle out with the highlight left bare, then fill the nose around the nostrils.
4. The chest. Stitch the outline of the chest, then the rows of short ticking strokes, all going the same way.
5. Stop early. Prop the hoop up across the room. If the chest already reads as ticked, leave the remaining strokes out.

Common GSP mistakes

The chest looks like static.

Too many ticking strokes, going every which way. Use fewer strokes in loose rows, all pointing the way the coat grows.

The eyes look round and startled.

The corners of the eye outline got rounded. Land on the corner dots so the almond shape stays.

The ears stick out.

The outline drifted away from the cheek. Follow the dots close to the face; GSP ears lie flat.

Questions people ask

Keep going

• 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 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 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.
• Stitch guideHow to do a seed stitchTiny scattered stitches for soft shading and speckled texture.
• Dog breedLabrador retriever embroidery pattern: stitch your own lab from a photoA real lab pattern from our pattern maker, and how to stitch the broad head, the drop ears and a short 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.