Great Dane embroidery pattern: stitch your own Dane from a photo

The real pattern: Atlas, our sample Great Dane

Our pattern maker made this from a photo of Atlas, a fawn Great Dane with a black mask and natural ears, 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.

Atlas' pattern is mostly long lines: the sides of the head, the brow, the bridge of the nose and the deep, hanging lips. There's no fur to speak of. A Dane's coat is short, so the shape of that big head does all the work.

What makes a Great Dane look like a Great Dane in thread

The Great Dane standard calls for a long, rectangular, finely chiseled head, with the forehead sharply set off from the bridge of the nose. Natural ears are medium-sized and fold forward close to the cheek; cropped ears are carried evenly erect. Fawn Danes have a black mask, and the breed also comes in brindle, harlequin, black, blue, mantle and merle.

• Head and chest only. A Great Dane is huge, but a head-and-chest portrait gives the face room in a 6-inch hoop. That's how our pattern maker draws every dog.
• The brow is a strong line. Stitch the step from the forehead down to the bridge of the nose cleanly. It's what makes the head look long and noble.
• The muzzle is long and deep. Keep the bridge line straight, and stitch the hanging lips as one smooth curve on each side.
• Natural or cropped ears. Natural ears fold forward against the cheeks: one outline and a fold line each. Cropped ears are two tall points, so slow down at the tips.

Harlequin, merle and black Danes are harder for the pattern maker. Use the brightest daylight photo you have, and don't worry about the patches: the head shape says Great Dane on its own.

Getting a good photo of your Great Dane

• Get level with the eyes. Danes are tall, so this may be the one breed where you stand up instead of sitting on the floor.
• Fill the frame with the head and a little chest. Don't try to fit the whole dog.
• A Dane puppy won't stay small for long. If there's a new one in the family, stitch an early photo: see the new puppy gift.
• Use soft daylight on the face, so the black mask and the brow keep their edges.
• Black, blue and harlequin Danes: go outdoors into open shade or right by a big window. If the pattern maker turns the photo away, try a brighter one.

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

Stitching order for a Great Dane

1. The long outline. Back stitch the sides and top of the head, then both ears and their fold lines.
2. Brow and bridge. Stitch the line of the brow, then the straight bridge of the nose in one steady run.
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. Lips and mask. Stitch the hanging lips on both sides and the edge of the black mask.
5. Neck and chest, then stop. Add the outline of the neck and the few lines on the chest. Prop it up across the room and check the head looks long.

Common Great Dane mistakes

The head looks short.

The bridge line was cut short or curved. Stitch it straight, dot to dot, from the brow to the nose.

It looks like a mastiff.

Too many wrinkle lines. A Dane's head is clean and chiseled: keep the brow line and the lips, and skip the extras.

The ears look stuck on.

Natural ears fold forward close to the cheek. Follow the dots along the fold instead of cutting across it.

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 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 breedBoxer dog embroidery pattern: stitch your own boxer from a photoA real boxer pattern from our pattern maker, and how to stitch the square muzzle, the mask and the brow wrinkles in black thread.
• 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.