Labrador retriever embroidery pattern: stitch your own lab from a photo

The real pattern: Biscuit, our sample lab

Our pattern maker made this from a photo of Biscuit, a yellow Labrador and one of the sample dogs we use to test it. The photo is an AI-made sample image. The drawing, the dots and the stitched preview are the pattern maker's real output.

Look how little there is inside the head. A lab's coat is short and smooth, so the pattern spends its stitches on the outline, the fold of each ear, a soft line over each eye and the face. The few fur lines sit on the ears and down the chest.

What makes a lab look like a lab in thread

Labs come in yellow, chocolate and black, with a short, dense coat, ears that hang close to the head and a broad back skull. The breed standard calls their eyes kind and friendly. In black line art the color is gone, so the shape of the head and the expression do all the work.

• The head is broad. Keep the top of the skull one wide, smooth curve, with no lines inside it. A narrow head reads as a hound.
• The ears hang close. Back stitch each ear as one smooth curve, then the fold line where it turns. One or two lines inside is plenty.
• The eyes carry the kindness. Satin stitch each pupil from the middle out and leave the highlight bare. A short, soft line over each eye finishes the expression.
• The nose is wide. Fill it with satin stitch around the nostrils and leave them bare, so it doesn't become a black button.
• Few fur lines. A short coat means a handful of strokes on the ears and chest, root to tip. Leave the cheeks and muzzle smooth.

Is your lab black? The stitching is exactly the same, because black thread draws edges, not color. What changes is the photo. See the tips below.

Getting a good photo of your lab

• Shoot in daylight near a window, with your lab facing you. Soft light keeps the edges of a yellow coat from washing out.
• Get both eyes sharp. A lab's dark eyes stand out well when they're in focus.
• Get down to eye level, so the head looks broad instead of pinched from above.
• Black labs: go outdoors into open shade on a bright day, or sit right by a big window, and wait for a small catchlight in each eye. In a dim room a black coat can come out as one solid shape. The pattern maker turns that away rather than hand you a blob to stitch, so if it happens, try your brightest photo.

More in how to choose a photo for a pet portrait and black and very dark dogs. Stitching a lab puppy? Puppies rarely hold still, so take a burst of photos and keep the sharpest. The new puppy gift page has more.

Stitching order for a Labrador retriever

1. Head and ears. Back stitch the outline of the head, then each drop ear in one smooth curve from the top of the head down.
2. Folds and brows. Add the fold line on each ear and the short, soft line over each eye.
3. Eyes and nose. Satin stitch the pupils from the middle out, leaving the highlight bare, then fill the nose around the nostrils.
4. Muzzle and chest. Stitch the mouth line and the edge of the muzzle, then the outline of the chest.
5. A few fur lines, then stop. Add the short fur strokes on the ears and chest, root to tip. Prop the hoop up across the room. If it reads as your lab, you're done.

Common lab mistakes

The head looks narrow.

The outline drifted inside the dots. Go down exactly on each dot along the top of the skull so the curve stays wide.

The face looks stern.

The lines over the eyes are too long. Keep them short and soft, two or three stitches each.

The nose is a black blob.

The nostrils got filled. Unpick them from the back and leave both as bare linen.

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 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.
• 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.