DMC Pastoral/Herding Dogs Embroidery Pattern - PAT1741 - Downloadable PDF

DMC Pastoral/Herding Dogs Embroidery Pattern (PAT1741) – Free Downloadable PDF

This free downloadable embroidery pattern from the DMC Library celebrates the charm and character of pastoral and herding dog breeds. Released as part of DMC's extensive free pattern collection, PAT1741 is a beautifully detailed design that allows embroiderers to recreate lifelike, richly shaded portraits of working dogs using classic hand embroidery techniques. The pattern is rated as advanced beginner level, making it an excellent step forward for those who have mastered basic stitches and are ready to explore more nuanced shading and blending methods.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a hand-embroidered artwork featuring pastoral and herding dogs. The design uses a detailed colour guide and technical diagram spread across multiple pages, with a comprehensive colour-coded chart to guide placement of each thread colour and stitch type. The result is a richly textured, painterly embroidery piece ideal for framing or displaying as textile art. With 15 distinct DMC thread colours referenced in the pattern, the design achieves impressive depth and realism in the dogs' coats, facial features, and surrounding details.

Techniques Used

This pattern draws on several classic hand embroidery techniques that together produce a smooth, illustrative finish reminiscent of needle painting. Key techniques include:

• Long and Short Stitch (Passé Empiétant): The primary shading technique used throughout the design. Rows of alternating long and short stitches are worked in successive layers, blending thread colours seamlessly to mimic the natural gradation of a dog's fur. This technique is central to achieving the realistic, painterly quality of the finished piece.
• Satin Stitch (Passé Plat): Used to fill defined areas with smooth, closely packed parallel stitches that create a polished, even surface. Satin stitch is ideal for smaller, more uniform sections of the design such as highlights, noses, or solid colour patches in the coat.
• Additional Stitches: The pattern references multiple stitch codes (A, B, and C categories) mapped across the colour diagram, indicating a variety of supplementary stitches used to add detail, texture, and outline work throughout the composition.

Stitches Used

• Long and Short Stitch – for blended, layered shading across large areas of the design
• Satin Stitch – for smooth, filled areas requiring a neat, uniform finish
• Additional stitches as indicated by the lettered stitch key (A, B, C) within the technical chart

Materials Required

Thread

The pattern calls for DMC Mouliné Spécial Art 117, the brand's iconic 6-strand divisible cotton embroidery floss. A total of 15 colours are specified, each requiring one skein. The palette spans a warm, naturalistic range suited to rendering dog fur and earthy tones:

• 3865 – Winter White (lightest highlight tone)
• 01 – White Tin
• 3799 – Pewter Grey (very dark)
• 310 – Black
• 758 – Terra Cotta (light)
• 3778 – Terra Cotta
• 676 – Old Gold (light)
• 729 – Old Gold (medium)
• 611 – Drab Brown
• 3864 – Mocha Beige (light)
• 3863 – Mocha Beige (medium)
• 977 – Golden Brown (light)
• 976 – Golden Brown (medium)
• 169 – Pewter (light)
• 413 – Pewter Grey (dark)

This carefully curated palette moves through warm tawny golds, soft terracottas, cool greys, and deep blacks — perfectly suited to capturing the varied coat colours and markings typical of pastoral and herding breeds.