I have had the idea for this Taylor Swift inspired design simmering in my mind for ages and ages! (You might even say, for an era! lol) I’m so happy I finally got this evergreen forest-themed free embroidery pattern printable finished for you!
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I wouldn’t exactly consider myself a hard core Swiftie, but I listen to her music often and I saw the concert movie in theatres (with about 100 pre-teen die-hard Swifties. It was the best, not gonna lie, their energy was life giving. Can we harness it to solve the climate crisis or something? Anyways..)
Taylor’s got some good lines! And this song is one of my favourites. It speaks to me for some reason. So I really enjoyed designing a free embroidery pattern printable around it!
And if the quote is not your style, you can simply omit it and add more birds or another tree. Or find a different moody quote to replace it! Feel free to adapt the pattern in whatever way you like.
Free Embroidery Pattern Printable
The free embroidery pattern download also includes a beautiful stitch guide that will help you with all the stitches required.
Usually I use a mechanical pencil to trace embroidery patterns but I decided to try a new method of transferring the pattern for this design, and I am converted!
I used a heat erasable pen and it worked like a charm. I’m so excited to share this discovery with you! (Although I’ve seen these pens around for a while now so maybe you’re already well aware and I’m the one who’s late to this party. Typical. lol)
And I just want to mention that I have seven more free embroidery patterns available like Home is Wherever I’m With You, and this adorable bunny wearing glasses.
And yay! I just finished this post of 15 Taylor Swift themed embroidery patterns. So check those ones out too! After you’ve finished this one of course. <3
Materials
Printed Pattern (get it at the bottom of the post, the stitch guide is included)
Cotton Fabric
Frixion Gel Pen
Embroidery Thread – Dark Brown, Dark Green, Medium Green, Navy
Sewing Needle
Embroidery Scissors
Fabric Shears
6″ Embroidery Hoop
Scotch Tape
Light Source – Phone Flashlight, iPad screen, Reading Light, my Favourite Light Pad etc.
Hot Glue Gun – This Surebonder is my favourite
I used a plain cream coloured cotton for this hoop, but you could also go for a coloured solid or a faint print. I think either option would look equally great! Actually it could be gorgeous on a navy fabric to imitate night time and then stitch the birds and text in white thread. Just an idea.
There are of course many different ways to transfer an embroidery pattern to your fabric. (I’m working on another post that will list all the ways! Stay tuned!)
For this post, I’m going to show you how to use a Frixion heat erasable pen.
How to Transfer an Embroidery Pattern
I made a short video to show you the process of transferring the pattern with the heat erasable pen. Written instructions with photos follow below.
First, use the inner edge of your empty embroidery hoop to trace a circle around the design on the paper.
Cut out the design, inside the circle marking as shown.
Once your fabric is mounted and pulled taut in the hoop, flip it over.
Use a few pieces of scotch tape to secure the pattern to the fabric.
Now turn the hoop right side up and place a light source under it to make the pattern more visible on the top of the fabric. I used the flashlight function in my son’s phone.
Trace all the lines and text from the pattern onto the fabric using the heat erasable pen.
This is the exact black pen I used. It came in a pack with blue and red too. When I tested each colour, I discovered the black ink was the best at disappearing.
I’ve since learned that there also exists an extra fine point version of the Frixion pen, I will likely try those out in the future.
(Don’t expect the markings to disappear with friction though, when I tested out the ‘eraser’ on the top, it did nothing. Only heat removed the markings.)
If you wobble a bit with your pen strokes, don’t worry about it. All the pen marks will completely disappear when you apply a little heat after you’re done stitching.
You can see here that my tracing isn’t perfect, I was in a hurry between taxiing my boys to morning and afternoon activities, so I rushed a little and didn’t do the best job with my drawing. I decided to just carry on, but if the wobbly lines bother you, you can apply a little dry heat from your iron for about a second or 2 and the markings will disappear so you can start again.
How to Stitch a Taylor Swift Embroidery Pattern
The tree trunks are worked in a modified brick stitch.
Using 2 strands of dark brown thread, go up and down the outer edge of the trunk with a short backstitch.
Now you’ll start filling in the trunk with a brick stitch. Which is just a backstitch that is offset from the row next to it so that none of the needle holes are side by side and your stitches will look like how bricks are stacked in a wall.
Keep filling in the trunk with stitches, doing your best to prevent any stitches from being perfectly side by side.
Once the trunks are finished, you can move on to the green branches.
To make the tree branches, you’ll need 2 strands of darker green thread.
Use a backstitch to embroider each long branch line that extends out from the trunk.
Then add the shorter branches with straight stitches. Cover all the pen marks you transferred from the pattern.
Now to fill in the tree, take 1 strand of a medium green. Keep your greens in the same tone if possible, so that one is just a slightly lighter shade of the other.
You’re going to add some straight stitches anywhere you feel the branches need a little filling in. There’s no markings for these stitches, you gotta go with your heart!
I only filled in the underside of each branch, because in real life, the branches of this type of evergreen tree tend to droop downwards.
I’m not gonna lie, stitching all the trees takes a long time. At least 2-3 movies worth of time. All the trunks took me the entirety of the first Enola Holmes movie during family movie night! But it’s pretty relaxing once you get into the swing of it.
To make the birds, you need 2 strands of a dark navy. The birds are worked with a tiny split stitch. Start at the tip of one wing and go down to the point of the ‘v’. Then make the second wing starting at the tip and meeting in the point of the ‘v’.
Feel free to add more or less birds as you see fit!
How to Embroider Words
The text is stitched with 2 strands of thread and a split stitch.
I find a split stitch is the best option for stitching anything curved like letters.
I work text from right to left, I’m not sure if that’s because I’m right handed but it feels more natural for me to stitch in that direction.
Make your stitches quite small because the text is small.
Use a French Knot for the dot on the question mark and use a single stitch to cross the t’s.
For the ‘-TS’ I used a single strand of thread and a tiny backstitch so it wasn’t as prominent as the quote.
Remove the Pattern Markings
Now all that’s left to do is remove the pen markings.
Warm up your iron and turn off the steam.
Gently run the iron over the finished embroidery. It truly only takes one second of heat for the markings to disappear. Use the tip of the iron to reach the markings that are hiding under stitching.
How to Finish the Back of an Embroidery
Again, there’s lots of different methods for finishing the back of an embroidery hoop. And the method you choose will probably be based on where your finished piece is destined.
I’m keeping this hoop for myself, so I just finished it simply.
Trim the fabric down to about 5/8″.
Working in small sections at a time, use hot glue to secure the fabric to the inside of the hoop.
If I was giving this hoop away, I would also add a circle of felt or batting to cover up the stitching and the raw edge of the fabric.
She’s all done! 😀
Don’t forget to pin this for later:
I just love it so much! <3
Get the free embroidery pattern printable and stitch guide emailed to you directly:
And obviously, you must have a Taylor Swift playlist going while you stitch!
Happy Crafting!
