Giant Land Snail - Free Embroidery Pattern
This magnificent snail is my partner’s favourite design of mine!… But also it never did very well in the shop
It can be super hard to predict which designs will be the most popular! I never though anyone would want to stitch Humphrey and although I love Edward I never expected it to be a fan favourite 7 years later
In 2025 I will be releasing many of my retired designs, like this beautiful snail, here on my blog! Some designs are only retired because there are simply too many for me to keep track of but now I want to give them a new lease of life and this seems like the perfect way to do it
So gather your threads, pick up your needle and get stitching!
Before you start stitching
This pattern is great for those with some experience of the embroidery technique thread painting, or those determined to learn a new skill and build on their expertise!
Check out my Threadpainting In Depth YouTube Series for help with this embroidery technique
Intermediate/advanced
Materials list:
A 6 inch embroidery hoop
Cotton fabric, enough to fit in your hoop with a couple of inches border around the edge
An embroidery needle
An erasable pen or pencil to transfer the pattern to the fabric. (Pilot frixion pens are good, they are heat erasable but can leave residue on some fabrics so be sure to check on a scrap piece before using them)
A printer to print out the pattern transfer OR a tablet to use a light box to trace your transfer (instructions below)
Threads as detailed in the numbered list. The threads will be referred to as their number throughout the pattern i.e. thread 351 will be referred to as thread 1
DMC threads list:
351
352
353
535
3787
646
702
703
704
761
760
3328
Transferring your pattern to the fabric:
To trace the embroidery pattern from a tablet:
Download the embroidery pattern to your tablet making sure that the screen is the same size or bigger than your embroidery hoop
Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop and pull tight (this will make it easier to trace)
Make sure that the pattern is displayed at the right size for the embroidery hoop, turn up the screen brightness to full and place the fabric in the embroidery hoop over the screen so that the pattern can be seen centrally through it
Trace your pattern using an erasable pen or pencil
Top tip: Just trace the outlines, don’t worry about the numbers for now as you can refer back to the pattern for these as you stitch
To trace the embroidery pattern on to your fabric using a printed pattern:
Download and print the embroidery pattern on A4 paper (or equivaent). It will print the correct size for a 6 inch embroidery hoop
Put the cotton fabric in your embroidery hoop and stretch it tight
Place the printed pattern on a flat surface and the cotton fabric in the hoop on top so that the pattern is central in the hoop
You can now trace the embroidery pattern on to your fabric using an erasable pen or pencil
Top tip: try taping the embroidery pattern to window to trace, as the light coming from behind will make it easier to see the lines
To print the embroidery pattern on to your cotton fabric:
Download the embroidery pattern
Take a full page A4 printer label and stick it to your fabric making sure there are no creases in the fabric
Cut around the label as accurately as you can
Place the label and fabric in an inkjet printer, use the rear tray if you can as this will be an easier path for it
Print the embroidery pattern on to the fabric
Remove the label and place the fabric in your embroidery hoop
Please note that this method can leave small amounts of ‘fluff’ in your printer. I have printed 100s of pieces of fabric like this and have had no problems but use this method at your own printers risk!
Colour placement diagram
Refer to this throughout for where to use each thread colour. When stitching your flowers, after completing the petals you may wish to look back at this diagram for the placement of the stamen as the outline may have been covered by your stitching
Method - lets get stitching!
The Shell
Step one: Using 1 stand of thread 1 fill in areas marked 1 with long and short stitch. The direction of the stitches should be from the body of the snail towards the tip of the shell. Try and follow along the triangular shapes on the shell to keep the direction of your stitches consistent
leave a staggered edge to your stitches, some just over the line and some falling a little short as this will make it easier to blend in the next colour
Step two: Using 1 strand of thread 2 fill in areas marked 2 with long and short stitch. Blend these stitches in with the previous colour filling in any gaps along the border of the previous area
Step three: Using 1 strand of thread 3 fill in the rest of the shell with long and short stitch blending in with the previous colour. Take care to treat each segment of the shell separately as you fill them in so that the stitching is finished at the edge of each section and does not flow into the next. You will be outlining these sections later
Step four: Fill in the area marked 4 at the edge of the shell in long and short stitch, using 1 strand of thread 4. Your stitches should blend slightly with the body of the shell along the top edge of the section, while the bottom edge of this section should be solid
Step five: Using 1 strand of thread 4, outline the bottom edge of section 4 (that you have just stitched) with chain stitch
Step six: Outline the rest of the shell in chain stitch using 1 strand of thread 1
The Snail
Step one: Using 1 strand of thread 5 fill in the area marked 5 with long and short stitch. The direction of your stitches should be vertical and lean slightly to the right, think one on a clock face.
Step two: Using 1 strand of thread 6 fill in areas marked 6 on the snail. The face is the fiddliest part of the embroidery! The two large stalks that form a ‘v’ should be stitched first and the direction of your stitches should follow the lines of these two stalks. For the third small stalk your stitches should be horizontal, except at the very base where it meets the right hand ‘v’ stalk. There your stitches should lean down slightly to blend in with the others
Step three: Using 2 strands of thread 5, add a french knot at the end of each stalk to form the eyes
The Leaves
Step one: Using 1 strand of thread 8, long and short stitch the areas marked 8 on each leaf. The direction of the stitches should be from the centre vein of the leaf outwards and slightly leaning away from the base of the stalk towards the tip of the leaf. Leave a staggered line of stitching so you can blend in your next colour. This will mean some of your stitches will go over the border line for area 8 and some won’t quite reach it
Step two: Using 1 strand of thread 9, long and short stitch areas marked 9 on each leaf, blending in your stitches with the previous colour. Carry on with the same stitch direction heading diagonally up and along each leaf to the solid leaf edge
Step three: Using 1 strand of thread 7, chain stitch the central veins of each leaf and split stitch an outline around the edge
Step 4: Using 2 strands of thread 7, add several single straight stitches to each leaf, over and in the direction of the existing stitching, to form veins
The Flowers
Step one: Using 1 strand of thread 11, fill in areas at the base of each petal with long and short stitch. The direction of your stitches should be from the centre heading towards the outside of each petal like a fan. Leave a staggered edge for blending in the next colour
Step two: Using 1 strand of thread 10, fill in the outer section of each petal with long and short stitch, blending your stitches in with the previous colour
Step three: Using 1 strand of thread 12, outline each petal in split stitch. Use shorter stitches to help you go round corners more easily.
Step four: Using 1 strand thread 12, add a few straight stitches to form the stamen of each flower. At the top of this, add a small group of french knots
And there you have it, your very own Giant Land Snail embroidery!
If you’d like to frame your embroidery in its hoop to display proudly on your wall then check out this tutorial
I hope you enjoyed stitch this design and maybe even learn a little more about thread painting along the way
Keep your eyes peeled for February’s free embroidery pattern blog post soon!