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Watch the video: “Shadow Work Duck Embroidery Motif for Baby Collar” by Sarah Classic Sewing
A baby collar with three playful ducks, tiny waves, and a single French knot eye—this shadow work motif is small in scale but rich in technique. If you’ve been looking for a dainty, heirloom-style accent that feels timeless on baby garments, this tutorial delivers a clear path from traced lines to a polished finish.
What you’ll learn
- How to trace a clean motif with a heat-erasable pen and remove the lines at the end
- How to hoop fabric so it’s taut (but not stretched) for neat shadow work
- How to backstitch waves and fill the duck bodies, head, and wing
- How to work the beak with shadowed stitches and add a French knot eye
- What to iron (and when) so your motif looks crisp and delicate
Introduction to Shadow Work Embroidery Shadow work is a delicate hand-embroidery approach that layers stitches to create soft shading. In this project, the shading comes from carefully placed backstitches that read as a gentle fill when viewed from the right side. The result is sweet and subtle—perfect for a baby collar where lightness matters.
What is Shadow Work? In the context of this motif, shadow work means building up the duck bodies and wing with closely packed backstitches that subtly tint the fabric. The video emphasizes working with a single strand of floss, which keeps the fill delicate and smooth rather than bulky. It also shows how a small “looping” trick on the back helps fill tight, narrow sections without gaps.
Why Choose Ducks for a Baby Collar? Ducks offer natural movement: bobbing waves, a curved head and body, and that tiny French knot eye. The motif scales well across a collar because each duck reads clearly even at a small size. The tutorial demonstrates a row of two ducks and a third diving duck with water splashes—just enough variety to make the collar feel animated and charming, without overwhelming the garment.
From the comments (location note): The creator confirms they’re based in North Carolina, USA.
Gathering Your Materials and Tools Essential Embroidery Supplies
- Fabric: The video shows a light, semi-sheer fabric suitable for shadow work. Comments note cotton batiste (specifically cotton satin batiste in the video) and voile as excellent choices.
- Temporary marking tool: A Pilot Frixion heat-erasable pen is used to trace the motif.
- Hoop: A standard embroidery hoop to keep the fabric stable (with a few important cautions below).
- DMC embroidery floss: The video uses blue, yellow, orange, and black; yellow is noted as DMC 726.
- Needle and small scissors.
- Iron for removing pen marks at the end.
Choosing DMC Floss Colors The palette is straightforward and cheerful:
- Yellow for the duck bodies, head, and wing (yellow is identified as DMC 726 in the video’s stash)
- Blue for waves and splashes
- Orange for the beak
- Black for the tiny French knot eye
Pro tip: Work with a single strand of floss throughout this motif. It keeps the fill even and avoids the “bulky” look that can overwhelm dainty babywear.
Prepping Your Fabric and Hoop Tracing Your Design with Frixion Pen Trace your motif with a Pilot Frixion pen. The video demonstrates a clean, thin line that disappears with heat. There’s also a note in the comments: the creator hears that marks may reappear in cold conditions (not confirmed in the video), so if your garment is headed for chilly weather, you may want to test a scrap first.
Watch out: Do not cut your collar pattern piece before you embroider. The creator calls this out as a mistake from experience—cutting first can distort the fabric as you stitch. Instead, trace the collar outline on a larger piece, embroider, and cut after you’re done.
The Importance of Proper Hooping Place your fabric in the hoop so it’s secure but still has a little give. The tutorial warns against tugging or pressing on the fabric from the back of the hoop—it can stretch and distort the design. Think “even, gentle tension,” not drum-tight.
Quick check: Press a fingertip on the hooped fabric; it should move slightly rather than feel stiff. If it’s too tight, loosen and reset before you begin.
Mastering the Backstitch: Waves and Duck Bodies Stitching the Gentle Waves Start with the blue wave. Bring the needle up at the corner of a wave segment, go down about 1/8 inch over, and work a backstitch rhythm that alternates from the top to the bottom contours. Keep your stitches consistent—about 1/8 inch—so the wave line looks smooth. Tie off on the back once the wave is complete.
Pro tip: Consistency is the key to a tidy finish. Even stitch length creates the illusion of a soft, shaded edge without visible “jumps.”
Creating the Duck’s Shadowed Body Switch to yellow (one strand). Come up just past the wave, then down about 1/8 inch over, and alternate sides as you backstitch your way across the body. This back-and-forth creates an even fill that reads as shadow work from the front.
When you near the top of the body and space tightens on one side, the video shows a practical trick: take a stitch on the right side and loop your thread around the existing left-side stitches on the back. Repeat as needed to fill the area without gaps. You’ll stop when the yellow fill feels complete and even.
Watch out: Patchy coverage happens when stitch lengths vary too much. If you notice thin spots, shorten and align stitches to smooth them out.
Adding Detail: Wings, Beaks, and Eyes Embroidering the Wing for Depth Outline and shade the wing with yellow to add dimension. The creator starts around the mid-wing, stitches toward the right, then outlines the left edge before filling the inner region to create a subtle shadow effect. Tie off neatly on the back when finished.
Finishing Touches: Beak and French Knot Eye With orange, shadow the top of the beak using the same back-and-forth approach; outline the bottom with a backstitch. Then flip to the back and weave floss to cover the underside of the beak for that shadow effect. Switch to black and place a single French knot for the eye—small, centered, and secure.
Quick check: The beak should look softly filled, not outlined-only. The eye knot should be snug with no loose tails peeking through.
The Diving Duck and Water Splashes Stitching Dynamic Feet For the third duck, repeat the body fill as before but skip the feet initially. Once the body is outlined and shaded, return to the feet: make two backstitches around the “ankle” area, then fill and outline the webbing. One straight stitch separates each toe for definition.
Crafting Realistic Water Splashes To work the splashes, start at the bottom with two backstitches, fill the shape by alternating stitches upward, and finish with two backstitches at the top. The consistent rhythm keeps each splash crisp and lively.
From the comments: One viewer asked about the yellow edge on the collar; the creator notes it’s a purchased whipped stitch piping referenced below the video.
Final Touches: Ironing and Presentation Making Pen Marks Disappear When the ducks (and splashes) are complete, gently iron the fabric to remove the Frixion lines. The reveal is immediate and satisfying—the motif looks cleaner and more refined without guide marks.
Showcasing Your Finished Motif With the embroidery done, you’re ready to cut out the collar along your traced outline. Because you waited until after stitching, your fabric will be far less prone to distortion. This is the moment to enjoy the subtle shading and tiny details that make shadow work so special.
From the comments: FAQs answered
- Best fabric for shadow work and visibility: Cotton batiste (the video used cotton satin batiste) and voile both work beautifully.
- Do Frixion marks come back? The creator notes a sharp line with no bleeding and easy removal with heat. She’s heard of reappearing lines in cold temperatures and plans to test; not confirmed in the video.
- Nutcracker template? Not available at this time.
- Yellow embroidery on the collar edge? The edge shown is whipped stitch piping purchased from a fabric shop, linked under the video.
Troubleshooting and care
- Wavy outlines: Revisit hoop tension. If you pressed from the back or pulled too tight, re-hoop with gentle, even tension.
- Patchy body fill: Shorten stitches slightly and work your back-and-forth rows closer together. Use the looping trick on the back for tight spots.
- Fuzzy French knot: Keep tension even as you pull the thread through the coiled wrap; avoid over-tightening.
Pro tip: Tie off cleanly after every element—the wave, body, wing, beak, and eye. Frequent tie-offs keep the back neat and prevent traveling threads from showing through light fabrics.
Safety and workflow recap
- Hoop tension: Taut with some give; avoid tugging or pushing on the back.
- Pattern cutting: Trace the collar outline before stitching; cut out only after embroidery is complete.
- Single strand: The entire motif is worked with one strand of DMC floss to maintain the airy shadow.
- Iron last: Remove Frixion lines only after your stitches are complete.
Context notes (tools and materials)
- Colors used: blue (waves and splashes), yellow (bodies, head, wing), orange (beak), black (eye). Only the yellow is identified by code (DMC 726) in the video.
- Stitch length guidance: Approximately 1/8 inch for the backstitch rhythm shown.
From the comments
- The creator’s location is the United States (North Carolina).
- Community feedback loved the soft baby sounds in the background—proof that heirloom sewing and family life can coexist.
A note on hoops and machines This project is fully hand-embroidered, and the video does not cover machine embroidery or alternative hoop systems. If you’re researching equipment outside the scope of this tutorial, consider making a quick list of terms to explore later. For example, some stitchers compare different hooping approaches for other projects; that said, this specific duck collar is demonstrated entirely by hand, with a standard hoop and needle. If you do venture into research mode, remember that the tutorial here does not evaluate or recommend any machine or magnetic system.
- If you’re browsing the topic generally, you might encounter terms such as magnetic embroidery hoop. The video does not cover or test these.
- Beginners exploring equipment for other projects sometimes search for embroidery machine for beginners. That’s beyond this tutorial; all steps shown are by hand.
- In other contexts, people discuss magnetic embroidery frames for machine setups. This motif was stitched with a standard hoop only.
- Some communities talk about mighty hoops for machine embroidery; again, not part of this hand process.
- You may also see references to snap hoop monster. The tutorial does not use or assess it.
- If you’re shopping internationally, you might see retailers labeled under phrases like embroidery hoops uk. The video does not name any retailers.
- Similarly, brands publish accessories like dime magnetic hoop; none are used in this project.
Embed and attribution For the clearest view of stitch motion and spacing, watch the original video—seeing the needle move across curves, especially near the top of the duck’s body and around the wing, makes the written steps click.