Stitch the cutest Highland cows with this collection of stick-and-stitch embroidery patterns! They are available as pre-printed water soluble stickers here or as a printable PDF here. This set includes 10 sweet, fluffy cow illustrations featuring different poses — sitting in the grass, leaning over a fence, sleeping, standing, and more. These clean, simple line drawings are perfect for both beginners and experienced stitchers who love adorable, farm-inspired designs.
My goal for my Stick and Stitch designs are for them to be for all levels of experience. A beginner can just outline the design using 2-3 strands with a backstitch. For this example, I used 2 strands of DMC 839 to back stitch the body, and 2 strands of DMC Ecru to backstitch the horns.

I used DMC 310, black, satin stitch to fill in the eyes and nostrils. The flowers were satin stitched with 2 strands of DMC 3837 and then 2 strands of DMC 17 for French knots, using 2 wraps.

This next cow is a slightly more advanced option, but still very doable for an ambitious beginner. The colors of DMC threads I used are: 838, 3862, 3864, 310, ecru, 209, 794, 3347.

When I embroidery fur, I often use a split stitch. I love the texture it adds, and I love that its not perfect looking, gives it a more natural “fur” look. My trick for hair is to mix the colors to add high lights or low lights. For this one, I used 4 strands of the darker color and 1 strand of a lighter color. I usually don’t recommend more than 3 strands for stick and stick, but I wanted my cow to be furry and differentiate the top of his head from the rest of his body, to give him more of a Highland Cow look. I also did the same technique for his legs, to help give them a little more “fluff” and to not have them blend in with the rest of the body. For his belly, I used a lighter color for 2 strands and then 1 strand of the dark color, to differentiate it, but tie it all in together.