Kitty Silhouette Portraits

Hey ghouls and creeps! In honor of National Black Cat Day this past Tuesday, I wanted to create a project that had my two black kitties, Zinnia and Exmoor, as the subjects. I absolutely adore these two, and wanted to pay tribute while considering alternatives to a framed photograph. The silhouette portrait technique is a super cool way to pay homage to a pet, because it is so simple but accurate in capturing their appearance.

I typically thought this type of portraiture originated in the Victorian Era, as a way for lower-income folks to afford a portrait of themselves. Although this is partially true, it turns out silhouette portraits began with the Egyptians and would later pop up in Greek art six thousand years later. This technique would originate for the Greeks by tracing human shadow. Jumping way forward, to the 19th century, the first photo taken with a camera wouldn’t happen until 1826. Consequently, profile portraiture would remain the primary portrait technique because of its affordability and availability for most of the century.¹

I found this history super interesting, and thought you would too! Let’s get started!

The Kitty Silhouette Portrait project is pretty easy, just a little bit of hand sewing, painting, gluing and you’re done!

*Supply list includes quantities to make two silhouette portraits.

Step 1: Making your Silhouettes in Illustrator: Begin by opening your photos of your pet’s profile in Adobe Illustrator. Select the image and go to Object->Image Trace->Make. If the Image Trace menu is not coming up for you, make sure that it’s selected under Window. Select Black and White under mode, and adjust the threshold to your preference. Adjust the size of your image so it will print to fit inside your embroidery hoop. You can do this by showing your rulers by going to View->Rulers->Show Rulers. You can also create an artboard to the dimensions needed, and resize the artwork to fit within the artboard. I also included the PNG file that I used of Exmoor and Zinnia, if you have kitties with similar silhouettes below.

*If you do not have access to Illustrator don’t worry! You can also take your pet’s photo, resize it to the needed dimensions, and print the photo to use as your template. The primary purpose of using the image trace function in Illustrator was to provide a crisper outline for tracing later!

Ex-and-Zin-01 Download

Step 2: Making and Tracing your Templates: You can either cut out your templates directly from your printed PNG file, or trace an outline onto tracing paper to refine first. I opted to trace my outline first, to experiment with how to finish the bottom of the bust. Pro tip: Using a French curve is helpful for drawing that bottom line!

If you used tracing paper, tape first to some sketchbook paper before cutting out silhouette(s). This will make your template easier to trace!

Step 3: Painting Silhouettes and Embroidery Hoop: Cut two rectangles from your kona/linen that extend at least 2″ past all edges of your embroidery hoop. Lay embroidery hoop in the center of your kona/linen rectangle, and lay template in the center of the hoop.

Once the template is centered, trace around the template with a pencil. I found that pencil leaves a legable line and can be erased, the perfect solution for detailed template tracing!

Use the 1/2″ wide paintbrush for filling in most of the silhouette with your black fabric paint. After filling in nearly the whole profile, take your detail brush and fill in the perimeter and those small areas.

Remove the outside ring of your embroidery hoop and stain using the Dylon dye packet. Follow instructions on the backside of packaging for water temperature and water/dye ratio. Apply dye using the 1″ foam brush. I ultimately applied three coats of dye, allowing to dry in between, so I didn’t risk warping or distorting my hoop.

Take inside hoop piece (the part that’s not dyed) and trace perimeter on white felt. Cut felt tracing, making sure to cut just on the inside of the traced line.

Once outside hoop(s) are thoroughly dry, gently stretch your portrait(s) in your hoop(s).

Step 4: Finishing Hoop Back: Cut excess fabric off around hoop, leaving 1 1/2″ to wrap around to the back of the hoop.

Take a long piece of embroidery floss (more than enough to go around your embroidery hoop) and baste around kona/linen edge. Once you have basted around the entire perimeter, synch edges so that they are tightly wrapped to the backside of the hoop. Tie embroidery floss to hold edges in place.

Take felt oval and place over the back of the hoop. Slipstitch felt oval to backside, catching the kona/linen and the felt edge to seal the back.

Cut a 3″- 4″ length of ribbon, seal edges with a flame, and hand baste ends together. Hot glue hanging loop to the felt, positioning the top of the loop at the top edge of the hoop.

Step 5: Embellishing Hoop: For each hoop cut three 4 3/4″ and two 3 3/8″ lengths of the 3/8″ grey ribbon. Cut one 4 3/4″, two 3 3/8″, and two 5″ lengths of the 1/8″ orange ribbon. Fold each ribbon cut in half widthwise and cut ends together at an angle. Burn ribbon ends with a flame to prevent fraying.

Take two of the 4 3/4″ grey pieces and fold them into a fifty-degree angle. Lay the 4 3/4″ orange piece on the top center of the last 4 3/4″ grey piece and fold into a fifty-degree angle as well. Hand tack the folds with a needle and thread to keep in place.

Lay 3 3/8″ orange pieces on the top center of the 3 3/8″ grey pieces, and create a loop overlapping the ends. Hand tack the overlapping ends to keep together. Lay ribbon loops on top of grey fifty-degree angle pieces and tack together.

Hot glue ribbon pieces to the bottom of your hoop, placing the grey and orange fifty-degree angle piece at the center bottom. Evenly space the side ribbon groupings from the center, and glue in place.

Glue rosettes on top of where hand tacking is visible on ribbon groupings.

Take your two 5″ lengths of ribbon and tie into little bows. These will be the head and bow tie. Apply a small dot of hot glue on the back of each bow, and adhere to desired spot.

You’re finished! Hang your new silhouette portrait in your home as fun and cute wall decor with a sentimental twist!

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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!