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An ultrasound photo is one of the first keepsakes that someone has after finding out they're pregnant. Many people might choose to frame these photos, but for some craft-loving folks, they commemorate this special picture with embroidery. Embroidery artist Yulia Sherbak, aka Moss and Feather, creates small hoop art featuring ultrasound photos meticulously stitched on black fabric. The resulting custom pieces are a special keepsake to remember this extraordinary time.
Sherbak was first inspired to stitch these portraits because of her work outside of embroidery. “In addition to being an embroidery artist, I’m also an ultrasound technologist,” she tells My Modern Met. “I thought it would be interesting to combine my profession with my craft, so about three years ago I embroidered my daughter’s old ultrasound picture. I shared it on my Instagram account and people loved it. I started getting requests for custom orders and that’s how that aspect of my embroidery business took off.”
Sherbak has produced over 60 ultrasound embroideries since then. Many are in hoops while others are immortalized as necklaces. To create the subtleties found in each image—some areas are darker or lighter than others—she employs a technique called thread painting. This allows her to create smooth color gradients and capture the exact representation of the picture.
“The most challenging part of it for me is the limited color palette,” Sherbak reveals. “If I’m working on several at once, the white and gray palette can feel a little monotonous, because I love working with color, so I start to miss it. Another challenge in ultrasound embroidery is the fact that large portions of ultrasound photos tend to be abstract shapes, so replicating those areas can be tough, but important nonetheless in order to render the final product that looks like the reference photo.”
Custom ultrasound portraits are available for commission via the Moss and Feather Etsy shop.
Embroidery artist Yulia Sherbak immortalizes ultrasound photos by perfectly recreating them with thread.
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Watch Sherbak work in the video below.
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Moss and Feather: Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Yulia Sherbak.
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