I was super inspired after the embroidery class I took at Gather Here last month. Relearning the stitches and finding a community of like-minded crafty ladies really encouraged me to continue with the craft. When I finished the sampler that I began in my class, I instantly looked for ideas for my next project. It wasn’t hard to find the sugar skulls that inspired me, ‘tis the season!

Using my embroidery transfer pen, I traced the general skull shape onto a piece of fabric right off of my laptop screen. I drew in the rest freehand – not perfect but not too bad for a beginner. One of the things I really love about the sugar skull aesthetic is that is has a lot of intricate designs, perfect for showcasing many different types of embroidery stitches.

Speaking of stitches, I definitely need to share with you the most helpful embroidery website I’ve come across so far: NeedleNThread.com. The How-To videos are incredibly helpful and a fantastic resource.

Over the last few weeks I worked on my project on the train, in the car, really anytime I had downtime.

Finally finished! Though there was one more step left: rinse off the pattern I drew on. The great thing about using an embroidery transfer pen like the one I have is that it’s water soluble. When I ran this under cool water the pattern literally disappeared before my eyes.

Done! I think this came out really cute – colorful, fun, with lots of different embroidery techniques used. Plus, it really got me in the mood for Halloween next week. I love it!