Looking for a colorful Day of the Dead craft? Make this sugar skull embroidery with a free downloadable pattern, bright embroidery floss, and a few easy hand embroidery stitches. This festive design is a fun way to celebrate Día de los Muertos, decorate your home, or make a handmade gift.
You don’t need to know lots of fancy stitches to get started. The flowers, leaves, and skull details use simple techniques, and a 6-inch embroidery hoop is just right for the design. Print the pattern, transfer it to fabric, choose your favorite colors, and enjoy some relaxing stitching.
What is a good Day of the Dead craft to make?
Sugar skull embroidery is a colorful handmade project inspired by the decorative skulls associated with Día de los Muertos. Use the free pattern to create a piece of hoop art or another decorative project.
Can I make sugar skull embroidery as a beginner?
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Yes! This project uses a small collection of hand embroidery stitches, including chain stitch, stem stitch, detached chain stitch, and French knots. Beginners can learn the stitches as they work.
What supplies do I need for sugar skull embroidery?
You’ll need the downloadable pattern, fabric, embroidery floss in your chosen colors, an embroidery hoop, a needle, scissors, and a way to transfer the design to fabric.
Can I use the sugar skull pattern for other crafts?
Yes. You can resize the printed design for suitable projects, use it as a guide for painting fabric, or adapt it for a tea towel or canvas shoes. Choose materials and a transfer method that work for your intended project.
What you’ll learn
By making this sugar skull embroidery, you’ll learn how to:
- Download and print a free embroidery pattern.
- Transfer a design onto linen or another suitable fabric.
- Set up your fabric in an embroidery hoop.
- Use chain stitch to outline flowers.
- Add texture with French knots.
- Stitch curved outlines with stem stitch.
- Make detached chain stitches for leaves.
- Combine bright thread colors to create a festive sugar skull.
- Adapt a printed design for other creative projects.
Quick start: sugar skull embroidery
Project: Day of the Dead sugar skull embroidery
Skill level: Beginner-friendly
Technique: Hand embroidery
Hoop size: 6 inches
Pattern: Free downloadable design
Time: Allow a few hours, depending on your stitching speed.
You’ll need
- Free sugar skull embroidery pattern
- Linen or another suitable embroidery fabric
- Embroidery floss in bright colors
- Embroidery hoop
- Embroidery needle
- Small scissors
- Painter’s tape
- Light box or bright window
- Removable fabric marking pen
The basic steps
- Download and print the sugar skull pattern.
- Transfer the design to your fabric.
- Place the fabric in your embroidery hoop.
- Choose thread colors for the flowers, skull, leaves, and details.
- Stitch the flowers, outlines, leaves, and facial details.
- Add French knots for texture.
- Finish the thread ends and enjoy your colorful embroidery.
Ready to stitch? Download the sugar skull embroidery pattern and gather your supplies before moving to the full tutorial.
Step 1: Download and print the pattern
Download the sugar skull embroidery pattern and print it on regular paper.
The design is intended for hand embroidery, not machine embroidery. Print it at the size you want to stitch, keeping in mind that the original design is intended for a 6-inch embroidery hoop.
Tip: Want to make a larger or smaller design? Adjust the print size before transferring the pattern to your fabric.
Step 2: Gather your supplies
Choose a piece of linen or another fabric suitable for hand embroidery. Gather your embroidery floss, needle, scissors, hoop, painter’s tape, and fabric marking pen.
Choose bright, cheerful thread colors for the flowers and other decorative details. You can follow a traditional sugar skull color palette or create your own combination.
Tip: Test your fabric marking pen on a scrap of the same fabric before using it on your project.
Step 3: Transfer the pattern to your fabric
Check out our article that covers seven (7) ways to transfer your embroidery design to fabric. Print out the pattern and pick your favorite way to transfer the design. For this design, I knew I wanted to embroider it on linen and knew it would be quick and easy with a Frixion pen and the light box.
I like to use painter’s tape to secure the pattern to the lightbox, and then tape the fabric on top. It comes off easily and doesn’t leave a residue.
your embroidery floss, needle, scissors, hoop, painter’s tape, and fabric marking pen.
Choose bright, cheerful thread colors for the flowers and other decorative details. You can follow a traditional sugar skull color palette or create your own combination.
Tip: Test your fabric marking pen on a scrap of the same fabric before using it on your project.
Step 3: Transfer the pattern to your fabric
Place the printed pattern on a light box or bright window. Position your fabric over the design and secure the layers with painter’s tape so nothing shifts.
Trace the design onto the fabric using your removable fabric marking pen.
For this project, a Frixion pen was used to transfer the design to linen. Always test the pen first because heat-erasable marks can sometimes leave a visible residue on certain fabrics.
Tip: Make sure you can see all the lines clearly before removing the paper and tape.
Then, using the Frixion pen, I traced all of the lines for the design. Always test your marker on a scrap of fabric to make sure it comes off! I have had some fabrics where the Frixion leave a residue line. If you aren’t familiar with Frixion pens, you write on your fabric and with a little heat from your iron, the marks disappear. I like to use it for embroidery transfer because it stays in place until I give it the heat. Sometimes I don’t get to projects right away, or water gets spilled on them so water soluble markers don’t always work.
Here is the design all transferred.
Step 4: Place the fabric in the hoop
Center the transferred design in your 6-inch embroidery hoop. Tighten the hoop so the fabric is smooth and evenly held, without stretching it out of shape.
Check that the entire sugar skull design is comfortably positioned inside the hoop.
Tip: If the fabric becomes loose as you stitch, adjust the hoop to restore gentle, even tension.
Step 5: Stitch the flowers
Use chain stitch to outline the flowers. This stitch creates a bold, linked line that helps the flower shapes stand out.
Choose contrasting colors for the flower outlines to make the design lively and bright.
Tip: Follow the curves slowly. Consistent stitch lengths help create smooth outlines.
Step 6: Add French knots to flower centers
Fill the centers of the flowers with French knots. These small raised knots add texture and make the flower centers pop.
Bring your needle to the front of the fabric, wrap the floss around the needle, and return the needle to the back close to where it emerged. Keep the thread controlled as you pull it through.
Tip: Don’t go back through the exact same hole. A tiny space between the entry and exit points helps keep the knot on the front of the fabric.
Step 7: Outline the skull and add facial details
Use stem stitch to embroider the outside of the skull, nose, lips, and stems.
Stem stitch works well on curves because it creates a continuous, slightly twisted line. Follow the pattern and take small, even stitches around the shapes.
Tip: Shorten your stitches around tight curves to keep the outlines smooth.
Step 8: Stitch the leaves
Use detached chain stitch, also called detached lazy daisy stitch, for the leaves.
Each stitch forms a small loop that is secured at the tip. Follow the shape of each leaf and adjust the stitch length to suit the design.
Tip: Keep the loops consistent, but don’t pull them so tightly that they lose their leaf shape.
Step 9: Add the teeth and finishing details
Use dark gray embroidery floss and straight stitches for the lines between the teeth. This creates definition without making the teeth overpower the rest of the design.
Add extra French knots wherever you want a little more texture or color.
Tip: Step back and look at the whole design before adding more embellishment. A few well-placed details can be more effective than filling every open space.
Step 10: Finish your embroidery
To make this hoop art, finish the back of your embroidery. See our article on finishing embroidery in a hoop.
Your sugar skull embroidery is ready to display or use in another project.
Keep it in the hoop as simple wall art, or consider using the design for a decorative tea towel or another suitable fabric project.
Enjoy your colorful Day of the Dead embroidery!
Common mistakes when making sugar skull embroidery
Skipping the fabric marker test
A marking pen may leave a residue on some fabrics. Test it on a scrap before tracing the full design, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for removing the marks.
Letting the fabric shift while tracing
If the paper or fabric moves, the transferred lines may become doubled or distorted. Secure both layers with painter’s tape before tracing.
Hooping the fabric too loosely
Loose fabric can make small stitches harder to control. Adjust the hoop so the fabric is smooth and evenly tensioned.
Pulling the thread too tightly
Tight stitches can pucker the fabric or flatten decorative loops. Use even tension and let the stitches sit naturally on the fabric.
Making French knots too close to the original hole
If the needle goes back through the same hole, the knot may slip to the back. Place the needle just beside the original entry point.
Using stitches that are too long on curves
Long stitches can make curved outlines look uneven. Take smaller stitches around the skull, nose, and lips for better control.
Adding too many finishing details
The flowers and colorful outlines already give the sugar skull plenty of personality. Add extra French knots sparingly so the design stays balanced.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Here is a link to the downloadable sugar skull embroidery design.
No. This pattern is intended for hand embroidery. The design is stitched by hand using embroidery floss and simple embroidery stitches.
The design is intended for a 6-inch embroidery hoop. You can resize the printed pattern if you want to adapt it for a different project.
This project uses chain stitch for the flower outlines, French knots for the flower centers and extra texture, stem stitch for the skull outline and facial details, detached chain stitch for leaves (also called the lazy daisy stitch), and running stitches for the teeth.
Linen is used in this project, but another fabric suitable for hand embroidery can also work. Choose a fabric that supports your stitches and allows you to transfer the design clearly.
You can trace the printed pattern onto your fabric using a light box or bright window and a removable fabric marking pen. Painter’s tape helps hold the paper and fabric in place while you trace.
See our article with 9 ways to transfer embroidery designs to fabric.
Absolutely. Choose bright, contrasting colors for a festive look, or use a more limited palette for a different effect. The pattern gives you a starting point, so make the design your own.
Yes. The design can also serve as a guide for painting fabric or for suitable decorative projects. Resize the printed pattern as needed, and test your transfer method on the material you plan to use.
Yes. The colorful design makes a fun seasonal craft for Halloween displays and Day of the Dead celebrations. Día de los Muertos has its own cultural traditions and meaning, so consider presenting the project as a way to appreciate the holiday rather than treating the two occasions as interchangeable.
Make your own colorful sugar skull
This sugar skull embroidery is a fun way to bring color, flowers, and a little creativity to your stitching. With a free pattern and a handful of simple embroidery stitches, you can make a festive piece of hoop art or adapt the design for another project. Choose your favorite colors, take your time with the details, and enjoy every stitch. Happy stitching!
Check out all of our scary and fun DIY Halloween projects on Create Whimsy!
