Sugar Skulls

Last night I came across this month's Art Quilt Challenge on QuiltingBoard.com and it piqued my interest. I was going to dedicate a weekend later in the month to working with the Halloween/Sugar Skull idea but I was too tired to do any serious crafting and some creative ideas just won't let you alone until you play with them.

This took me about an hour to throw together, so really no time at all.

Ta-da! My very own Sugar Skull, ready to be stitched on a wall hanging.

If I was to do this over, I'd make the mouth and eyes with dark fabrics instead of light.

Here's how to make your own.

1. Print a black and white outline of a skull onto foundation paper.

2. Select some appropriate fabrics. I went with mostly light-background florals. I just grabbed a bunch from my stash, whatever I had on hand.

3. Slice off random width strips. Starting in the center, stitch them to the paper, just like you would with any string quilt block. Press open after each seam.

Front of block after adding strings

Back of block after adding strings

4. Cut out along outline of skull.

5. Add details - eyes, nose, mouth. I just cut these approximately to the right size and shape and zigzagged them on. The nose is a fuzzy cut upside down heart. This is supposed to looks crazy, so don't worry about getting things exact.

6. Done! Honestly, I think it looks a little psychotic.

The plans are to put this on a black background and stuff it with quilt batting scraps to make a 3D wall hanging.