How quickly is autumn slipping away? It feels like it just started and yet Halloween is upon us! Luckily the weather here should stay fall-like through most of November so I still have time to enjoy my favorite season. There are so many fun holidays ahead and one that we didn’t celebrate growing up, but has become something I really look forward to is Dia De Los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. November 1st is set aside to honor and remember with celebration those who have passed. Melissa from Rebel & Malice is hosting another Dia De Los Muertos tour and I’m happy to participate again this year.
Remember the Sugar Skull Kitty stencil I made for last year’s celebration? I was going to make a different design, but then we’ve been very fortunate and haven’t lost anyone this year. So I decided to honor our Luna cat one more year with another use for this fun free template (*affiliate link).
When I first designed the stencil, I thought it would be neat to embroider or applique with it as well. Of course time ran away and I found I never did use it again. I planned to embroider the design on a shirt for Bean and then I saw Jonie from Knot Sew Normal used the template for embroidery back in September and I completely fell in love with the idea.
I chose some of the traditional colors used during the Day of the Dead celebrations and began stitching. It’s far from perfect, but I didn’t stress over the details and just let my needle run free. My favorite stitches are those scallops around the eyes. They were easy, fun, and make a nice statement. Here is a good tutorial explaining how to do that stitch.
The rest of the stitches are pretty basic, but I love how it turned out. I used some knit from JoAnn that has a charcoal look on the right side and stripes on the wrong side. It’s pretty sturdy so I didn’t worry too much about the weight of the embroidery.
I used the Anywhere Dress from Go To Patterns for the top since I love that neckline and slim shape. I just cut off the bottom of the dress to make a shirt length. Of course I made it reversible using the method I describe in this tutorial. That way the wrong side of the embroidery isn’t rubbing against Bean’s skin AND she now has a grey striped shirt that can be worn anytime. I love using reversible garments for holidays to stretch their wearability!
Bean was SO excited to have another Sugar Skull Kitty shirt. She put together this amazing outfit to wear with it and refused to take off anything except the boots for bedtime hehe.
Below there is a giveaway for a copy of the DVD “The Book of Life” and a copy of the book “Rosita y Conchita” by Erich Haeger and Eric Gonzalez. They are not affiliated with this website or giveaway. There is also a separate giveaway that is open internationally.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And here are the rest of the bloggers who are joining the 2nd Dia de los Muertos tour! They will be bringing you a variety of inspired crafts, stories and a few freebies. Here is the full schedule in case you miss a day.
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