Sugar Skull Quilt Pattern + Tutorial

Add a little sweetness to your wall with our funky sugar skull. Sugar Skull Decoration.

 Why not turn your sugar skull into a cushion by adding a back after quilting and filling with polyester toy stuffing? You could even add a pompom trim to make it the star of any Halloween party!

MATERIALS
◆ 1m 45cm-wide iron-on adhesive 
◆ 0.5m plain white fabric 
◆ fat quarter black fabric
◆ assorted fabric scraps
◆ 0.5m backing fabric 
◆ 0.5m bias binding 
◆ 25x17” wadding 
◆ dresden wedge ruler
◆ templates (DOWNLOAD PDF PATTERN)

 RST – right sides together.
Seam allowance is ¼” unless otherwise stated.

PREPARATION
1. Print or trace skull Templates 1 – 4 onto A4 paper and then tape together with masking tape as shown. (See Pic A.)

2. Trace onto white fabric and carefully cut out from fabric. 

3. Press and starch well to retain the shape. 

4. Print or trace all templates onto paper. You will need 2 large circle A, 2 small circle B, 1 nose C, 6  triangle D, 1 flower template E, 6 petal template F, 4 teeth template G. 

5. Trace all templates onto the paper side of the iron-on adhesive. 

6. Roughly cut out the shapes from the fusible, leaving room around the drawn lines. 

7. Choose fabric for each template and place the rough side of the iron-on adhesive onto the wrong side of the fabric.  

8. Iron dry for five seconds. Cut out the template shapes precisely. Leave the backing paper in place until you are ready to iron the shapes in place on the skull. 

DRESDEN PLATE EYES
9. Cut a long strip of fabric 1½” high and use a Dresden wedge ruler to cut 12 blades at a height of 1½”.  (See pics B and C.) 

10. Fold RST and sew along the top. Back-stitch at the beginning and end to secure stitches.  Use a point turning tool and carefully turn the point around to the right side. (See Pic D.) Press gently to retain shape.  

11. Make a total of 12 blades and then sew together. (See Pic E.) Once these are joined together you will see a hole in the middle. 

12. Press the Dresden plate well to flatten and then take the small circle template prepared earlier. Remove the backing paper and place over the hole to ensure all the raw edges are covered. Press with a dry iron to secure in place. Stitch in place using a zigzag or straight-line stitch. Repeat for the second eye. 

13. Take the large black circle and place the Dresden plate in the centre of this. Stitch the Dresden in place following the edge of the blades. Repeat for other eye. 

ASSEMBLY
14. Decide where you want all the pieces to go before you begin ironing them in place. Take a photo to remind you of placement.

15. Follow Pic F and place eyes, nose, teeth and other decorative pieces in place. When placing the flower, ensure that template E lines up with the outer edge of the skull and place the flat ends of the petals underneath that section. 

16. Carefully remove the backing paper from each template and, beginning with the eyes, iron in place with a damp cloth covering them if preferred. Place the teeth and iron in place. 

17. Move onto the smaller decorations and repeat the ironing process. Add the flower last. 

18. Once all decorations are in place you will now need to secure them by sewing them in place. Start with the eyes and use a straight stitch and followed to outline of the Dresden plates and then the large black circle. Repeat for the nose and the teeth. You can get creative here and even free-motion some of these stitches to add a sketchy look to your design.  

19. Once everything has been sewn in place it is time to add the quilt wadding and backing fabric. Lay the backing fabric on a flat surface with wrong side facing you. Lay your quilt wadding on top of this and smooth down. Place the skull top with the right side facing you and smooth down. Pin in place using curved safety pins to baste. 

20. Quilt as desired. You could use a mixture of machine quilting and hand quilting like Collette did to add extra detail and interest to the finished item.

21. Once quilted, trim off the excess wadding and backing to form the skull shape. Zigzag or stay-stitch the edges to help with the final step of binding. Bind the perimeter using the bias binding.