Welcome to the Dia de los Muertos mini-CAL. A crochet-a-long which will take place over four weeks of time in which we create a stunning mandala/doily with as inspiration the Dia de los Muertos. The traditional Mexican holiday where we celebrate life and honor our passed ones and guide them to a good place in the afterlife. My design is just made from a inspiration and artistic view to this Mexican holiday. This means I do not own any titles, names or Mexican heritage and is made from a outsiders point of view on this holiday. Saying this, the CAL will be a free one at all times to also make sure no provids are gained over this cultural event.

But as with every CAL there are some important things to know before we start, so here is all the information you need :

• the CAL is free and will also stay free afterwards.

• Materials needed : For this pattern you will need the basic materials like scissors, a sewing needle and stitch markers. Some materials for blocking at the end of the CAL are also useful as the pattern really needs to be blocked once finished.

In the pattern you will use two sizes crochet hooks. As I used Scheepjes Catona for this pattern I used a 2.0mm hooksize and a 3.0mm hooksize. We will refer to these as the smaller and bigger size hook in the patterns. But, if you decide to take another type or weight of yarn, decide which size hook you will crochet the yarn with. This will be your biggest size hook. But, for the skulls we need a smaller size hook and always take a full size down for the smallest hook. So when you decide to take DK yarntype with crochet hook size 4.0mm – take a 3.0mm hooksize for the smaller one. Please take this information serious otherwise the skulls won’t fit into your pattern once applied.

• Yarn needed : For this pattern I used Scheepjes Catona in eight different colors. You can find the amounts and color numbers used in the introduction PDF files which you can already download out of this pattern page- or see my website for all yarn related information. On my website are also online shops named which sells this yarn or even have made kits for this CAL.

• Size : The finished size of the project will have a diameter of 65 cm / 25,5 inches

• Timeline : From August 28th 2020 the introduction guide to this pattern will be available. This introduction guide will hold all the information you need before and during this CAL such as stitch use, skill level, pattern notes, amount and yarn colors and a test skull to crochet. Make sure to download this file before you start as it also contains the abbreviations used in the patterns later on.

This also means for now this is the only file there is to download and the actual pattern will be uploaded in four parts from October 4th. Here are the dates :

Release of Part 1 – Central Flowers – Sunday October 4th 2020
Release of Part 2 – Black and White (including crocheting skulls) – Sunday October 11th 2020
Release of Part 3 – Skull joining and start of flower crowns – Sunday October 18th 2020
Release of Part 4 – Finishing flower crowns, the border and decorating skulls – Sunday October 25th 2020

Every Sunday in October I will post a part of this CAL; however, I do not mention a time. I will try to post the new part as early as possible on European time zone, but if for some reason there might be a delay on the day of release in a week, you don’t panic out by missing it. Of course, I will announce it when I uploaded a new part. This will be done through my website and I will send out an update on Ravelry each week. Within the time range of this CAL you can finish your Día de los Muertos right on time for this year’s celebration on November 2nd 2020.

• Skill level : Intermediate. The pattern holds some stitch work for intermediate experience. The pattern is written with a lot of detail and with over 100 photos to guide you along. Anyone who joined in the Spice Market CAL before might already know how detailed it will be. However, there is only a chart for the skulls and there will be NO videos due the fact I am a lefthanded crocheter.

• Languages available : So far confirmed are English, Dutch, Spanish, German, Danish and Swedish. The Swedish introduction guide will be added a few days later due some delay.

• Testers/translators : Many thanks to a wonderful team of testers and translators who helped me bring this pattern alive in many languages and without any errors : Wendy de Vries, Anette Hakansson, Tineke Tap, Elzbieta Sroczynska, Anja Hoberg, Maria Torres , Julia Veloso and Christina Berberich.

• Swatching : In the introduction guide you will find a test skull pattern. This skull you can crochet as a kick-off to this CAL. And for the clever ones out there, yes it is one of the nine skulls needed. You can decide to crochet all nine already but I really don’t advice it. Why ? You crochet the other skulls in Part 2 of the pattern and you would reduce the second week of the CAL to a minimum of work.

Crocheting the test skull is also a thing that can deliver size differences. If you pick Scheepjes Catona you can see the size guidelines, but if you decide to take different yarn and weights it is up to you what it will become. But take the crochet hook size story in mind. If you would chose a DK yarn with a regular hooksize of 4.0mm, you have to take a 3.0mm for this skull. Always take a full crochet hook size down for the skulls in the same yarn, even if stitches get tight. This is meant to and make your skulls fit into the pattern later on.

• in the introduction guide is stated that help will be offered by sending private messages. Due personal reasons I have closed off my chat sections on social media so if you want help you can fill out the contact form on my website. Read more about this on my website.

On 14 October 2020 there was a error found in Round 14 of the pattern. After this date i revised all pattern 2 parts in all languages. The black and thicker part in Round 14 has been changed :

Round 14 (RS): Take Color B and attach it in any bpsc of last Round between two fans. This is bpsc between the two ch2-sps and not one of the five of a fan. CH3 (first DC), 3DC in next ch2-sp, sk next bpsc (this will be the first of five on a fan), (2DC in next ch1-sp between two bpsc, sk next bpsc) 4 times, 3DC in next ch2-sp. * 1DC in next bpsc between the two ch2-sps, 3DC in next ch2-sp, sk next bpsc (this will be the first of five on a fan), (2DC in next ch1-sp between two bpsc, sk next bpsc) 4 times, 3DC in next ch2-sp. Rep from * 7 more times. SS in top of first st to connect. 135DC

On the Swedish version there was also a small error on Round 16. This is also revised in the pattern part. This is the change :

Varv 16: börja i första fm i en 2fm-ökning på förra varvet. 2LM (första HST), 1HST i nästa 6 maskor, 2HST i nästa maska.* 1HST i nästa 7 maskor, 2HST i nästa maska. Rep från * 16 gånger till. Avsluta med SM i första maskan. Lägg Färg B åt sidan. 162HST

If you want to read even more information about this CAL, please visit my website.