Sugar skulls and many other forms of calavera are a popular feature of Day of the Dead celebrations throughout the world. These skulls are made of cane sugar that is molded in one piece and then decorated with line art, flowers, and often the name of a deceased loved one as a way of honoring them.

I drew inspiration from these designs to crochet my own version of the sugar skull. The pattern starts out with a fan to create the forehead, then you work on the opposite side to create the eyes, nose, cheeks and teeth. Don’t worry, within the PDF pattern, I’ve included a very detailed step-by-step photo tutorial to guide you along. It’s a lot of fun to embellish these motifs with beads, embroidery, and crochet flowers to really make them look like sugar candy skulls.

Use these motifs to create scarves and purses. As appliques they can be sewn to just about anything. Try bags, mittens, hats, or even as elbow patches on a hoodie or sweater!

Materials:
10 yds of light worsted-weight yarn in the color of your choice
Size F-5 (3.75 mm) crochet hook
Tapestry needle

If you are interested in making a Sugar Candy Skull Scarf like the white one shown here, the free pattern for the Calavera Flower Motif is now available: https://squirrelpicnic.com/2016/08/25/crochet-calavera-fl...