Sugar Skull Garland
Hey ghouls and creeps! If you know anything about your girl by now, you know I love my skulls and bones coupled with the fiber/yarn/fabric mediums. So it’s no mistake that this garland features tiny skulls (so cute!) and wool felt balls. I used the same paint from the Halloween Bouquet project (be sure to go check it out!), as well as the perfect shade of Halloween orange. The Sugar Skull Garland project is a great way to decorate small spaces because it’s a statement piece without taking up a lot of storage space later.
The Sugar Skull Garland project is very easy, super cute, and not time intensive at all!
Step 1: Paint your Sugar Skulls: Begin by dividing the number of skulls in half, so that you know which to paint aqua, and which to paint orange. Go outside and set up a little painting booth, by cutting down two corners of a box to open up one side. Leave the side of the box now laying flush with the bottom attached to be an extended protective base for your painting booth.
When applying the paint be sure to cover all sides of each skull evenly. I personally had to paint the skulls in two sessions to ensure they were entirely covered. After coating the skulls thoroughly, allow the paint to cure using the manufacturer’s instructions. While drying, leave the skulls somewhere outside where they won’t be disrupted.
Step 2: Drill Holes in Skulls: While applying careful pressure, I rotated manually a 4 gauge Phillips screwdriver to drill a hole on each side of the skulls. I used the marks or indentations on the skull as a reference when drilling my holes. Ultimately the holes should measure roughly 1/8″ in diameter.
Step 3: Assembling Garland: Cut a length of twine off the spool measuring approximately 100”. Take a hand sewing needle that is long enough to go all the way through the sugar skulls without losing it, and has a big enough eye to thread the baker’s twine. Create a hanging loop at the end before threading on skulls and felt balls.
After making your hanging loop, make a knot 2” from the loop. Select a skull and thread the needle through both holes near skull’s temples.
Once the skull has reached the knot, create another knot on the other side of the skull to keep it from moving freely on the twine.
Thread one of your felt balls onto the garland, by sticking the needle through the center of the ball. You may have to use a needle grip to negotiate the needle all the way through the ball. I found that it was challenging to pull the needle through with just my fingers.
Move the felt ball down the twine until it is positioned 2″ from the skull. Make a knot 2″ from the felt ball.
Select a skull of the opposite color so that the colors alternate, and thread it on to the garland up to the knot. Make another knot on the other side of the skull to keep it in place. Thread another felt ball on to the garland so that it’s 2″ from the last skull. Continue these steps until all skulls and felt balls have been strung onto the garland. Tie another hanging loop at the opposite end of the garland.
Now that you’ve finished your garland, all that is left is to hang and enjoy! I hung ours right above our collage wall in the living room, and I love how it coordinates with our regular decor all while being a little macabre.
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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!
