Rag and Paper Skulls

Victoria Goulden made this "hand hooked Rag Rug work and mixed media/papier mache".

I love the look and feel of latch hook. This method that Victoria used works with long strips of fabric, vs the short sections of yarn that many of us are used to. This method also allows for a more freeform design, as you are hooking through fabric, not a grid canvas. I love the details that can be achieved with this style of latch hooking. These two skull pieces make me want to try this method my self. I'm sure my knuckles will prefer it over the canvas style.

I like the smooth features of this skull. Paper mache can be very rough and bumpy with the multiple layers. The sugar skull or Catrina decorations make for a perfect Dia de los Muertos mask. The beautiful designs would be a warm welcome to the awaiting spirits of the dead. Flowers are popular in the celebration. Marigolds are thought to be a pleasant smell to the spirits and guide them back to earth for the celebration. I can definitely see this mask being worn during the celebration and hanging in a house till the next year of festivities.

161. Latch Hook Skull

Latch Hooked Yarn (12in x 12in). As promised, another yarn skull (though no one guessed it would be this!). I bought a pre-existing latch hook kit of a puppy and made my own pattern using the yarn colors provided. Since the color proportions weren't exactly the same I got a second kit to have the extra yarn. I made the pattern in Photoshop by reducing a photo I took to 40 x 40 pixels and then saving it as an 8-color gif (with manually adjusted the colors to reflect the existing yarn). I enlarged the result and printed it out and then used it to determine each strand as I went. The total production time was around 9 hours (which I believe makes it the most time consuming piece yet) and actually gave me a migraine headache near the end, which I had to sleep off before I could complete it!

UPDATE: Since Kim asked, here's a link to the 40 x 40 grid (enlarged) that I made for my pattern. Have fun and be sure to send a picture of anything you make with it.