Inside: Skeleton embroidery designs for fun and spooky craft projects.

Skeletons are pretty much reserved for the halloween season as they’re a super typical mascot for the holiday. But skeletons can be cool year round if that’s your aesthetic– a little punk or a little edgy is the perfect vibe to wear skeletons in every season and leave up the spooky wall hangings.

These skeleton embroidery designs are for the dark theme lovers and the halloween decorators alike– find ideas for what you need here!

These are awesome ideas for sweatshirts, denim jackets, wall hangings, even some canvas sneakers! The possibilities are endless with embroidery, and especially something as versatile as a skeleton. These designs can be super minimal or pretty complicated, and all of the options are stunning.

An embroidered skeleton with sunglasses and peace sign

Check out these designs and get embroidering! Whether it’s supposed to be festive or personal aesthetic, you’re going to love these project designs!

Skeletons In Art History

In college, I majored in art, so I’ve taken more art history and art appreciation classes than I can count! In these courses we discuss a lot about what different objects mean in paintings. Typically, classical painters would fill the scene with objects that held meaning and pointed the viewer in the right direction when observing the main object of the piece.

If you were to see a skeleton or a skull in a painting, it is meant to remind us of mortality. Oftentimes, artwork was used to relay spiritual messages or to ponder the meaning of life and spirituality. The skeleton was also used to reference life after death, and sometimes painters and drawers would place them in the image to ask the question, “are we really gone after we die?”

And the viewer, knowing the meaning of the placement of the object can ask this question to themselves as well as they evaluate the rest of the image.

These are all common meanings behind the skeleton and skull in western art. But other cultures use human bones differently in art– depending on the culture and how they view death and the dead, it can be a symbol of rebirth and transformation. How much more hopeful is that!

However you use the skeleton to relay a message, the art is meaningful in several ways. Utilize the skeleton however you see fit and however it represents the meaning of life for you.

Why You Should Embroider These Skeleton Ideas

We’ve already covered the meanings of skeletons in art history and discussed that skeletons are “in” year round based on your aesthetic, but why should you embroider these skeleton ideas?

If it’s your full aesthetic, you don’t need to ask yourself this! So I’m talking to the halloween lovers that are here looking for decorations or cool new tee shirt and hat ideas for spooky season!

Skeleton embroidery is fun and can be so funky. You can make it minimalist, but you could also create the image of a skeleton dancing, while holding flowers, and smoking a cigarette (an homage to the Van Gough smoking skull painting!)
The possibilities are endless and for the halloween decorator, these can be too fun! If you look around you and see you have a hundred pumpkins and need to add something else with it, this is the perfect piece! You could have that smoking and dancing skeleton in a pumpkin patch! Easy.

They can be fun, detailed and artistic, or minimalist. And they would all be perfect additions to your halloween decorations.

Now… if you’re still reading and you’re not looking for halloween decor and you just want to know why this is the project for you… what’s cooler than something that feels so girly like embroidery being turned into something dark and edgy? Nothing. So hop on it and snag one of these skeleton embroidery designs for your denim jacket!

Skeleton Designs

Choosing a skeleton embroidery design is a big task! There are so many different options to choose from and there are different sceneries, aesthetics, and creative uses of the skeleton in these art pieces.

Whatever your goal is for your designs, you’re going to love some of these skeleton embroidery patterns! Get ready for the fall season or embellish your favorite denim jacket in your own style, and have fun with it!

Skeletons went from being an image of gore and morbid themes to being fun and funky characters. Check out these different patterns using skeleton embroidery.

Two stitched skeletons holding hands

Embroidery Patterns With Skeletons

Finding embroidery patterns with skeletons is easy… Almost too easy so there’s far too many to choose from and if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the choices, don’t worry.

I’ve narrowed it down for you to my personal favorite skeleton embroidery patterns. Seriously, they’re everywhere.

Finding one that fits your needs and your project goals is the key, and not getting distracted by some random cute one you pass by online, forgetting your original idea entirely!

He may be a cute little skeleton, but stay on course and fulfill the creative vision! I owe it to all of my half-finished projects, so if you’re anything like me, so do you.

1. Holding Lavender
2. Holding Hands
3. Coffee Guy
4. Edgy Engagement

A vintage skeleton dancing in black thread

Easy Designs

Skeletons are an easy pattern to target when you’re getting a handle on the whole embroidery thing… They’re literally just bones! How much easier does it get than that? The skull might prove to be a challenge but you wouldn’t grow in your craft if it was all too easy.

5. Vintage
6. Peace And Blessings
7. The Basics
8. Trendy
9. Bundle

Four skeletons dancing in a line

Dancing Skeleton Embroidery

Give these guys a chance to dance with these trendy dancing skeleton embroidery patterns! How fun! Like we’ve been discussing, these are perfect for halloween decor or year round aesthetic if irony is your thing. I think it’s a cute little reminder to keep dancing no matter what life throws at you.

This is essentially part of what the classical artists and painters were trying to tell us anyway with skulls in their artwork… except they had more questions than we do.

10. With Pumpkins
11. Line Dance
12. Happy Halloween
13. Dancing With The Moon

Enjoying these pattern ideas? How fun are these funky skeletons?! They can be so aesthetic or so spooky, or so both if spooky IS your aesthetic. Embroidering personalized little characters on your clothing and accessories are a fun way to make your closet feel more unique and more like YOU, so this is a perfect opportunity to make sure you’re loving what you wear.

And if you’re wanting to alter your fits to be more festive, this is perfect for that too! Who doesn’t love a good skeleton sweatshirt on your Target run in the fall? Carrying your favorite seasonal coffee, of course.

Sometimes something cool to add to a really edgy design or pattern is something inherently “girly” like a rose! Combining rose and skeleton patterns could make for a really cool design. If you want to play around with rose patterns, we’ve got 27 of them for you to check out here!