L.A. Is My Beat: Papel Picado

Dia de los Muertos Papel Picado, cut into tissue paper

There is a folk art tradition in Mexico called "papel picado," which is perforated paper, made into designs. These decorative paper designs, cut into tissue paper, are usually hung from the ceiling during celebrations. The tissue paper is light and moves in the breeze...very festive! I've seen papel picado sold at stores made out of thin plastic, for durability and multiple uses.

Christmas Papel Picado at Chabelita Tacos, Los Angeles

The Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is an observance in Mexico honoring the dearly departed. Typically, families gather in cemeteries and celebrate their ancestors. This celebration usually occurs on the day after our Halloween, November 1st. You will be able to find sugar skulls and skull cookies along with other decorative items in Latin shops around Los Angeles at this time.

I've always loved the papel picado art. My clever friend, Suzette (I've referenced Suzette quite a bit lately), crocheted a garland of skeleton papel picados from this pattern in all different colors! That Suzy-ette is so inspiring!

Suzette's Dia de los Muertos Garland

I had some nice, sport weight green cotton in my stash, so I decided to crochet a skelly papel picado from the same pattern. I plan on giving it as a house gift to my friend, Michael who lives in the Witch's House in Beverly Hills. We'll be going there to help hand out candy to the hoards of trick or treaters on Halloween!

My cotton is a bit thicker than the usual thread used for this pattern, so my papel picado is almost place mat size, 12" x 12". There's lots of wood tones and rust colors in Michael's house. I thought green would be a nice accent!