Honestly what I like most about this one is how the roses do all the heavy lifting. The skull itself is stitched in a soft cream with tight directional tatami across the cranium, so it reads more sculptural than spooky, its the three big crimson roses crowding around it that give the whole thing that gothic-romantic tension. Two sit up at the crown, one drops lower right. Classic tattoo-flash composition and it works realy well at this scale.
At the larger sizes, around 5 inches wide, youre looking at nearly 38,000 stitches and the density is 940 which is on the heavier end. Hoop a cutaway stabiliser under anything stretchy or knit, the underlay on the skull alone needs that foundation or the satin stitching will shift on you. For canvas, denim, or twill you can get away with a firm tearaway but I still prefer cutaway on this one because of the jump stitch count between the rose petals and the leaf fills. The directional satin on the green leaves runs at alternating angles per leaf so they dont all blur into a single green mass, that took a bit of back-and-forth to get right.
A seller I ship to pretty regularly ordered this last week for a black denim jacket panel she does at goth market stalls. She used a 140/21 needle, zero skipped stitches. The cream skull pops against dark fabric better than light, worth keeping in mind when youre picking your base material. Cotton fleece and black linen are also great choices. Stitch the rose-and-leaf sections first if your machine lets you reorder colours, its easier to re-hoop if anything shifts mid-run.
Pop the 3-inch on a hat front or a chest pocket for something more subtle. Use a topping layer on fleece so the bobbin thread stays tidy underneath since the colour changes on the roses mean your machine works hard on longer runs. Avoid light-coloured jersey without a dense underlay or that pale cranium fill can look patchy where the fabric gives.
Flag me down if the design pulls in at the waist.
What people are using this design for
A starting point. The design works for plenty more than just this list, this is what folks have stitched it onto most.
- Denim jacket back panelHonestly my favourite spot for this one is a black denim jacket, the cream skull really jumps off dark fabric.
- Gothic tote bagA buyer put this on her market tote in heavy canvas and said the roses stayed crisp after a dozen washes.
- Halloween sweatshirtCotton fleece sweatshirts take the 4-inch nicely hooped on the chest, just use a topping so the satin sits up.
- Hat or cap frontHat fronts work well at the smallest size, 2.5 inches keeps it readable without crowding the brim stitching.
- Canvas makeup pouchCanvas makeup pouches give you a firm base so the dense skull satin doesnt pucker on the zip panel.
- Biker vest patch panelBiker vests in heavy twill can handle the full 38,000 stitch count without extra stabiliser fuss.
- Pillow cover accentA pillow cover in black linen with this centred makes a bold gothic accent that dosent look costume-y.
Dimensions
5 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 2.55 × 3.50 in | 11,636 |
| 3.28 × 4.50 in | 16,906 |
| 4.01 × 5.50 in | 23,127 |
| 4.74 × 6.50 in | 30,496 |
| 5.47 × 7.50 in | 38,571 |
Files & Formats
Eight machine formats included in one zip. Whichever your machine reads, its in the pack.
Plus a color chart for thread matching. See full format guide.
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About the artist
Reyazul Masud Riham, hand-drawing every design on this site
Every design on Re Embroidery is hand-digitized by one person. Each file gets sketched, color-matched, and stitch-tested on real fabric before it earns a place in the shop. No team. No auto-conversion from images. Just slow, deliberate work, sometimes three or four days per design.
That's the joy I work for.
The hard part is finding my designs re-uploaded and resold elsewhere. So when you buy from Re Embroidery, you're paying one real person for the file you're about to download. That matters.
