Alebrijes are a relatively new style of Mexican folk art, established in the 1940’s by Oaxacan artist Pedro Linares Lopez after a series of fever-related dreams in which he visited a strange forest where the plants and scenery transformed into fantastical animals who shouted “Alebrijes, Alebrijes Alebrijes!”

The artist’s resulting carved works featured imaginary beasts made from combinations of recognizable animals, wild patterns, and vivid color. In this Embroidered Alebrijes kit, artist Ivonne Yáñez has combined the whimsy of the Alebrije with traditional Mexican embroidery techniques.

Place the printed Alebrije design underneath the cotton fabric and trace with pencil. If you’d like to invent your own Alebrije design, we suggest that you create the drawing on a piece of scrap paper with permanent marker before tracing it on to fabric.

Turn the screw at the top of the embroidery hoop until the two pieces separate. Sandwich fabric between the two embroidery hoop pieces, with the larger piece on top, the design in the center, and the smaller section on the bottom. Press down and tighten the screw to hold the fabric in place. Tug at the edges of fabric until it is taut inside the hoop.

Choose one piece of colorful embroidery floss. To achieve a finer stitch line, you split the threads by pulling between 1-3 strands from the 6-strand cluster. For a thicker stitch, use all six strands as they are and do not separate them. Thread the strands through your embroidery needle. Tie a simple overhand knot at the end of the longest section of thread, leaving a 3″ tale from the eye of the needle.

Traditional Tenango Embroidery is a herringbone-like stitch that uses three strands of thread. Separate out three strands and thread the needle, tying an overhand knot at the longest end.

Poke the needle from the back to the front side of the fabric, pulling gently until the knot touches the back of the fabric. 

Cross the thread over the shape, to the opposite edge. Insert the needle so the thread will lay across the shape at an upward sloping diagonal. 

Back Stitch: Insert the needle and pull through the front directly below where it was inserted, following the same outer line.

Bring the needle across the shape again, crossing it upward over the first diagonal stitch.

Back stitch along the outer edge on this side, advancing the stitch further in to the shape.  

Continue to alternate diagonal overlapping stitches with back stitches until the shape is filled. 

This stitch is perfect for circles. Begin in the center of the circle and bring the needle from the back to the front of the fabric, pulling gently until the knot touches the fabric.

Insert the needle at the outer edge of the circle. Pull to the back, but keep the thread a little bit loose in the front.

Pull through to the left of where your first stitch entered, positioning the needle on the inner section of the first loose stitch. Pull tight.

Insert the needle through hole you pulled the first stitch from.

Repeat the process of pulling through the outer radius, to the left and within the loop of the most recent stitch.

Alternate the process of inserting the needle into the first hole, while steadily adding stitches to the perimeter creating a radial embroidery shape.

When finished, tie an overhand knot on the back to secure, and cut excess.

Start by creating one small stitch along the line you wish to embellish.

Following the same line, move forward and pull the needle through to the front, leaving a small space between the first stitch.

Loop the needle through the first stitch.

Pull tight.

Push the needle back through the furthest edge of the previous stitch. This is your first “chain” link.

Repeat this process along the line or shape and finish by tying a simple overhand knot on the back of the fabric. Cut excess.