Folk clothing is always in style, and Mexican dresses and tunics are particularly popular these days. This simple, traditional garment offers you an amazing opportunity to create and embroider a piece of wearable art. Like a quilt, the embroidery of a Mexican dress can tell a story about the maker, depending upon the symbols she chooses. Special flowers, birds, graphic shapes and motifs that have a meaning to you will make your dress a one-of-a-kind garment that is a sure fit for any body shape or size and will always be a classic.

In my family, we own an heirloom Mexican Puebla dress from Oaxaca. It's gorgeous, but a little worn down. Here in California, I couldn't find a good source to purchase a new dress, so I studied the original and created a set of instructions I could follow to cut out a new one from basic cotton broadcloth. I then let myself go on a flight of fancy embroidering the dress with sapphire-toned tree swallows, sweet forget-me-nots, old-fashioned bleeding hearts and ferns. Daisies, vines, butterflies and birds are all traditional motifs on these sundresses that date back at least 400 years.

All the embroidery was accomplished with two simple stitches - stem stitch and satin stitch. I'm just a beginner at hand embroidery, and I can imagine just how stunning a skilled hand or machine embroiderer could make their own Mexican dress. I've also seen cross stitch used to good effect on authentic Mexican dresses. Even with my average sewing and embroidering skills, the end result of my efforts is winning compliments everywhere I go!

I do a lot of quilting, and I love it, but there is something so appealing about making something I can wear...not just something for the house. If you've had your fill of embroidering tablecloths and handkerchiefs, I think making this dress will be a welcome change of direction for a few fun days or weeks! I cut, assembled and hand embroidered mine in about 6 days. No fooling!

I used Anchor 6 strand cotton embroidery floss on my project in a rainbow of colors. The overall look is reminiscent of a cool forest pool with sylvan flowers growing 'round and swift birds swooping overhead.

In my daily worklife, I'm a web designer, and after I'd completed my dress, I decided I wanted to share what I'd learned about the history and composition of the authentic Mexican peasant dress. My husband and I created a 14 page instruction booklet with 34 photos and illustrations that takes the reader step-by-step through the making and embellishing of this dress. The booklet can be downloaded and printed at http://www.themexicandress.com, the website we've built in order to share this neat project. Because of the simplicity of the construction and embroidery stitches, it is completely suitable for a beginner, and it's a real joy to be shedding some light on this highly sought-after and celebrated folk garment.