I am so in love with this site. It's called The Mexican Dress, and it's fabulous: Here you can learn, for just five bucks, the secrets of making a traditional Mexican Puebla Dress.

Artist Miriam Ellis has created a downloadable PDF booklet, which includes:

- Complete instructions for assembling a traditional Mexican dress
- Complete instructions for embroidering the pattern as shown
- 34 detailed illustrations and photographs of the project .

She says:

After months of searching the Internet for a reliable source for these fine folk garments, I came up empty-handed. This is what drove me to puzzle out this pattern for myself, and now I own a dream of a dress and have the satisfaction of having made it myself.

The dresses are gorgeous, and as far as I can tell, super easy and simple to make. The site is full of personal and traditional stories, along with tips, explanations and inspirations for your Mexican Embroidered Dress. She even explains how you can make a tunic instead of a dress (these look wonderful along with any pair of jeans). A lot of fun.

I can't wait to get my copy and make my own dress. Check it out, and you'll see how easy it is to have your own, gorgeous, traditional Mexican dress.

Oh, and a Mexican dress or blouse would be perfect for a Cinco de Mayo party, wouldn't it?

My thanks to The Crafty Chica for this amazing find.