Skeleton Doll

This is a fun, easy, and quick-to-make pattern by Ashley of A Crafty Concept for an adorably spooky little crochet skeleton doll, a perfect addition for everyone's handmade Halloween decor!

The written pattern is free on her blog, and she also provides a video tutorial.

Work in progress - paint drying

He reminds me of a simplified version of Jack Skellington, so I have set him on my hearth beside his adoring Sally in pumpkin form. Maybe I can give him a tuxedo coat and bat bow tie later for a little more authenticity (Disney-thentic, ha).

Jack's Lament

There are few who'd deny, at what I do I am the best
For my talents are renowned far and wide
When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night
I excel without ever even trying
With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms
I have seen grown men give out a shriek
With the wave of my hand and a well placed moan
I have swept the very bravest off their feet

Yet year after year, it's the same routine
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
Have grown so tired of the same old thing

Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow
There's something out there, far from my home
A longing that I've never known

I'm the master of fright, and a demon of light
And I'll scare you right out of your pants
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France

And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations
No animal nor man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations

But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could

Oh, there's an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears 

 

Smiling Joe skullcap

I figured my honey needed a cool costume-like hat to wear next Halloween (so he can at least try keep up with my awesomeness while I am wearing MY skull balaclava and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters).

So I made him Darleen Hopkins' Smiling Joe, the Skull Hat/Creepy Beanie.

Looks like I will need to make him another one that's slightly larger! LOL!

BOO! My skull balaclava mask free tutorial

Boo! Happy New Year!

Sure, I might have my holidays a little mixed up, but I felt inspired to crochet a skull mask/balaclava on Dec. 31 while waiting for the clock to strike midnight for the new year. I got the idea from the ebook "Manly Knits."

I started out making a basic hat shape in double crochet.

I made the hat length a little longer than standard so that the bottom of the "hat" portion sat just below my eyebrows. At that point, I measured how many stitches wide I would need an opening to be to accommodate both of my eyes (side to side) and continued adding rows to the hat going back and forth (turning my work when I got to the end of a row) to build height on either side of the large space for my eyes.

I had to try the hat on several times during this process to tell by feel when the eye hole space was tall enough for me to see through easily. Then I chained across the gap (using the same number of chain stitches as the number of stitches wide my eye hole space was wide) and joined the chain with a slip stitch to the top of the next double crochet stitch on the other side of the gap.

Then I continued in the round to add a couple more rows of double crochet, making 1 dc in each chain across the eye space, then finished off.

To fill in the vertical space between my eyes, I tried on the hat and placed a stitch marker on the stitch in line with where the inner edge of each of my eyes was in relation to the top of the eye space. Then I reattached the working yarn to a stitch with one of the markers and worked double crochet stitches just until I reached the stitch with the other marker. Then I turned my work and added a couple more rows of double crochet until the height of the section I was working matched up to the total height of the eye space. I broke the working yarn, leaving a long tail, and whip-stitched the center piece I just worked to the bottom of the eye space.

For the finishing touches, I reattached the working yarn to the bottom edge of the mask and worked a few pointy teeth. Lastly, I used a small amount of black yarn to embroider on some nasal "holes," and voila. Creepy enough for you? Bwah-ha-haaa.

This means I already have my Halloween costume ready for when, 10 months from now, come Oct. 31, I will be handing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. It even fits comfortably over my glasses.