Cute Halloween crochet.

Hope you had fun at Halloween!  Last week I had fun making some cute amigurumi pumpkins, a little witch and spider for my little granddaughter.

First I thought some little pumpkins would fit nicely into her baby hand. There are lots of patterns for these available but the idea I thought was most effective was where the pumpkin has more lifelike 'ridges' like a real one. 

Eventually I located a pattern called 'Autumn Bounty'  which you can download for from free-crochet.com-click here:  Autumn Bounty . 

It has American crochet terms but basically it just uses sc which is simply dc in English terms. The ridges are created by working into the back loop of the dc (American sc). So effective! I used Patons all wool dk for mine because I already had 6 balls of it in orange! It  gave such a nice chunky texture to the pumpkins and is very hardwearing which made it perfect for being played with and squashed a lot!

The pumpkins were such a hit with my little granddaughter, aged 13 months. She loved the textures and played with them like little balls.

. I made the two pumpkins pictured on the pattern above according to the instructions then a tiny one by simply reducing the initial chain. With the wool dk I used a 3.50mm hook, usually you would use a 4.00 but I do crochet loosely and I wanted to make sure there were no gaps.

Inspired then to make a little witch I Looked for something which would stand up and be just the right size for a small hand. My search brought me to a super pattern -find it here: little witch pattern. It worked out so well-many thanks to Sanity by Stitches. 

For my witch I used my favourite Patons merino extra fine dk  which I use in my mermaid dolls  -it is so soft and has a very clear stitch definition, plus it comes in gorgeous colours. Again I used a 3.50mm hook. 

 What a success the little witch was-Isabelle did not let go of her all morning! The witch had a little cauldron but it needed a spider to go inside it......

Many thanks to Petals to Picots for this super little spider pattern. I did  adapt the legs by crocheting them onto a band together, before attaching to body. I also added my own version of crocheted 'googly eyes' . 

Crochet 'googly' eyes: 

Magic circle. dc x 8 into circle, join into first ch, pull up to close centre.

Using a tapestry needle and black yarn, work a big French knot, by wrapping yarn around needle three times for the eye centres. 

Repeat and shape the eye centres with extra stitches is needed. 

Then push remaining centre wool yarn end into the back of eye to give a bit of stuffing to the eye, making it more 'googly'!

Oversew eyes in place using one remaining white yarn end.

What fun they were to make. I'm afraid I got a bit addicted to the spiders.....they are still being hooked up in different fun colours-all ready for next year!

Have a good week,

Best wishes

Alison