Spooky makes for this Halloween season... includes a description of how to create an All Hallows bracelet set

“A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality.”
— Lucy Van Pelt, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Halloween has always been a favorite festivity not because of all the creepiness and horror associated with it, but because I like the idea of magic and magical beings. In addition, I love dressing up. Two of my children inherited this trait from me and, even as adults, we still have our share of Halloween fun.
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As a fiber artist… at this time of the year, I am drawn towards making things that commemorate the magical mischief associated with Halloween.  So let me share with you some of my October makes for this year along with the designers who have allowed me to be so wonderfully entertained.

​1) Boo! by Marsha Glassner is a very creative crochet doily pattern that unites visual appeal with loads of fun. Marsha offers us a free pattern on Ravelry at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boo-12 . I decided to  call my version the “Dementors are here” doily, (if you are a Harry Potter fan you get it!). It was made using #10 Omega Cotton yarn in a grey colorway and a 2.25 mm hook. The pattern is well written and quite easy to follow. One of my virtual friends gave me an idea for next year: use a bulky yarn and turn try turning this doily into a rug for my bathroom… a big orange rug!

​2) Another favorite doily pattern for this season is a paid-for witchy doily pattern by Cylinda Mathews. It can also be found on Ravelry at  https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/masquerade-party-crinoline-girl-doily---item-0475 . I have named my project “Minerva” after Harry Potter’s teacher Minerva Mcgonagall (Yes...another Harry Potter reference).

​I used Red Heart Mercerized Cotton in black and Petra DMC cotton in a green colorway (though not the right color for McGonagall) with a 2.5 mm hook. After this picture was taken, I decided to convert the doily into table art, so I attached her to a round piece of fabric. I also added a cat charm to her dress, but really wanted to add a wand to her hand.

3) Did I mention that I love creating Halloween costumes? This year, I started out wanting to crochet a costume like Disney’s Maleficent. But, on second thought I realized that I was being too demanding of myself. So, I settled for the head piece and found a paid-for pattern by Carol Hladik Designs. A small donation gets you a well explained, easy to execute, modifiable headband with horns. You can find the pattern at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/horned-headband . 

My headband was made using Red Heart Super Saver in black, held double and a 5.5 mm hook. One thing I did differently was that when I stuffed the horns, I placed my stuffing in a black sock so it wouldn’t show through my crochet. In the end, I wish I had made the horns longer. But, they will have to do for this year’s Maleficent look.

Making an All Hallows Bracelet set 

​You all know about my love for jewelry, so it is no surprise that one of my Halloween makes would be a jewelry accessory.  I had been intrigued for some time with a tutorial I observed that explained how to make a spiral chord.  I had used crochet i-chord in jewelry before, but the spiral chord had a different texture and was very appealing. It was also quite a bit more challenging to make than the i-chord. Well, in reality, the difficulties I encountered were at the first and final rows. I still don’t think I’ve got it perfect, but I feel a bit more confident with the process.

For the All Hallows Bracelet set above, I crocheted a 6 inch spiral chord in three colors. Then, I added bead caps to the ends using wrapped loops and finally adding charms on both ends and a closure to one end. There are many tutorials available for making the spiral chord, I can direct you to two that I found most helpful.

Here are a couple of photos to show you how I created my bracelets using these tutorials.

What you will need: 

• For a 7 inch bracelet you will need a 6 inch spiral chord made using the above tutorials. (Adjust length of bracelet as needed.) Leave a long tail at the start and at the end of your spiral chord. 
• Darning needle
• Two 10 inch pieces of  20 or 22 gauge craft wire, in the color o your choice.
• Charms, end cones, lobster claw or spring ring closure, head pins and jump rings.
• A variety of pliers: flat nose, chain nose and round nose pliers.
• A flush cutter.

1) Insert one end of the wire through the end of your crochet chord, making sure it passes through several  stitches so that the wire can be wrapped over enough yarn to make the connection a sturdy one. Fold the ends making a small triangle at the base.

2) Wrap the horizontal wire around the vertical wire three times. Use the flush cutter to cut the wrapped wire end as close to the vertical wire as possible. Use the flat nose plier to hide the end of the wrapped loop.

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3) Place the end cone over the wire and use the long tail of your crochet to help pull the bracelet end up to the top of the cone.

4) Using the remaining vertical wire and the round nose plier, make a large wrapped loop. Wrap the remaining wire around the base of your loop, going down to create new wraps and then going over the wraps that were made previously. Continue wrapping, going up and down several times to make the wrapped loop thick enough so that the cone cannot slip off. Clip any extra wire and hide end.  

5)  Repeat steps 2 – 4 on the other end.

6) Use jump rings to attach your charms to both loops at the ends of your bracelet. Attach your lobster claw to one end of the bracelet.

7) Your bracelet is ready to use.

Happy Halloween! (If that's your kind of thing...) If your celebrations include watching reruns... why not check out the 2016 Halloween Special of the Crochetcakes podcast for some crafty fun!