Want to crochet a little ghostie friend for Hallowe’en? You can make them as little stand-alone decorations. Sew one to a brooch back or safety pin and use them to haunt your hats, coats or jumpers. Make them with no stuffing and string them for a ghostie garland. Or don’t close at the bottom, and you have a finger puppet.

You will need:

• a small amount of yarn per ghost. I’m using a fingering weight/4 ply glow-in-the-dark yarn*.
• a scrap of black yarn (or other contrast colour) for mouth.
• safety eyes or scrap of yarn to embroider eyes.
• a crochet hook suitable for your yarn. E.g. 3.5mm for DK yarn. (I’m using 3mm for my 4 ply)
• a tiny bit of toy stuffing, if you want a 3D ghost and you’re not making a finger puppet.
• tapestry/yarn needle.
• scissors.

*I’d link to it, but it seems to be out of stock right now. Mine came from Gertie’s Glow House. Try a search for glow in the dark yarn on ebay. Or you could try using DMC embroidery floss E940.

This pattern uses UK terminology.

• ss = slip stitch
• dc = double crochet (US single)
• tr = treble crochet (US double)
• dc2tog = dc 2 together, i.e. decrease

This pattern is worked amigurumi style, in continous rounds.

Round 1: 6dc into a magic ring. (6 stitches)

Round 2: 2dc into each stitch (12 stitches)

Round 3: [dc, 2dc into next stitch] repeat 6 times (18 stitches)

Round 4: [dc, dc, 2dc into next stitch] repeat 6 times (24 stitches)

Rounds 5 – 14: dc all around (24 stitches)

If you are using safety eyes, now is a good time to attach them.

Round 15: ss into front loop only. [Skip one stitch. 5tr into front loop of next stitch. Skip one stitch. ss into front loop only.] Repeat 6 times. ss into front loop of last stitch. (7 slip stitches, 6 groups of 5 trebles)

Round 16: dc all around. For stitches skipped in the previous round, do a normal dc into the stitch. For stitches worked into the front loop in the previous round, work into the back loop in this one. So [dc into back loop, dc, dc into back loop, dc], repeat 6 times. (24 stitches)

If you are making a finger puppet, or a garland item without stuffing, fasten off, weave in ends and finish here.

For a stuffed ghost, continue…

Round 17: [dc, dc, dc2tog] Repeat 6 times (18 stitches)

Round 18: [dc, dc2tog] Repeat 6 times (12 stitches)

Stuff your ghostie! I like to leave mine a little squishy and not overstuff so the bottom stays flat.

Round 19: dc2tog all around (6 stitches).

Fasten off and cut the yarn, leaving a long enough tail to sew the hole at the bottom closed. If you are going to stitch on a brooch back or pin, you can make your tail long enough to do that also.

Thread your tapestry needle with the yarn tail. Weave it through the remaining 6 stitches at the bottom to gather them up, and sew the hole closed.

If you are sewing on a brooch or pin, pass the needle up through the body and out at the back, then stitch it on.

Embroider the mouth and anything else you want.

You’re done! Spoopy hauntings ahoy!