VogueKnitting Crochet Magazine 2012 Collector’s Issue

There is a very specific sort of crochet project I love at this time of year.

Not so tiny that I am finished before the kettle boils, but also not the sort of Halloween blanket that I optimistically start in August and rediscover half-finished the following February.

These are the projects in the middle.

The Halloween crochet projects you can settle into on Friday night, keep working on Saturday and hopefully have sitting on the sofa, hanging on the door or ready for trick-or-treating by Sunday evening.

Obviously, “a weekend” is not an official crochet measurement. Your speed, experience, yarn choice and willingness to ignore household chores will all have something to say about it. But I have deliberately chosen projects that are more substantial than our little one-day Halloween makes without wandering into enormous afghan territory.

Expect crochet pillows, Halloween bags, spooky scarves, a spiderweb shawl, wreaths, table décor and wall hangings.

Put something spooky on the television, make a ridiculously large cup of coffee and clear a spot on the sofa.

We have a weekend of crochet ahead of us.

Free Candy Corn Halloween Trick or Treat Bag

This is exactly the sort of project I had in mind for this collection. It is larger and more useful than a little Halloween ornament, but it is still manageable enough that you are not committing the rest of October to it.

The free Sarah Zimmerman design uses chunky yarn to create a proper candy corn-shaped trick-or-treat bag. It would make such a fun handmade alternative to the plastic Halloween buckets that seem to multiply in the cupboard every year.

This would be one of my first choices for a Friday-night-to-Sunday project, especially if you are making it for a child who is old enough to appreciate that Mum or Grandma actually crocheted their Halloween bag.

Stippled Pumpkin Pillow Crochet Pattern

Now we are moving firmly into sofa-decoration territory.

This pumpkin pillow designed by Debra Arch uses rows of picots to create loads of texture across the pumpkin. That detail makes the finished cushion look considerably more involved than simply crocheting a flat orange square.

And you certainly do not have to stick with bright pumpkin orange. Rust, burnt caramel, mustard, cream or muted sage would give it more of an autumn farmhouse feel and let you leave it out well beyond Halloween.

Trick or Treat Halloween Pillow

Pillows really are ideal weekend crochet projects.

They are large enough to give you that satisfying I made something substantial feeling, but you are not still adding rows three weeks later.

This Halloween pillow uses medium-weight yarn and is rated intermediate, making it a nice choice if you want something more interesting than a very basic beginner rectangle. Toss it onto an armchair with a couple of plain orange or black cushions and suddenly the whole room looks intentionally decorated for Halloween.

Free Halloween Spiderweb Mat

If you are going to spend a weekend crocheting something, I rather like the idea of ending up with a piece you can actually put on the floor.

This free spiderweb mat is worked with super bulky yarn, which immediately gives it an advantage when you are racing against Sunday evening. Bigger yarn generally means considerably fewer tiny stitches.

The finished web would look brilliant near the front door, under a Halloween display or as part of a porch decorating setup. The pattern is rated intermediate, so this would suit someone wanting a slightly more challenging weekend make.

Free Crochet Skull Scarf

This one actually leads to a free CraftBits pattern, so it is a particularly nice bit of internal linking for us.

Rather than creating the scarf as one long repetitive strip, you crochet individual skull heads and join them together. I love projects like this because they are psychologically much easier to finish — one skull becomes two, two becomes five and suddenly you have most of a scarf sitting in your lap.

Wear it for Halloween, Gothic dress-up or simply because apparently ordinary scarves are no longer dramatic enough.

Free Spider Web Shawl

Now this feels like a proper weekend challenge.

The spiderweb-inspired lace makes this shawl look appropriately spooky without turning it into novelty costume crochet. Worked in black, charcoal, deep plum or even blood red, it could become something you actually wear rather than something that returns to the Halloween storage tub on November 1.

A lace shawl also has the wonderful advantage of looking far more complicated than the amount of yarn would suggest.

Exactly the sort of crochet trick I approve of.

Tunisian Crochet Halloween Placemats

If you have been wanting an excuse to try Tunisian crochet, Halloween might be it.

These black and orange placemats use simple pattern changes in the stripes to create an old-fashioned Halloween look. Tunisian crochet produces a dense fabric with an almost knitted appearance, making it particularly good for table décor.

You could aim for one or two over a relaxed weekend or get properly ambitious and start a complete Halloween table set.

And yes, making one placemat and declaring it a decorative centerpiece absolutely counts.

Spooky Crochet Pillow

This is a great next-step project if you have been wanting to try crochet colourwork without immediately signing yourself up for a graphgan containing seventeen colours.

The free Briana K Designs pillow uses only two colours and is described as a beginner-friendly introduction to colourwork. The complete crocheted version uses around 625 yards, so this definitely feels more substantial than the tiny projects in our one-day collection.

It is exactly the sort of project I would start Friday evening, work on while watching movies Saturday and assemble on Sunday.

Crochet Ghost Pillow

You knew there had to be a ghost pillow in here somewhere.

This free pattern uses corner-to-corner crochet to create the ghost design, so it is also a nice excuse to practise C2C on something considerably smaller than a full blanket.

The thicker yarn helps the pillow grow faster, and the finished project hits that nice Halloween sweet spot between spooky and ridiculously cute.

It would be especially fun in a child’s bedroom or mixed into a pile of Halloween cushions on the sofa.

Striped Pumpkin Halloween Pillow

If colourwork still makes you nervous, this pumpkin pillow is another approachable option.

The design uses simple crochet stitches with a chart for creating the pumpkin motif, giving you a bold seasonal cushion without lots of complicated stitch combinations.

I particularly like projects like this because changing the yarn palette completely changes the finished look. Orange and black screams Halloween; terracotta and cream takes it straight into modern fall décor.

Crochet Halloween Candy Bags

Can’t decide between a pumpkin, witch, skeleton or Frankenstein?

Problem solved.

This free collection gives you four Halloween candy bag options, which makes it particularly good if you are crocheting for siblings who all want something different.

The shapes are straightforward enough to keep them achievable while the faces and embellishments provide the fun part. One bag makes a very reasonable weekend project; several bags may require snacks, determination and selective ignoring of the laundry.

Cute Crochet Emoji Ghost Bag

This little ghost bag is approximately 8.5 inches wide, so it sits nicely between tiny novelty crochet and a full-size tote.

The pattern uses familiar stitches including single, half double and slip stitch, which makes it approachable if you are comfortable with the crochet basics but have not made many bags.

It would make a sweet trick-or-treat bag for a younger child, but I can also see it working as a quirky Halloween handbag for someone considerably older.

No judgement here.

Halloween Patchwork Crochet Bag

This one has serious Pinterest potential.

The bag is built from 13 crochet squares featuring Halloween motifs including a skull, ghost, candy corn and jack-o’-lantern. Once the squares are finished, they are joined and shaped into the bag before the straps are added.

It is a bigger commitment than the simple ghost tote above, but the modular construction makes it ideal weekend crochet because you can work through the motifs one at a time.

It is also exactly the sort of handmade bag people will stop you to ask about.

Ghost in the Mushrooms Wall Hanging

Halloween mushrooms?

I am completely on board.

This free graph creates a wonderfully quirky ghost-and-mushroom wall hanging measuring roughly 15 by 13 inches before the hanging details are added. It uses colourwork and is rated intermediate, so this is a project for the crocheter who wants something a little more absorbing for the weekend.

The result feels more like handmade textile art than standard Halloween décor, which means I suspect quite a few people would quietly leave it hanging well after October.

Halloween Crochet Table Runner

A table runner is another lovely weekend-sized project because it looks impressive without having the sheer square footage of a blanket.

This Halloween version incorporates spider and web details and comes with tutorial guidance for creating the design.

Lay it down the centre of the table, add black candles, pumpkins and slightly excessive quantities of Halloween sweets, and the decorating is basically done.

Halloween Crochet Wreath

If you want one proper statement project for the weekend, make the wreath.

This intermediate Halloween crochet wreath combines a wreath base with adorable crochet Halloween characters and motifs. Hobbycraft actually lists the project time as 1+ days, which makes it almost suspiciously perfect for this roundup.

This is the sort of piece you make once, carefully pack away after Halloween and then feel extremely pleased with yourself when you pull it out again next year.

Halloween Crochet Wreath

Here is another wreath option if your decorating style is a little more traditional.

The wreath body is constructed from three separate crochet garlands that are stitched together and wrapped around the wreath form. I like that construction because you can stop and start the individual components rather than wrestling with the whole wreath from beginning to end.

Add your Halloween embellishments and you have a substantial front-door decoration without crocheting anything blanket-sized.

Creepy Crawly Spider Socks

And finally, something you can actually wear.

These free crochet socks feature spooky spider designs and make a fun alternative to another piece of Halloween home décor.

Socks are one of those projects that fit a weekend rather nicely: Saturday for the first one, Sunday for the second, with absolutely no permission to stop after sock number one and pretend it is an avant-garde fashion statement.

They would also make a brilliant handmade Halloween gift for someone who appreciates slightly creepy feet.

What Makes a Good Weekend Crochet Project?

For me, the sweet spot is something that feels noticeably more substantial than an evening project but can still be broken into manageable sections.

Pillows are excellent because you can crochet the main panels one day and assemble them the next. Bags work for much the same reason.

Motif projects are particularly good because you can see your progress. Crochet five skulls, take a coffee break, make another five. Much nicer than staring at row 73 of an enormous blanket wondering what possessed you.

Chunky yarn can also be your secret weapon. Bigger yarn and bigger hooks can turn what would otherwise be a lengthy project into something much more realistic for a two-day crochet binge.

My Picks for a Saturday-and-Sunday Crochet Session

If you want home décor, I would choose the Spooky Pillow, Pumpkin Pillow, Spiderweb Mat or Halloween Wreath.

For something wearable, go straight for the Skull Scarf, Spiderweb Shawl or Spider Socks.

If you are crocheting for trick-or-treating, the Candy Corn Bag, Ghost Bag or Halloween Candy Bags would be my picks.

And if you want something that looks particularly impressive hanging in the house, make the Ghost in the Mushrooms Wall Hanging or Halloween Table Runner.

The real trick is choosing one.

Because I know exactly how this works.

You open six patterns on Friday night, pull twelve balls of yarn out of the stash, decide you might as well make a pillow and a bag while you are there… and suddenly the coffee table has disappeared.

That is Halloween weekend crochet done properly.

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