Spooky season is upon us again! Today I’m sharing a pattern for what I’m lovingly calling “Witch of the Dead”; a skeleton witch! She’s giving sass and I love it. Let’s get into it!
The Details
The finished measurements are approximately 30cm/12″ from top to bottom.
Notes:
- The body and head are worked from the bottom up in continuous rounds as one piece. A stabilizer is used to support the head/neck (such as a dowel, a foam roller, or multiple chenille stems twisted together).
- The skirt is double-layered. Each layer is worked in continuous rounds and is worked directly onto the body in front loops.
- The arms and legs are worked in continuous rounds from the bottom up and are stitched onto the body.
- The brim of the hat is worked first in continuous rounds, and then the body of the hat is worked from the brim upward in continuous rounds.
Let’s get started! (Or Pin/Shop for later!)
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Materials:
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- 6mm hook for main (I use THESE hooks!);
- Loops & Threads Chenille Home Slim in the following colours (or any super bulky/weight 6 chenille yarn):
- White (approx 70g);
- Meadow Violet (approx 40g);
- Black (approx 80g).
- 12mm safety eyes;
- Black crochet thread, size 5 for eyelashes;
- Neck stabilizer (dowel, foam roller, multiple chenille stems, cardboard, etc);
- Stitch markers;
- Stuffing;
- Tapestry needle.
Terms and Stitches:
Ch – Chain
Slst – Slip stitch
MR – Magic Ring
Sc – Single Crochet
Inc – Increase. Work a regular sc increase
Dec – Decrease. When working in the round, work an invisible decrease.
BLO – Back loops only
FLO – Front loops only
Puff – Puff stitch. *YO, insert hook into st, YO, pull up a loop, repeat from * two more times, YO, pull through all 7 loops on hook, ch 1.
Pattern
Body and Head (make 1):
Rnd 1: In white, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnd 3: *Sc, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)
Rnd 4: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)
Rnd 5: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)
Rnd 6: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (36 sts)
Rnds 7-8: Sc in each st around (36 sts)
Rnd 9: *Sc 4, dec, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)
Rnd 10: Sc in each st around (30 sts)
Rnd 11: *Sc 3, dec, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)
Rnd 12: In purple, sc in each st around (24 sts)
Place a marker in the FLO of the first st of row 12.
Rnd 13: In black, in BLO sc in each st around (24 sts).
Place a marker in the FLO of the first st of row 13.
Rnd 14: *In BLO sc 4, dec, repeat from * three more times (20 sts)
Rnds 15-17: Sc in each st around (20 sts).
Rnd 18: Dec around (10 sts)
Stuff the body. Now you will begin working the head.
Rnd 19: In white, in BLO slst 10 (10 sts)
Rnd 20: In BLO sc in each st (10 sts)
Rnd 21: Inc in each st around (20 sts)
Rnd 22: *Sc, inc in next st, repeat from * nine more times (30 sts)
Rnd 23: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * nine more times (40 sts)
Rnd 24: In BLO sc 29, *puff, sc, repeat from * four more times, sc (40 sts)
Rnd 25: Sc in each st around (40 sts)
Rnd 26: *Sc 8, dec, repeat from * three more times (36 sts)
Rnd 27: *Sc 4, dec, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)
Rnd 28: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (36 sts)
Rnd 29: *Sc 8, inc in next st, repeat from * three more times (40 sts)
Rnds 30-31: Sc in each st (40 sts)
Rnd 32: *Sc 8, dec, repeat from * 3 more times (36 sts)
Rnd 33: *Sc 4, dec, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)
Rnd 34: *Sc 3, dec, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)
Insert 12mm safety eyes between rows 28-29 with about 5 or 6 sts between them. Ensure they line up evenly with the puff stitches.
Insert a neck stabilizer. I used a thick dowel but you could also use a foam hair roller from the dollar store, or a stack of chenille stems (I recommend folding them and twisting them together to make it as rigid as possible), or maybe even an empty cardboard toilet paper roll or some other firm cardboard rolled up and taped together. The stabilizer should be long enough to go halfway down into the body and up through most of the head.
Stuff the body and head. Stuff around the neck support.
Rnd 35: *Sc 2, dec, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)
Rnd 36: *Sc, dec, repeat from * five more times (12 sts)
Rnd 37: Dec around (6 sts)
Tie off. Weave end through each stitch and pull to close. Weave yarn end. Using crochet thread, stitch eyelashes next to each eye if desired. With black yarn, stitch two nostrils between rows 27-28.
Skirt – Purple Underlayer (make 1):
Rotate the body so that the head is pointing toward you.
Rnd 1: In purple, insert your hook into the front loop of round 12 where you placed the first marker (the purple loops), working in the FLO of round 12, sc in each st (24 sts)
Rnd 2: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)
Rnd 3: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (36 sts)
Rnd 4: *Sc 5, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (42 sts)
Rnds 5-8: Sc in each st around (42 sts)
Rnd 9: Work 3 sc into each st (126 sts)
Slst to beginning st. Tie off. Weave end.
Skirt – Black Overlayer (make 1):
Rnd 1: In black, insert your hook into the front loop of round 13 where you placed the second marker (the black loops), working in the FLO of round 13, sc in each st (24 sts)
Rnd 2: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * seven more times (32 sts)
Rnd 3: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * seven more times (40 sts)
Rnd 4: *Sc 7, inc in next st, repeat from * four more times (45 sts)
Rnds 5-7: Sc in each st around (45 sts)
Rnd 8: Work 3 sc into each st (135 sts).
Slst to beginning st. Tie off. Weave end.
Here’s a side view so you can see just how poofy and awesome her skirt is!
Legs (make 2):
Stuff the legs as you go.
Rnd 1: In white, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnds 3-4: Sc in each st (12 sts)
Rnd 5: *Sc 1, dec, repeat from * three more times (8 sts)
Rnds 6-11: Sc in each st (8 sts)
Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching. Top up stuffing. Stitch legs onto each side of the body at rows 5-6.
Arms (make 2):
Stuff the arms as you go.
Rnd 1: In white, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)
Rnd 2: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * once more (8 sts)
Rnd 3: Sc in each st (8 sts)
Rnd 4: *Sc 2, dec, repeat from * once more (6 sts)
Rnd 5: In black, BLO slst in each st (6 sts)
Rnd 6: BLO sc in each st (6 sts)
Rnds 7-10: Sc in each st (6 sts)
Top up stuffing. Tie off. Weave end through each stitch and pull to close. Weave yarn end. Stitch the arms onto each side of the body at rows 16-17.
Hat Brim (make 1):
Rnd 1: In black, ch 30, join to first ch with a slst to create a loop, sc in each ch (30 sts)
Make sure your chain of 30 fits comfortably around the top part of the head (it’s okay if you need to stretch it slightly to fit). If it doesn’t, try making the chain with a bigger hook or a looser tension.
Rnd 2: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * nine more times (40 sts)
Rnd 3: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * nine more times (50 sts)
Rnd 4: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * nine more times (60 sts)
Slst to next st. Tie off. Weave end.
Hat Body (make 1):
Rnd 1: In purple, insert hook into a ch at the centre of the brim, slst in each ch (30 sts)
Rnd 2: In BLO sc in each st (30 sts)
Rnd 3: In black, in BLO slst in each st (30 sts)
Rnd 4: *In BLO sc 8, dec, repeat from * two more times (27 sts)
Rnd 5: *Sc 7, dec, repeat from * two more times (24 sts)
Rnd 6: Sc in each st (24 sts)
Rnd 7: *Sc 6, dec, repeat from * two more times (21 sts)
Rnd 8: Sc in each st (21 sts)
Rnd 9: *Sc 5, dec, repeat from * two more times (18 sts)
Rnd 10: Sc in each st (18 sts)
Rnd 11: *Sc 4, dec, repeat from * two more times (15 sts)
Rnd 12: Sc in each st (15 sts)
Rnd 13: *Sc 3, dec, repeat from * two more times (12 sts)
Rnd 14: Sc in each st (12 sts)
Rnd 15: *Sc 2, dec, repeat from * two more times (9 sts)
Rnd 16: Sc in each st (9 sts)
Rnd 17: *Sc, dec, repeat from * two more times (6 sts)
Rnd 18: Sc in each st (6 sts)
Rnd 19: Dec around (3 sts)
Tie off. Weave end through each st and pull to close. Weave yarn end. Place the hat on the top part of the head (you may need to stretch it slightly to fit). Place it at a tilted angle so that it sits jauntily on the head. Adjust the brim as needed. Fold the tip of the hat downward. Stitch in place if desired.
You’re done!
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