Hook yourselves some Skulls

Back in June I tried to hook you up into giving flowers for Skull Appreciation Day Now it's time to hook the skulls in time for Day of the Dead.  They were a great hit as "charms" to give my fellow students & the tutors at Art Is You Down Under in 2014 (was it THAT long ago???)

I came across the original pattern  on the 'net, and tweaked it in a few places particularly so all the teeth happen at once in the middle of the last row.  It's a very forgiving pattern - if you miss the odd 2 tr in 1 tr, or only 6 instead of 7, it won't really matter.

Finished size depends in the thickness of yarn and crochet hook you use.  Again, I was brought up on English terminology.  Any Americans, dc is sc (symbol x), treble is dc (symbol T ). I have no idea what Americans call a half treble (symbol T ).

1.  Chain 24.  DC in 13^th chain from hook, slipstitch in last stitch.

2.  Catching in the tail as you go (saves sewing it in later), 20 dc in first circle, 20dc in second circle.  Slipstitch into start.  Change yarns here if you want different-coloured eye sockets like the orange & cream skull in the picture.

3.  Chain 3 (= treble), treble in next 4 dcs, 2 half-treble in next dc, half treble in next dc, dc in next 5 dcs, half treble in next dc, 2 half trebles in next dc, treble in next 4 dcs.

Chain 4  Miss last 4 dcs of circle, and  next 4 dcs in next circle. (nose!)

Treble in next 4 dcs, 2 half trebles in next dc, half treble in next dc, dc in next 5 stitches, half treble in next dc, 2 half trebles in next dc, treble in next 5 dcs.  Slipstitch into top of chain 3.

4.  Chain 3 (= treble), treble in next 4 stitches.  2 treble in next stitch, 2 half trebles in next stitch, half treble in next stitch, dc in next 7 stitches, 2 half trebles in next stitch, half treble in next stitch, treble in next 4 stitches.  4 treble in the chain 4.  treble in next 3 stitches.

Work teeth here:  Chain 4 (= treble, chain 1), turn work, miss 1 stitch, treble in next treble, chain 1, miss 1 treble, treble in next stitch - repeat to create 4 teeth (ch 1 gaps).

Chain 4 (= treble + chain 1), turn work, treble in next treble, chain 1 treble in next treble until 3 tooth gaps.  Chain 4, slipstitch in 3^rd chain of loop below, slipstitch in next chain and in top of treble.  This brings you back down to where you started the teeth.

Treble in next treble.  Half treble in next stitch, 2 half trebles in next stitch, dc in next 7 stitches, half treble in next stitch, 2 half trebles in next stitch, 2 trebles in next stitch, treble in next 5 stitches.  Slip stitch into top of chain 3.

If you want  a swing loop, chain 5, slipstitch in top of chain3 again.

With or without loop, cut thread, pull through last stitch.  Darn the loose end in, or keep it for stitching into something else later.

I suppose I'd better invent a cro-frog to keep Evil Froggy from beating me up for the pink background and watermark!  OR... you could save me by posting your weird creepy makes back on Day 1

Otherwise run FAST to the next link in the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

Skull Appreciation Day Recap - Give Flowers

Just a quick recap, sharing Asylum Anne's fab flowers so it is easy to find again...


And now for something waaaay different - give Flowers on Skull Appreciation Day:

Flowers - sweet.

Crochet flowers – double “sweet”

But... just as a cog or gear on a project means you can call it Steampunk, simply involving a skull makes it Dark or Creepy. Well, sort of.

First up: if you can't crochet yet, let me refer you to Auntie Google's right-hand man, Youtube for a lesson or three. It's a compact skill – a small ball of cotton, a crochet hook no bigger than a ballpoint pen and you are occupied in the dentist waiting room, the bus queue, and in days gone by, that 40-hour sequence of flights to get one from Middle Earth to Malta. (I wonder if bamboo hooks may still be ok)

Anyway.... Skull Flowers:

One can take any Irish Crochet flower pattern, and attach a skull in the centre. Or crochet a length and spiral that round itself. The advantage of doing it this way is that you can adapt the rate of spiral, and have far more “petals”. The tail of the cast-on end of the thread can be used to thread through a skull bead and hold it in place. The finishing tail can be used to catch-stitch the spirals to keep their place.

All these ones have the same Row 1, 2 & 3. Row 4 changes. I was brought up in the “English” tradition of labelling stitches, and really prefer charts.

Row 1: Chain 72 (or any multiple of 3)

Row 2: Skip 5 chain, Treble in 6^th chain. * Miss 2 chain, Treble ch2 Tr eble in next chain * repeat until you run out of chain. Turn work

Row 3: Chain 1, slip stitch in ch2 loop. Chain3 (= Treble), treble, chain 2, 2 treble all in same loop. Repeat in every loop across.

Row 4 variation a: Chain 1. Turn work. Dc in treble. In loop: Halftreble, 3 treble, half treble, double crochet. Repeat across to the end.

Row 4 variation b: Slip stitch to loop. Chain 3 (= 1 treble), treble, chain 3, slipstitch in top of treble (=picot), 2 treble. * Chain 2, double crochet after 2 treble, chain 2. In next loop 2 treble, picot, 2 treble* across the piece.

Row 4 variation c: In each loop 3 treble, picot, 3 treble. Double crochet between 2^nd and 3^rd treble

Once you've done enough, use the cast-on tail to stitch the skull bead, then start winding the length round & round to form petals.  Use the finishing tail to catch-stitch them in place.

Thank you so much Anne for this awesome project!