Project introduction
This is a pattern overview, not a full tutorial. Spookles The Ghost is a crochet project from Pattern Paradise that works up as a wall or door hanging, and the original designer’s pattern and instructions hold every round, row and finishing step you need. What follows is a practical orientation: what the project is, what it asks of your hook and yarn, how the pieces come together, and where to find the free written pattern or the paid ad-free PDF.
The designer built the ghost to pair with a wood Welcome sign made on a Cricut Maker, designed so seasonal hangings can be swapped in and out through the year. Spookles was the first swap. If you do not own a cutting machine, the lettering can be painted freehand and the ghost still added to the sign, so the pairing stays open to any crafter.
Access is simple to describe. The written pattern is free on the designer’s site, and a paid ad-free PDF version is sold on Ravelry for anyone who prefers a printable copy without ads. Both routes lead to the same project, so choose whichever suits how you like to work.
Spookles The Ghost
The finished ghost measures approximately 13 inches wide and 18 inches tall without fringe. Gauge is not important for this pattern, which gives you room to relax about matching a swatch exactly. The body is worked in white in a continuous spiral, meaning rounds are not joined, and a stitch marker placed in the first stitch of each round and moved up as you go keeps the spiral honest.
Construction is modular. A white body forms the head and draped shape, two white arms are made separately and sewn at the sides with the hands tacked together, and an orange pumpkin is worked flat with loops at the end of each row, then seamed and closed by weaving yarn through those loops. Three green curls top the pumpkin, a necktie is tied around the neck, and the head is stuffed lightly so it holds a nice shape.
Facial features are simple hand work: two buttons sewn in place for eyes and short straight stitches in black yarn for the mouth. The pumpkin sits over the hands, and fringe is optional. The designer cut fringe pieces about 7 inches long, attached two strands together every other stitch, and suggested fraying them with a pin or needle for a spookier look. A small yarn loop at the back top of the head and a long chain made with 4 strands of yarn served as the sign hanger.
Here is the complete supply checklist as the source lists it:
- #4 worsted weight yarn; the source used Red Heart Super Saver, 364 yards per skein
- White: 1 skein
- Orange: 75 yards
- Green: 100 yards
- Black for the mouth: 12 inches
- Two 3/4 inch buttons
- Poly FIL for stuffing the head and pumpkin
- Hook: US H / 5.00 mm
- Tapestry needle
- Stitch marker (optional)
US terms abbreviations used in the pattern are ch for chain, hdc for half double crochet, sc for single crochet, sl for slip, st(s) for stitch(es), and tog for together. The beginning ch 1 does not count as a stitch, and the number in parentheses at the end of a round tells you the stitch count for that round. When a stitch is followed by a number, you work that stitch in the number of stitches indicated; when a stitch is preceded by a number, you work that number of stitches in the next stitch.
For the wooden WELCOME sign that the ghost hangs on, the source lists a small piece of wood (common board is fine, described as a 12 inch piece of 1 inch by 4 inch pine board), a chop saw or a home improvement store cutting service, a hammer and wire brush for optional distressing, 120 grit sandpaper, super fine steel wool, 2 black tea cup hooks for hanging, Minwax Dark
Walnut wood stain with a sponge brush, white chalk paint with a sponge brush, optional Minwax Polyurethane or Polycrylic for weather proofing, a Cricut Maker or other cutting machine (the work can also be done freehand), and Cricut vinyl for the lettering template plus transfer paper.
Because this is an overview rather than a tutorial, the row-by-row instructions are not reproduced here. Head to the Original designer’s pattern and instructions to work Spookles round by round, including the body spiral, the arm pair, the pumpkin rows, the curls, the necktie and the assembly sequence.
If you enjoy this style of seasonal decoration, the Crochet Ghost Walking Dog Amigurumi: Pattern Overview covers another playful ghost project, and the crochet ghost patterns: Pattern Overview collects more options if you want to build a small haunting of your own.
