Month: October 2016

There’s no trick to making this fun Granny Square Tote for all of your Halloween treats! Simply follow these simple steps to whip up this project in just a few days’ time. Our crocheted tote uses four colors of Gazzal Baby Cotton to create a colorful bag that pairs the iconic colors of candy corn with traditional Halloween black. If you are new to crocheting Granny Squares, click here for an easy-to-follow tutorial.

Supplies: 

• 2 skeins of Gazzal Baby Cotton in 3433 Black (you may wish to purchase a third skein, should you want to modify this design for a larger bag)
• 1 skein of Gazzal Baby Cotton in 3419 Orange
• 1 skein of Gazzal Baby Cotton in 3416 Orange
• 1 skein of Gazzal Baby Cotton in 3432 White
• 1 Tulip US  E/3.5mm crochet hook
• Prym Wool Tapestry Needles
• Kartopu Fancy Hobby Scissors and Tape Measure with Magnet
• Black Sewing Thread
• Kartopu Sewing Needle
• 1 pair Knit Pro Faux Leather Purse Handles – Orange

To Make Bag: 

First, you will need to make a total of 8 six-round granny squares, measuring 6×6 inches using all 4 colors like so:

Rounds 1-2: white 

Rounds 3-4: orange 

Rounds 5: yellow 

Rounds 6: black 

Next, make 12 three-round granny squares, measuring 3×3 inches using black yarn only like so:

Round 1-3: black 

Tip: weave in all ends except black yarn tails on edging, which can be used to seam.

Lay out squares like so:

Begin by seaming black 3×3 squares into a long strip with darning needle.

Seam four 6×6 squares together for both front and back.

Now, attach one set of four-color 6×6 squares to middle 4 squares of black strip.

Seam up both sides like so:

Repeat to attached second set of 6×6 squares. Weave in any ends that remain.

With crochet hook, rejoin black yarn and work a repeat of *three double crochet, chain 1, repeat from * for two rounds around top of bag. 

With sewing needle and thread, attach purse handles.

You may wish to line finished bag with fabric or felt, or you can use your bag as-is to tote around your essentials.  Enjoy!

Like this tutorial? Pin it to Pinterest!

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This monster mash Halloween door banner is a quick and easy Halloween project that works up in a couple hours in the afternoon, and will help little trick-or-treaters know that your house is just right for a visit on October 31st! Keeping decorations a little spooky but not too scary makes a happier Halloween for everyone. This project is kid-friendly, so be sure to get your little ones involved in the fun! They will be so happy and proud to help make a door banner for Halloween.

You will need:

• 4 different types of die cut felt monsters (you can find the whole selection here)
• 1 sheet of black felt
• 1 sheet of purple felt
• 1 sheet of light orange felt
• One alphabet letter pack in yellow
• Scissors
• Clear-drying fabric glue
• A print out of the tree template (pdf can be found here)

UPDATE: Available wool felt options on hobiumyarns.com

Additional materials: a small rod or stick, at least 0.5 meters long, a pencil crayon in a light color, and 1 meter of yarn or string

Prepare your felt: Begin by folding the big black felt  piece in half, and cutting it lengthwise. This will leave you with a long rectangle that is nearly the same width as the purple and orange felt sheets. The long black rectangle will be the base of the banner, and the other half of the black felt will be cut up to make the trees, and the hills with the orange stripes behind them.

Print off the tree template, and cut around the shapes. Using your light-colored pencil crayon, trace around the paper template onto the felt. If the crayon isn’t showing up, wet the tip of the pencil crayon. You may also prefer to cut out one set of the felt trees, and use them as a sturdier template:

With the remaining black felt, cut three equal stripes of black felt. For each of those three stripes of black felt, cut in some hill shapes or any style – big hills or small hills, they could even be wavy. You could also use the tree template again and add in more trees if you like. For the orange felt, cut in three stripes that you can then layer behind the black ‘hills’, playing around with the arrangement until you find an effect that you like:

Once you have found an arrangement you like with your solid felt pieces, open the package with the yellow alphabet. You will notice that it’s the Turkish alphabet, so it won’t be same as the English alphabet, but it’s pretty close. The only problem we are going to have is coming up with an extra M. To make a second M (which we wouldn’t have in one package of an English alphabet anyway), cut a small piece off of the letter V, and snip a small triangle out of the join on the letter L. Arrange them together, including using a little bit of the part of the V that you cut off, to form an M:

Spell out the words Monster Mash, playing around with the location to make it fun, and slightly off kilter. To make an exclamation point, use the letter I and one of the dots that come in the package.

Now the really fun part- placing your monsters! You can use as many or as few as you would like. It looks especially good to mix up the styles and levels, and there are no rules- put them wherever you want!

Time to glue everything into place. Begin with the purple felt:

Don’t panic if you can see the glue through the felt – Once it’s dry, it will be invisible. Then glue the tree line down:

As well as the black and orange pieces:

And the letters, paying special attention to gluing the pieces of your constructed M carefully:

Last, glue down your monsters. Let everything dry flat for at least a few hours, until the glue has dried clear. To attach a rod to the top, fold over the top about 2 inches, insert the rod and the length of yarn or string, and glue (or sew, or pin – whatever you prefer) the felt to keep the rod and string in place.

Once it is fully dried and set, you can hang your wonderful monster mash Halloween banner on your door and enjoy!

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