Sunday School!

Good Morning!  I hope your weekend has been wonderful so far!

I found a link to a book of 262 stitch patterns via Pinterest the other day.  It's all online and free and amazing:
http://issuu.com/talpa/docs/262_patrones_crochet

I found it completely inspiring!  I have been looking for something fun and different to work on, and I can see so many applications for these stitch patterns.  The only problem (not a problem!) with the book is that all of the patterns are charted.  I can read crochet charts, but I'm not an expert at it by any means.  But I know of someone who is!!!

Are you guys familliar with Dana at CraftyMinx?  She's got the absolute BEST crochet tutorial set that she calls "Crochet School".  It's flipping amazing and pretty much takes you from complete beginner to Crochet Rockstar in 23 awesome lessons!

Of course she had absolutely the best lesson on reading crochet charts:
http://www.craftyminx.com/2011/11/crochet-school-lesson-21-reading-crochet-charts.html
(squeee!  I love her so much!! Those of you who have bought my ebook know I mentioned her in it too!  She just rocks!)

So, using my awesome new stitch charts (that you can read now too!) I made you a scarf!  Isn't it Autumnal-ly fabulous?!  I named it in honor of the stitch chart number that I used to make it!

#48 Scarf
Approx 5 1/2" x 56"
Supplies:
Worsted weight yarn (I used a whole skein of Loops and Threads Impeccable in Cherry)
Size G crochet hook
Yarn needle
Scissors

(the 3 ch at beginning of row count as 1st stitch)
ch 23
R1: dc in 4th ch from hook, 2 dc, skip 2 ch, (dc, ch 3, dc) in next ch space, skip 2 ch, 5 dc, skip 2 ch, (dc, ch 3, dc) in next ch space, skip 2 ch, 3 dc (21 st)
R2: ch 3, skip first st, 2 dc, skip next st, 5 dc in chain space, skip next st, 5 dc, skip next st, 5 dc in chain space, skip next st, 3 dc (21 st)
R3: ch 3, skip first st, 2 dc, skip next 2 st, (dc, ch 3, dc) in next st, skip 2 st, 5 dc, skip 2 st, (dc, ch 3, dc) in next st, skip 2 ch 3 dc (21 st)
R4: ch 3, skip first st, 2 dc, skip next st, 5 dc in chain space, skip next st, 5 dc, skip next st, 5 dc in chain space, skip next st, 3 dc (21 st)
Repeat R3-4 as many times as you need to get the length that you want.  I used 42 repeats, which took me almost to the end of my skein.
When you're ready to finish the scarf, end on a R4 row.
Scalloped Edge: ch 1, skip first st, sc in next st,*skip 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip 2 st, sc in next st* 3 times, sc in last st (21 st)
Fasten off.
Attach yarn to the edge of starting edge and repeat Scalloped Edge on the other end of the scarf.
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Okay, so I know I'm a little late to this party (and it has nothing to do with crochet) but I am in love with this video this week!  I can't stop watching it!  Warning: this song will get stuck in your head for DAYS...

xoxo


Now, a quick word from today's free-pattern SPONSOR:

Hi Dynamos!  I've put out an ebook of 6 of my fanciest-schmanciest (wearable) patterns from this site!  It's in the Kindle store right now!  It's called Crochet Dynamite: Fancy-Schmancy.  If you have an e-reader, iPad, Smart Phone or other tech-y awesomeness (including Kindle on your laptop/PC) please click HERE to go and check it out.

Mother Goose

You know I love a good hat costume, so this week has inadvertently turned into hat costume week... And I've got one more for next week.  They're just so practical!

Today is Mother Goose.  I know, I know, it looks like a funky witch hat.  In fact, if you wanted to use it as a witch hat you could, but I was really determined that I wasn't going to make a witch hat. In fact, Jake and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago that went something like this:

Jaime: I want to make something fun for Halloween.
Jake: You should make a witch hat.
Jaime: There are a ton of adorable witch hats out there, everyone has a witch hat.  I want to do something different.
Jake: If it's your version, it would be different.  You should make a witch hat.
Jaime: No.
Jake: Then make a Lawn Gnome hat, but I really think you should make a witch hat.

LOL!!!!  Well, I got the Gnome hat finished and realized I had done 90% of the work of making a witch hat, so I'd just go for it and make my own version.  I sketched designs, a slouchy witch hat, a funky witch hat, trying to do something I hadn't seen a billion times on Pinterest...

I started the brim of the hat and it was short and weird and reminded me of something from my childhood.  I showed Jake and he thought it reminded him of European wood-cut prints of witches... Old world style...  Suddenly, we both were thinking 'Hansel and Gretel'-type witch, which made me think that we must have seen the same book when we were kids, because that was pretty random...

I consulted the Oracle (Google search) and realized it wasn't a witch we were thinking of at all!  It was Mother Goose!

18th century wood cut of Mother Goose by Luis d'Antin van Rooten 

So if you'd like to be something different, something that hasn't been seen a billion times on Pinterest, and you'd like to rock a funky witch hat, this is absolutely the pattern for you!!

Mother Goose Hat

Supplies:

Worsted Weight yarn (I used Loops & Threads Impeccable 100% acrylic yarn in Lavender)

Size G crochet hook

Yarn needle 

Scissors

R1: 8 hdc in a magic loop, pull loop tight and sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R2: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R3: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R4: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R5: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (24 st)
R6: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (24 st)
R7: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 2 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (32 st)
R8: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (32 st)
R9: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 3 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (40 st)
R10: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (40 st)
R11: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 4 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st)
R12: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st)
R13: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 5 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st)
R14: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st)
R15: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 6 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st)
R16: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st)
R17: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 7 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st)
R18: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st)
R19: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 8 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st)
R20-22: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st)
R23: (work in front loops only) ch 1, sc in each st, sl st to first sc to close round (80 st)
R24: (work in both loops) ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 9 sc) 8 times, sl st to first sc to close round (88 st)
R25: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 10 sc) 8 times, sl st to first sc to close round (96 st)
R26: ch 1, sc in each st, sl st to first sc to close round (96 st)
R27: ch 1, 5 sc, (2 sc in next st, 11 sc) 7 times, 2 sc in next st, 6 sc, sl st to first sc to close round (104 st)
R28: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 12 sc) 8 times, sl st to first sc to close round (112 st)
R29: ch 1, sc in each st, sl st to first sc to close round (112 st)
R30: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 13 sc) 8 times, sl st to first sc to close round (120 st)
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

xoxo

Lawn Gnome!

I am a big fan of the 'hat' costume: a hat so fantastic that you can just wear normal clothes and it still counts as a costume.  I am not a fan of cheapie drugstore costumes anymore, because alas, I am not a size 4 so none of them fit me right.  But a hat!  A hat costume is amazing.  You still can participate in the office costume contest (oh how clever, you say you made it yourself?!) and you can take it off when you go on your lunch break.  Now, I can't guarantee that you wont get hat-hair, but it's a small price to pay for not being dressed up as Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games at work all day...  Those eyelashes would begin to bother me after about fifteen minutes... 

Jake was a very good sport today.  He's going as the World's Tallest Lawn Gnome.  (He's 6'5" and the hat adds about 7")

Gnome Hat
Supplies:
Worsted weight yarn in Red (I used Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red - 1 skein should make 2 hats)
Size G crochet hook
Yarn needle
Scissors

R1: 8 hdc in a magic loop, pull loop tight and sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R2: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R3: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R4: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R5: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (24 st)
R6-7: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (24 st)
R8: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 2 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (32 st)
R9-10: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (32 st)
R11: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 3 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (40 st)
R12-13: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (40 st)
R14: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 4 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st)
R15-16: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st)
R17: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 5 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st)
R18: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st)
R19: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 6 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st)
R20-21: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st)
R22: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 7 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st)
R23-24: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st)
R25: ch 1 (2 hdc in next st, 8 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st)
R26-27: ch 1, hdc in each st, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st)
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Gnome Beard
Supplies:
Small amount of worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart Super Saver in White)
Size G crochet hook
Yarn needle
Scissors

ch 52
R1: hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in each chain space across (51 st)
R2: ch 2, 24 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 24 hdc (53 st)
R3: ch 1, 16 sc, 10 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 10 hdc, 16 sc (55 st)
R4: ch 1, 16 sc, 11 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 11 hdc, 16 sc (57 st)
R5: ch 1, 14 sl st, ch 2, (do not skip a stitch) 13 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 14 hdc, ch 2, turn (30 stitches + ch sp before 13 hdc = 31 st)
R6: 15 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 15 hdc (33 st)
R7: ch 1, 4 sl st, ch 2, 11 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 12 hdc, ch 2, turn (27 st)
R8: 13 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 13 hdc (29 st)
R9: ch 1, 5 sl st, ch 2, 9 hdc, 3 hdc in next st, 10 hdc
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Using red yarn, stitch beard to the sides of the hat.  I just used a simple running stitch.

This costume rocked extra, because I was able to use yarn that I already had to make it.  So basically, it was free!!  And free hat costumes are the best kind of hat costumes!

xoxo

Isabella's Fireside Girl Beret

We love Phineas and Ferb around here.  A lot.  Mims likes to pretend that she's Isabella, so I decided to make her an Isabella-in-her-Fireside-Girl-uniform costume.  I don't know if this is going to be her Halloween costume, but it's fun for playing dress up, and it's cute to wear out in public.  People who know will recognize her, and those that don't will just think she's adorable.  Either way it's a win for this mom.

Isabella's Fireside Girl beret is gold with a red bow.  You could use my Dynamite Beret! pattern if you wanted to make an adult sized version.  This version should fit kiddos 3-10...  

Isabella's Fireside Girl Beret

should fit most kids 3-10

Supplies:

Worsted weight yarn for beret (I used Wool Ease by Lion Brand in Gold - you will need 1 skein)

Small amount of worsted weight yarn for bow (I used Red Heart Soft in Red)

Size G crochet hook

Yarn needle

Scissors

Beret 

(use Gold yarn)

R1: in a magic loop, 8 hdc, pull loop snug and sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R2: ch 1, 2 hdc in each st around, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R3: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (24 st)
R4: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 2 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (32 st) 
R5: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 3 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (40 st) 
R6: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 4 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st) 
R7: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 5 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st) 
R8: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 6 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st) 
R9: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 7 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st) 
R10: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 8 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st) 
R11: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 9 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (88 st) 
R12: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 10 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (96 st) 
R13: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 11 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (104 st) 
R14: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 12 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (112 st)

R15: ch 1, hdc in each stitch around, sl st to first hdc to close round (112 st)

R16: ch 1, 6 hdc, (hdc next 2 st tog, 12 hdc) 7 times, hdc next 2 st tog, 6 hdc, sl st to first hdc to close round (104 st)

R17: ch 1, (hdc next 2 st tog, 11 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (96 st)
R18: ch 1, 5 hdc, (hdc next 2 st tog, 10 hdc) 7 times, hdc next 2 st tog, 5 hdc, sl st to first hdc to close round (88 st)
R19: ch 1, (hdc next 2 st tog, 9 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (80 st)
R20: ch 1, 4 hdc, (hdc next 2 st tog, 8 hdc) 7 times, hdc next 2 st tog, 4 hdc, sl st to first hdc to close round (72 st)
R21: ch 1, (hdc next 2 st tog, 7 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (64 st)
R22: ch 1, 3 hdc, (hdc next 2 st tog, 6 hdc) 7 times, hdc next 2 st tog, 3 hdc, sl st to first hdc to close round (56 st)

R23: ch 1, (hdc next 2 st tog, 5 hdc) 8 times, sl st to first hdc to close round (48 st)

R24-26: ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st to first sc to close round (48 st)

Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Isabella's Bow
(use Red yarn)
Loops:
ch 37
R1: hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in each ch across (36 st)
R2-5: ch 1, 5 hdc, 8 dc, 10 hdc, 8 dc, 5 hdc (36 st)
R6: ch 1, 5 sc, 8 dc, 10 sc, 8 dc, 5 sc (36 st)
Fasten off.

Center:
ch 7
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across (6 st)
R2-14: ch 1, sc in each st across (6 st)
Fasten off.

Grab your yarn needle and use the tail end of the big loop piece to stitch the short sides together into a loop.

Weave in any leftover ends.

Wrap the center piece around the center of the loop piece to make a bow.  Using the leftover yarn tail from the center piece, sew the center short ends together.

Tug the top corners of your bow up to make them nice and pointy, just like Isabella's bow!
Now you're ready to stitch it to the front of the beret.

Yippee!  You're done!  Now try it on a cute little girl!  But get your own, because this one is MINE!  :P

Mims loves being my model, but she get's a little squirrely sometimes.
Here are her outtakes:

xoxo

Jake

A little over fifteen years ago I made a doll of a boy that I adored.

Twelve years ago I married him.

Happy Anniversary Jake.  I love you more today than I could have even imagined back then.

xoxo


Because you requested them, Garden Chef (thanks!), here are some pictures of us:

1997

2003

2012

Showcase Saturday: Nyan-Pon Knits and Crochet

Happy Saturday!  Welcome to Crochet Dynamite's very first Showcase Saturday (did you use an announcer voice that echoed when you said Shoooow-Caaaaase Saturday?  I did!).  I'm going to use it as an opportunity to show off awesome people and awesome books or sites that you might not have seen (as opposed to the projects and tips in the Sunday School posts...).  Today's awesome person is one of my very first blogging friends.  I love her to pieces, and I am constantly amazed and inspired by her work.  Her name may be Charlotte, but on her site and over here at Crochet Dynamite she is Nyan (Nyan-pon!)!!!  What? You haven't been to the magic that is NyanPon's Knits and Crochet yet?  Well, let me introduce you...

Florida Shrug

Jaime:  What inspired you to start NyanPon's Knits and Crochet?  Do you sell your patterns or finished crochet pieces?

Nyan:  I did used to have an Etsy store under a different name.  I sold knitted tails and ears, but when I learned to crochet I added amigurumi that I had designed. (I didn't know how to read crochet patterns for a long time so I always made my own).  

I tried to branch out and do craft fairs, too.  I found it was too much money spent for the money earned.  I enjoyed making things, not filling out tax forms and doing paperwork.  I opened NyanPon's Knits and Crochet to showcase the patterns from the items I used to sell/trade.  Blogging my patterns made me happy.  When I ran out of my original patterns from my store's items I was already getting requests.  People enjoyed my patterns!  I was hooked.

Baby Bear Ears

Jaime:  You are NyanPon!!  You design bags, scarves (which I adore, btw!), hair clips and capelets, but you also do highly realistic amigurumi food, and then there are the ears and tails patterns you mentioned!  Does that kind of awesome diversity help to keep you inspired? 

Nyan:  Ears and tails are the joys of my life.  I hope I never grow too old to enjoy wearing them.  Many of the early patterns from the blog are my old patterns I made for myself.  The first food items were made for a friend's daughter.  I posted the patterns because they were cute.  I got so much good feedback and requests for new items.  I discovered that I had a gift for making amigurumi food.  I think food is one of my favorite things to design now.  

Most of my other patterns came to me out of necessity.  Need a new market bag?  Don't have the concentration to follow a pattern?  Make one.  See a cool wig hat, but there aren't many cool free patterns?  Make one.

Since I have been unemployed for close to 4 years now I don't have much extra money, so I pay it forward.  I know there are many other people in the same situation, too.  Money is tight, and sometimes $5 for one pattern could mean not having the money for that extra bit of groceries.

Pocket Hedgehog (knit on dpns, but so adorable I had to link it 
anyway!)

Hula Cat

Jaime:  Why do you crochet?

                                                               

Nyan:  Idle hands are the devil's workshop, or that is what my art/craft teacher mother always told me.  Some people play Angry Birds, I craft.  Amazingly I still cross stitch, knit, bead, sew, and draw (as well as working on many other hobbies like juggling, cooking, and gardening).  I tend to go slightly stir crazy if I am not working on something, I may need to go to the doctor and get checked for OCD.  Crochet is just my newest passion.

I learned to two years ago beacause I wanted to make a soot sprite for my mother-in-law.  I looked up ball patterns for knitting but they all seemed too difficult, so I set out to teach myself crochet.  I made a quick trip to Walmart to buy a set of hooks and not long after I was looking up how-to crochet videos on YouTube.  Since I have been a knitter for many years, I found crochet slightly hard to learn.  But as soon as I thought I had it, I made my first amigurumi the next day.  My husband claims I have crocheted more in a year and a half than most people have in their whole life.  Although, I still have not made a soot sprite...

Crochet Geek's videos have been a lifesaver to me, without them I never would have learned to double crochet.  I love trying new patterns to learn new techniques.  Often when I make something new I see how the technique would make an idea I had be even better and incorporate that technique into it.

Green Eggs and Ham!

Strawberry Shortcake

Jaime: Okay, so I have to ask... What does Nyan-Pon mean?

Nyan:  Neko is the Japanese word for cat, nyaa or nyan are sounds a cat makes.

Pon is like chan, it is a affixed to the end of a name by a close friend or family member.

If you call me Nyan-pon, it is affectionately calling me little cat or Kitten.

I will point out it is childish to add your own suffix to your name. I would introduce myself as Nyan, you as my friend might call me Nyan-chan or Nyan-pon.

Nyan Bow

Jaime:  As a relatively-new blogger, I find that I struggle with finding balance in my life.  I've got a regimented, every-other-day posting schedule that helps, but how do you find balance between your life online and your life at home?

Nyan:  Well, I don't have a life so it is easy for me. *hehe*  Okay, not quite true. I don't have children and I am a homemaker, so I do have spare time between my daily 4-5k walks and cooking/cleaning.  You might say crochet and blogging is what keeps me sane.  I like to post 2 patterns a week, sometimes I get inspired and do more, sometimes I feel blah and only post once or not at all.  I try not to force myself because that is when I get pattern block.

Lassie Wig

Jaime:  My last question:  What super-secret projects are you working on right now?  

Nyan:  *strokes imaginary moustache* "You will never know!" *evil villain laugh*

Thank you so much Nyan-pon for being my very first Showcase Saturday victim guest!  When she's not posting on her blog, you can find her on Facebook  (go HERE and Like her while you're there, would'ja please!), and also on Ravelry as NyanPon!  

Now, go check out her patterns because they rock!  Shoo! 

...but do come back soon, okay? ;D

xoxo 

Skully Necklace

I love October!  I love Halloween!  I love scary movies, carving pumpkins and homemade costumes!  I love fun decorations and I love dressing up all month long in not-quite-costumes that I can pretend are my normal clothes...

My Skully Necklace is inspired by Mexican sugar skulls, since Dia de los Muertos kinda jumbles in and becomes a part of the Halloween festivities in my neck of the woods.  I like the message behind the holiday, since having a family memorial day gives us a chance to talk to Mims about our family members who have passed on.  And, I just really dig the Mexican Folk Art style...

The supplies are really simple, just some embroidery floss, a hook, a needle and a plain chain.  You could probably whip out 3 or more of these in an evening!  Hmm, sounds like a grown-up Halloween treat...

Skully Necklace
Finished Pendant: 3/4" across at widest point, 1" from the top of the head to the teeth
Supplies:
Embroidery floss (White for skull, bright colors that make you happy for the embroidered decoration)
Size D hook
Sharp tapestry needle
Plain chain necklace (I used an 18" chain, you can use whatever length chain is most flattering to you)
Scissors
Tiny amount of fiberfil (optional!)

Tiny Skull Pattern
(make 2)
R1: Using white embroidery floss (6 strands), make 8 hdc in a magic loop, pull loop tight and sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R2: ch 1, 2 hdc in each st around, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
R3: ch 1, 3 hdc (3 st)
Fasten off.  Weave in ends (or don't and just tuck them inside the pendant later, if you want...)

Grab one of your tiny sculls and your brightly colored embroidery floss!

I like to layer the colors as I embroider the faces.  I started with red (TOO SCARY on its own!), and then added the other colors over the top.  **It might be helpful to add that I only used 3 strands of floss when I embroidered the faces, to keep the lines from being too thick.  Feel free to experiment with floss thickness to change the look of the pendant.**
Since this a folk art style project, realism is unnecessary.  An abstract 'skull-feeling' is what we're going for, and once you get all the colors on, it will become more defined and it will look amazing.  Besides, this is a really tiny piece of art, you can't get too realistic with it.

Here is what I did, if you want a guide to get you started:

It wouldn't be a Halloween project if it didn't include a little gore... :P

It wasn't fatal.  Moving on.

Grab the 2nd skull piece (which will now be called 'the back') and your white embroidery floss.

Stitch the 2 skull pieces together, wrong sides facing to the center.  Start about half way down the head part of the skull and whipstitch down the side, across the bottom, and back up the other side. Use the picture below as a guideline for where to start and stop your stitches...

Open the top part up a little, so that you can slide your chain inside it!

Just lay the chain across the open top of the skull, it should appear to be entering and leaving the skull at pretty much the same place on each side of the skull head.  Make sure that the long sides of the chain are centered before you go on to the next step (you know, 'cause it will make your necklace off centered and wonky if you don't...).

It's time to whipstitch the top of the skull together. The chain will now be sticking out of either side of the head, and the skull will be slightly puffed.  If you would like a more pronounced puffiness to your skull, add some fiberfill before you stitch the top of the skull closed.  I didn't add any extra fiberfill in mine because I wanted the back to lie flat against my skin...

You can use other color combinations!  You can wear them all month!  They go with every outfit you own, because it's October and spooky fun is the height of fashion!  Have I mentioned how much I love October??!!!

xoxo

Now, a quick word from today's free-pattern SPONSOR:

Hi Dynamos!  I've put out an ebook of 6 of my fanciest-schmanciest (wearable) patterns from this site!  It's in the Kindle store right now!  It's called Crochet Dynamite: Fancy-Schmancy.  If you have an e-reader, iPad, Smart Phone or other tech-y awesomeness (including Kindle on your laptop/PC) please click HERE to go and check it out.