I’m pleased to be able share the news that I’ve finished off my bat pattern at long last. These little guys were originally designed for a UK magazine and published in October 2015 so I got to thinking it was high time I reworked it slightly –  with the aim of listing it in my online pattern shops just in time for Halloween. Phew! Mission accomplished, though admittedly without nearly as much time to spare as I would have liked. Better late than never I guess. I know it’s only a few weeks until the big fright night itself, but these bats are very small – about 4″ (10 cm) tall and are fairly quick to make. Or maybe you just love bats as much as I do and fancy a woolly one as a pet whatever the time of year. No special occasion required!

There have been the usual amount of distractions this week but with October the 31st looming heavily towards me I crocheted up a motley collection of dismembered bat bits, zealously guarded by a luminous spider and an insanely happy ghost.

I eventually plucked up the courage to extricate the body parts from their creepy clutches and bundled the various anatomical necessities into little wicker baskets ready to be made into something altogether less grisly.

After a spot of wizardry with a needle and thread the bats started to take shape very nicely.

The original set of bats wore yellow, orange and blue T-shirts with dinky little bat logos and even made it onto the cover of Craftseller.

See how proud they look when they get a peek inside? It’s enough to make anyone fluff out their wings and crow a little. (To be honest, I was pretty chuffed too!).

As with most of my patterns, things change a little bit every time I rework them so with the new version I couldn’t resist using  green, orange and purple for their T-shirts. I totally love this colour combo at any time of the year but I especially love how, with the addition of a splash of black and grey here and there, it sums up Halloween so perfectly!

Now if you’ve ever looked at any of my other patterns you’ll know I’m completely batty (sorry!) for a bit of alliteration so I’ve duly named these three amigos Bertie, Betty and Barty Bat.

After I taught myself a smattering of sonar (blimey, I thought learning French was tough enough) we had a little bat chat and they agreed to be the focal point of my festive Fall decorating this year. I’ve strung them all up onto a lovely piece of sparkly black and white bakers twine, interspersed them with some crocheted stars and hung the whole garland on my fireplace.

They do make me smile just to look at their perky faces. As I don’t really like the macabre or grizzly details of Halloween decor this level of cuteness is just right for me. I’m a big wimp when it comes to horror films, or in fact even most films rated higher than a 12A, but that’s just the way I’ve always been and I don’t think I’m likely to toughen up any time soon. So bring on the cute overload because I can handle that by the bucketful!

The crocheted stars also make a really simple but effective garland of their own. They’re lightening quick to make and it’s so easy to whizz up a whole handful in an hour or so while watching telly or listening out for Trick or Treaters. I’ve threaded a few onto a piece of twine to complement the bat garland and I’m definitely going to be making another one in whites and silvery greys for my Christmas decorations.

A few tea lights burning keep the spooks and the winter doldrums away…

…and the bats are in their element as the darkness descends.

Now you may be thinking that Bertie, Betty and Barty are a little chubbier around the tummy than your average bat, and you’d be right. But don’t worry, as the classic nursery rhyme (only slightly adapted) explains:

“Bat Baby Bunting, daddy’s gone a-hunting, he’s gone to catch some tasty flies to stop them eating pumpkin pies”.

It wouldn’t do for them to get too heavy for their wings. With a bit of luck, and the hard work of their conscientiously foraging father, this is probably just a transient smidgen of puppy fat. With the practicalities of staying airborne aside, I actually think it rather suits them!

Wishing you all a happy and creative run up to the spook-fest at the end of the month…

…and watch out for things that go bump in the night – it might just be a chubby, pumpkin pie filled bat plummeting to the ground!

(Pattern available on Etsy or any of my other online shops)