Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Pumpkins, Monsters and Spooks

Yes it’s that time of year again! Out come the woolly blankets, snuggly jumpers, mittens, hats and leg warmers (I feel the cold acutely!). On the plus side, there is suddenly lots more time for designing new crochet creations now all the summer holidays and general fine weather gallivanting is over.

In celebration of this change of seasons I’ve made a new pattern that I hope you’re all going to like!

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So please come along and meet Fred Monster, Gilbert Ghost and Pamela Pumpkin.

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I felt inspired to make them due to the need to brighten up my welsh dressers in light of the lack of light – in the form of sunshine – coming through my kitchen windows recently. I hope these three colourful characters will help to put a smile on your face as we head towards the cold, dark, dank and generally very gloomy months ahead. They’ve certainly cheered me up. They were a pleasure to make and the whole design process went without a hitch this time.

It was a case of doodle…

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to done…

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…in no time at all (well, about a week actually, but that’s pretty good going for me!)

These Halloween characters are a good 16″ tall from tip to toe and are weighted with plastic pellets so they can sit solidly on any shelf, table or chair. If you prefer you can leave out the beads and stuff with fiberfill, or similar, for a kid friendly cuddly toy. I don’t really do ‘scary’ when it comes to Halloween, so if you’re a bit of a softy like me then maybe these will appeal to your inner child!

Now I’d like to tell you a little bit more about each one…

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Fred-Heads

Frightful Fred get’s a bit narky when people refer to him only as Frankenstein’s monster.

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It isn’t very good for his self esteem not to have his own identity so he’s claiming back his individuality at last. We discussed what his preferred name might be and ‘Fred’ seemed like a decent, no-nonsense, everyday kind of a name that would be easy to live up to. He’s a down to earth guy at heart, despite his unusual appearance, and would love nothing better than to just fit in with the crowd.

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Ghost-Heads

Gilbert is a friendly little chap who really appreciates the ease with which he can blend into the crowds at this time of year.

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He loves to gate crash as many Halloween parties as he can find because most people think he’s wearing fancy dress and consequently hardly ever scream and run away when they see him floating into view. Even the fact that he’s apparently floating is often put down as a perceptual error on behalf of the beholder due to the ingestion of large amounts of witches brew or pumpkin punch. Be sure to look over your shoulder when you go Trick or Treating – Gilbert’s always where the action is, and even though he can’t actually eat any candy himself, being a ghost and all, he does love to watch the smiles on the children’s faces as their goodie bags fill up. Gilbert’s pet spider, Spot, accompanies him on all his ethereal adventures.

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Pumpkin-Heads

Pamela is sporting a happy, zig-zaggy sort of smile because she’s been waiting all summer for harvest time and now it’s finally here.

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Ever since she was a tiny pip pushed into the warm dark soil back in the spring she couldn’t wait for the Fall when the farmer would visit the patch to pick out which pumpkin would be his best bet to win a prize at this year’s horticultural show. Pretty Pamela was duly presented before the judges in the produce tent and was thrilled to win first place in the Miss Gorgeous Gourd category. She’s now looking forward to a great season showing off her veggie credentials, opening supermarkets and doing lots of charity work.

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Now that I have my Halloween head on I’m going to finish sprucing up my kitchen dressers with a few more spooky decorations then I’ll be back to share the photos with you all. I’m being nagged into it you see. Pamela’s become so used to all the attention lately and is insisting that she get’s to be in at least one more blog post!

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See you all back here soon!


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Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters?! Well seriously, there’s no need for that with this friendly bunch of ghosts. I promise you they mean no harm and only want to add a bit of spooky specialness to your Halloween decorations this Fall. Calling up a bunch of guys armed with Proton Packs might just be overreacting a slight bit. And of course there’s also the ever present, and very dangerous reality, of total protonic reversal if you cross the streams. No one wants a dose of that, believe me!

Scroll down for my free pattern and let the physical and the phantom abide together in peace and harmony this Halloween!

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I got my glow in the dark eyes for the larger ghost from Suncatcher Eyes. I found so many colors, sizes and styles to choose from. It’s safety eye heaven! If you’re looking for something just that little bit special do pop on over and have a browse, you’ll be totally spoilt for choice!

Ghost Pattern

(US crochet terms are used throughout. See here for a simple to use conversion chart for UK terms).
Materials:
You will need:
Large Ghost – Worsted weight (Aran/10 ply) yarn and size H (5mm) hook.
Small Ghost – Light worsted weight (DK/8 ply) yarn and size D (3.25mm) hook.
White yarn
A small length of Black yarn.
Fiberfill (polyester) stuffing.
White chenille stick (pipe cleaner) or a piece of white felt (for the arms).
Safety eyes: Large ghost – 12 mm, Small ghost – 9 mm (or use beads/yarn/buttons instead).
Tapestry needle.
Instructions:
With White yarn make 2 ch.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each of next 6 st. (12 sts)
Rnd 3: [sc in next st, 2 sc in next st] 6 times. (18 sts)
Rnds 4-6: Sc in each stitch around. (3 rounds)
Insert safety eyes in between Rnds 4 and 5.
Rnd 7: working in back loops only: [Sc in next st, sc2tog] 6 times. (12 sts)
Stuff head.
Rnd 8: [Sc2tog] 6 times. (6 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for finishing. Thread yarn tail onto tapestry needle, pick up front loop only of remaining 6 stitches, pull tight to close the hole. Weave in end.
Rnd 9: Hold head upside down and pull up a loop of White yarn in any leftover front loop from Rnd 7. 1 ch (does not count as a st), sc in same st as rejoined yarn, sc in each remaining leftover front loop to end, Slst to next st, turn. (18 sts)
Rnd 10: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (18 sts)
Rnd 11: 3 ch (counts as first dc), dc in stitch at base of 3 ch, 2 dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (36 sts)
Rnds 12-13: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (36 sts)
Rnd 14: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in next st, skip next st, [dc in each of next 2 st, skip next st] to end, Slst to top of 3 ch. (24 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for finishing.
To Finish:
Insert a length of pipe cleaner through Rnd 6 at side of head, then through stitch at center base of head and finally out through the opposite side of Rnd 6 of head, (or you can cut out two hands from white felt and sew these to the sides of your ghost if you prefer). Thread yarn tail onto tapestry needle and sew a line of running stitches in between Rnds 13 and 14, pull tight to gather up, fasten off and weave in end. (See pictures below).

Use a strand of Black yarn to sew a little V shape for mouth. And there you have your finished ghost.

The pipe cleaner arms make them very easy to attach to a twiggy tree or you could sew on a loop of yarn or clear nylon twine and hang them in a window or from door frames.DSCN5382
Each ghost takes approximately 20 minutes to make so there can be no excuses for not having a whole hoard of these little horrors in time for Halloween! Just don’t reach for the phone when they’re around. They tend to get a little jumpy!

Happy Hooking everyone!