The Perfect Stitch...: Ghostly Boo Garden Stake

Good Afternoon!!! It's dreary and raining in my neck of the woods today and is expected to continue raining through the weekend.

So, what to do -- work on projects, of course. Now, I'm going to apologize for the projects I've posted and I've not included the patterns for yet. I get so caught up working on ideas that I neglect to take the time to type up the patterns. I'm going to get this done - soon, I promise!!!

Here's one I'm excited about - my "Ghostly Boo Garden Stake" to place at my front steps to welcome visitors. Isn't this super cute? It was a quick project using Bernat Chunky Softee Yarn and an 8mm hook. For the purple dots, I used RHSS yarn.

If you didn't want to place this on a garden stake, you could make the Ghost and "BOO" letters:

--hang on the wall - individually or together
--applique on a tote bag, pillow or blanket
--make 2 of each and stuff with polyfil for small decorative pillows or shelf-sitters

And, another alternative, if you like it on a garden stake, is to place in a decorative planter to keep it indoors!!!

Ghostly Boo Garden Stake

Ghostly Boo Garden Stake Pattern

Difficulty Level: Easy

Gauge: not important

Size: Ghost (10" long); Letters (7") and the Garden Stake (3')

Materials:

--6mm & 8mm hooks

--Bernat Softee Chunky Yarn in Natural, Black, Pumpkin and Deborah Norville Chunky Yarn in Christmas Green - I used yarn from partial skeins that had already been used (total yardage approximately 100-120)

--#4 RHSS Yarn in Amethyst (for the dots; approximately 10-12 yds)

--3' garden stake (I purchased a pack of 2 at Hobby Lobby for $3.49)

--craft glue

--black acrylic paint

--paintbrush

--tapestry needle for weaving

U.S. Stitch Abbreviations:

Ch: chain

Sl st: slip stitch

St: stitch

SC: single crochet

SC2tog: single crochet 2 stitches together

HDC: half double crochet

MR: magic ring

FO: fasten off

Directions:

Ghost:

(Natural Yarn)

1. Ch7. SC in 2nd ch from hook and across. Ch3 and turn. (6)

2. SC in 2nd ch from hook and next ch. Then SC in each of the next 6 st. Ch3. SC in 2nd ch from hook and next ch. Ch1 and turn. (10)

3. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 8 st and then 2 SC in the last st. Ch1 and turn. (12)

4. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 10 st and then 2 SC in the last st. Ch6 and turn. (14)

5. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and the next 4 ch. (Place a stitch marker in the 2nd base chain for later; in my pic below I just placed mine on the end of Row 5, but go ahead and place in the 2nd base chain); SC in each of the next 13 st and 2 SC in the last st. Ch1 and turn. (20)

6. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 19 st. Ch1 and turn. (21)

7. SC in each st across. Ch1 and turn. (21)

8. SC in each of the next 19 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (20)

9. SC2tog, SC in each of the next 17 st and 2 SC in last st. Ch1 and turn. (20)

10. SC in each of the next 18 st, SC2tog. Turn; do not ch1. (19)

11. Sl st in the first st and the next 3 st and Ch1. Into the same st, 1 SC. Then, SC in each of the next 15 st. Ch1 and turn. (16)

12. SC in each of the next 15 st, 2 SC in the last st. Ch1 and turn. (17)

13. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 15 st, 2 SC in last st. Ch1 and turn. (19)

14. SC in each st across. Ch1 and turn. (19)

15. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 17 st, 2 SC in last st. Ch1 and turn. (21)

16. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 19 st, 2 SC in last st. Ch1 and turn. (23)

17. SC in each st across. Ch1 and turn. (23)

18. 2 SC in first st, SC in each of the next 20 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (23)

19. SC2tog, SC in each of the next 21 st. Turn, do not ch1. (22)

20. Sl st in the first 4 st and Ch1. Into same st, SC. SC in the next 18 st. Ch1 and turn. (19)

21. SC in each of the next 13 st. Ch1 and turn. (Before continuing to next row, place a stitch marker. Count 3 stitches over from the 13th worked stitch and place in the unworked stitch from Row 20 for later use). (13)

22. SC in each of the first 11 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (12)

23. SC in each st across. Ch1 and turn. (12)

24. SC2tog, SC in each of the next 8 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (10)

25. SC in each st across. Ch1 and turn. (10)

26. SC2tog, SC in each of the next 6 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (8)

27. SC2tog, SC in each of the next 4 st, SC2tog. Ch1 and turn. (6)

28. SC in each st across. FO and weave ends. (6)

1. Join yarn with a sl st and Ch1 in the stitch marker in Row 20. SC in same st. SC in the next 2 st. FO. Weave ends.

2. Now, join yarn in the 2nd base ch of Row 5 with a sl st and Ch1. SC in same st. SC in the next st. FO and weave ends.

Eyes (make 2):

1. With 8mm hook and black yarn, 6 SC into MR. Sl st to join to first st and FO. Leave long enough tail for attaching. (6)

Mouth:

1. With 8mm hook and black yarn, 8 HDC into MR. Sl st to join to first st and FO. Leave long enough tail for attaching. (8)

For the letters:

Pressed for time; and already working on developing my own set of lower case alphabet letters, I used the letters "B" and "O" from Moogly. Here's the link:

http://www.mooglyblog.com/the-moogly-crochet-alphabet/

I used an 8mm hook and Pumpkin, Black and Christmas Green to make the letters.

For the dots:

I used a 6mm hook and RHSS yarn in Amethyst. I made 6 dots for the letter "B" and 4 dots for each letter "O".

1. 6 SC into a MR. Sl st to join to first st and FO. Leave long enough tail for attaching to each letter.

Garden Stake:

1. I used black acrylic paint to paint the stake. It dried fairly quickly.