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A crocheted pumpkin takes about two hours and a scrap of orange yarn, which is why October disappears so fast for crocheters. Halloween cardigans, a pink spiderweb cape, a black cat cloak and even a hand-crocheted log for a Log Lady Halloween costume are coming off hooks all over the internet, along with mosaic pillows and blankets, and the holiday is only a few weeks away.
A handmade Halloween costume has one big advantage over anything from a store: it comes with a story, like a jumper a son asked for or a hat designed from a granny square in a magic ring. With the spooky season in full swing, now is the time to cast on. Here are crochet lovers whose handmade clothing, pumpkins and home designs bring the Halloween spirit home this October.
I was at a store getting Halloween decorations. In the back, I found a lost, crocheted, dirty pumpkin like my late mama used to make. I took it home with me. At home my son grabbed it and shook it. Something moved inside. I cut the seam and went red-eyed when I saw a folded, brittle photograph tucked into the stuffing, brown at the edges. A young woman in a long dark dress holding a little boy, the kind of studio portrait nobody takes anymore. On the back, in faded pencil: “Anna & Thomas, 1876.”
The rest of the stuffing was torn rags and scrap paper, the way people filled things in when fiberfill wasn’t a thing. I figure the photo went in with a pile of old papers when somebody made the pumpkin, and nobody noticed. There was no way to know who made it or where it had been.











