Knit Cobweb Scarf

I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and by the end of October, the weather is starting to get pretty chilly. Temperatures on Halloween night can be mild or freezing. Sometimes we even get snow flurries. I made this scarf so I'd have something warm and a little spooky to wear during the Halloween season.

My inspiration for the design was cobwebs. After much experimentation I think I came up with a pattern that's lacy and airy--just like the webs that hang around haunted houses. The yarn I used is Simply Soft Party by Caron International. It contains shiny filaments that give the scarf a little bit of sparkle. And can I just say how much of love this fringe? A little bit time-consuming, but well worth the effort. 

This scarf was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of Craft Ideas magazine. Here's the link to the project page: Cobweb Scarf. You can download and print the directions right from the Craft Ideas website. 

Candy Corn Hair Clips

For me, the month of October is a countdown to Halloween. So for the first blog craft of the month, I came up with a project that combines two of my favorite Halloween activities--crafting and snacking. These sweet candy corn hair clips are easy to stitch from orange, yellow, and white felt. They start with plain hair clips that you can find at a craft store.

I made two different sizes of clips, but the directions are the same for both. First, measure your hair clip and draw a triangle on a piece of card stock that's just a smidge longer than the clip. The base of the triangle should be wide enough to conceal the bottom of the clip. For each clip, use the pattern to cut two triangles from orange felt, and one from yellow and white felt. 

Cut the yellow and white triangles--and one of the orange triangles--into thirds. (The other orange triangle will be used as the background piece.) Arrange three of the cut felt pieces on the background triangle--orange on the bottom, yellow in the middle, and white on the top. Use matching embroidery floss to sew the pieces to the background triangle. When the stitching is complete, snip the pointed end to give it a blunt shape. 

To finish, just sew the your felt candy corn piece onto the plain clip. I stitched through the existing holes at each end of the clip, and that held the felt piece in place securely. 

There you are--one candy corn hair clip complete! Make a bunch and give them to your favorite trick-or-treaters. Be warned: making these candy corn clips is almost as addicting as eating the real thing. 

Halloween Craft Roundup

It's Halloween crafting season! I'll be featuring some new projects on my blog this month--some spooky, some sweet--but today I'm sharing some Halloween crafts you may have missed. Follow the links below to find the original blog posts and instructions for these easy October projects:

Miniature Haunted House

Mini Monsters

Mad Scientist Bookmarks

Halloween Paper Chain

Halloween Treat Boxes

Acorn Treat Bag

If you read my blog regularly, you've probably figured out that I have a bit of an acorn obsession. I have acorn jewelry, acorn pot-holders, and acorn ornaments, and I keep a bowl of real acorns in my living room. And yes, I make lots of acorn craft projects. The acorn treat bag I'm sharing here is made from felt and buttons. It originally appeared on Crafts 'n Things (now Craft Ideas) magazine's website.

To make your own acorn bag, you'll need brown, gold, and olive green felt; embroidery floss; and lots of fall-colored buttons (about 3/8" to 1" diameter). Click here to download the pattern and cut out the following pieces: two acorns and one leaf from gold felt, four caps from brown felt, one leaf from olive green felt. Also cut two 2" x 6 1/2" side pieces from gold felt and one 1 1/4" x 11" handle piece from brown felt.

Before we get started, the best tip I can give you is to refer to the photo as you work through the directions. The construction of the bag is much easier than it might seem in these directions--I promise!

The first step is sewing the buttons to two of the acorn caps. Use two strands of embroidery floss and fit the buttons close together as you sew. Be sure to keep the buttons about 1/8" from the felt edges so you have room to sew the pieces together later.

When two of the caps are covered with buttons, pin each cap to one of the plain cap pieces and sew them together with brown floss and running stitch along the curved edge. Tuck 1/2 " of the straight edge of one of the gold acorn pieces between the straight edges of the cap pieces. Sew the bottom edge of the caps together with running stitch, sewing through the gold acorn piece. Assemble the other cap pieces and the gold acorn piece the same way.

Now use running stitch to sew the long edges of the rectangular acorn side pieces to the sides of one the acorn/cap pieces. Attach the other acorn/cap piece to the side pieces the same way. When the acorn sides are sewn in place, sew the short edge of the side pieces together at the point of the acorn. Make a line of running stitch along the top edge of the acorn side pieces, and then sew a button to each acorn tip. 

To make the handle, fold the handle piece in half lengthwise and sew the edges closed with running stitch. Sew the handle to the inside of the bag at the top of the cap. Sew a button on the outside of the handle a few inches from where it attaches to the cap.

Embroider running-stitch details on the leaf pieces, and then sew the two leaf pieces together with running stitch. Make a small embroidery floss loop at the stem end of the leaf and hang the leaf from the button on the handle.

If you followed those rather wordy directions, your acorn bag is finished! I think it would make a cute Halloween treat bag for kids--or a mini fall tote for an acorn-obsessed grownup.