A black domed canopy with a gold moon and scattered stars, a black coil spiralling down beneath it, and beaded strands hanging all around carrying ghosts, bats, pumpkins and stars.
It is the only piece I make that combines a canopy and a spiral, and the two do different jobs. The dome gives it a solid top and somewhere to hang the strands from. The coil fills the middle so the mobile has substance rather than being a ring with things dangling off it.
Everything is black except the ghosts and the gold, which is what makes it read as Halloween without being gaudy.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in black, cream or white, and a gold or mustard. About 80 g of black and small amounts of the other two.
A 2.5 mm hook, worked tight. Black cotton hides stitch definition, so loose work looks messy in a way it would not in a paler colour.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, small black and gold beads, 4 mm black safety eyes or black embroidery thread, about a metre of 0.8 mm florist wire, strong black thread for the strands, and a tapestry needle.
Finished drop is about 45 cm below the canopy, and the canopy is 14 cm across.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, inc is two stitches in one, dec is an invisible decrease, MR is magic ring.
Part 1. The canopy
In black, worked as a shallow dome.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6)
Round 2. Inc six times (12)
Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18)
Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24)
Round 5. Sc three times, inc, repeated six times (30)
Round 6. Sc four times, inc, repeated six times (36)
Round 7. Sc five times, inc, repeated six times (42)
Round 8. Sc six times, inc, repeated six times (48)
Round 9. Sc seven times, inc, repeated six times (54)
Round 10. Sc eight times, inc, repeated six times (60)
Rounds 11 to 13. Sc around (60)
Those three plain rounds at the end are what curve the edge downwards into a dome rather than leaving a flat disc.
Round 14. The frill. Work 2 hdc into every stitch around (120), then sl st around and fasten off. Doubling in one round makes the edge ruffle, which softens the outline and hides the join where the strands attach.
The dome will be floppy on its own. Push a circle of stiff card or a thin plastic lid inside it before you attach anything, cut slightly smaller than the dome, and it will hold its shape permanently under load.
Part 2. Moon and stars
Moon. In gold, ch 14. Sc in the second ch from the hook and along the chain, working 3 sc into the last chain. Work back along the other side, but this time work sl st for the first 4 stitches, sc for the next 4 and hdc for the rest, which makes one side of the crescent thinner than the other. Fasten off and sew flat onto the dome.
Stars, make five in gold. 5 sc in MR, then into each stitch work sl st, ch 3, sl st into the second ch from the hook, sl st into the same stitch, for five short points. Sew them scattered across the dome, three larger and two smaller by working one round of increase before the points on the bigger ones.
Sew all of this on before the strands go anywhere near it.
Part 3. The spiral
In black, ch 90.
Row 1. Ch 2, then work 2 dc into the third chain from the hook and 2 dc into every chain across. Do not fasten off.
Row 2. Turn and work sc into every stitch across. Fasten off.
Thread florist wire through the base of the row 1 stitches along the inner edge, fold both ends over and tuck them back in.
Set the turns about 6 cm apart, wider than usual. The beaded strands have to fall past this coil without catching on it, so it needs more air than a coil hung on its own.
Sew the top of the coil to the underside of the canopy, at the centre.
Part 4. Ghosts, make three
In cream. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18), then sc for four rounds (18).
Round 8. Work 2 sc into every stitch in the front loops only (36), then sc one round, then sl st around and fasten off, which gives the flared skirt.
Return to the free back loops, sc around (18), then sc and dec repeated six times (12), stuff, dec six times and close.
Arms, make two per ghost. 4 sc in MR, sc for three rounds, flatten and fasten off. Sew to the sides pointing outwards.
Face. Two black safety eyes or French knots, and a small oval mouth worked as four or five straight stitches side by side. Give one ghost closed sleeping eyes for variety.
Part 5. Bats, make two
Body. In black, 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), sc for three rounds (10), dec five times, stuff lightly and close.
Wings, make two per bat, worked flat. Ch 9. Sc in the second ch from the hook, then hdc 2, dc 2, then ch 2 and sl st into the second ch from the hook for a point, dc 2, and 3 sc into the last chain. Work back along the other side with a second point. Sew one to each side of the body.
Ears. Two small chain 3 points at the top of the head. Two white French knot eyes and a tiny smile.
Part 6. Pumpkins, make two
In black. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18), sc twice and inc repeated six times (24), then sc for five rounds (24), then sc twice and dec repeated six times (18), sc and dec (12), stuff firmly, dec six times and close.
Ribs. Using black, work five or six lines of surface slip stitch from the top of the pumpkin down to the bottom, evenly spaced. On a black pumpkin these barely show, and that is fine. They catch the light and stop it reading as a plain ball.
Face. Embroider two gold triangle eyes, a gold triangle nose and a gold grinning mouth with two square teeth, all in satin stitch. Work these densely, because a sparse gold face on black looks like a mistake rather than a jack o lantern.
Stem. In black, 4 sc in MR, sc for three rounds, sewn to the top.
Part 7. Beaded strands
Make eight, each a different length from 20 cm to 40 cm.
Use strong black thread. Knot on black and gold beads at intervals, mixing the two, with a knot above and below each so they cannot slide.
Finish each strand with one charm. Three ghosts, two bats, two pumpkins and a gold star gives eight.
Putting it together
Attach the strands to the underside of the canopy, spaced evenly around the frilled edge.
Position them so they fall outside the widest turns of the coil. This is the one thing that goes wrong on this piece. A strand hanging inside the coil will catch on it every time the mobile turns and eventually wrap itself round. Hold the whole thing up and check each strand hangs clear before you knot it permanently.
Two strands can be attached to the coil itself rather than the canopy, hung from the underside of a turn. Those are the ones to give the shortest drops.
Alternate heavy and light around the circle. The pumpkins are much heavier than everything else, so put them opposite each other rather than side by side.
For the hanger, make four black cords of about 25 cm, attach them to the canopy at north, south, east and west, gather them at the top and knot them together. Check the canopy hangs level before the final knot.
Notes and variations
A purple and black version with orange pumpkins is the more traditional palette if the gold is too subtle.
Swap the ghosts for small black cats, which work at the same scale.
Make a smaller version with a 40 stitch canopy and four strands for a desk or a shelf.
For a nursery, embroider all faces, skip the beads and use a shorter coil.
Questions I get asked
Why is my canopy floppy? It needs the card disc inside. Cotton alone will not hold a dome under the weight of eight strands.
Why do my strands tangle in the coil? They are hanging too close to the centre. Move the attachment points outwards on the canopy rim and open the coil turns wider.
Why does my pumpkin face look weak? Not enough stitches. Satin stitch it densely so the gold reads as solid shapes against the black.
Can I use acrylic? Yes, and black acrylic is easier on the eyes to work with than black cotton.
How long does it take? About ten hours.