Filet Crochet Skull Jumper

Hi! I hope this post finds you and yours doing well! It's a blustery fall day here in Texas. I recently finished a project that I just could NOT wait to share with you. It has inspired me to do SO much more filet crochet that I am currently designing more to wear so I can continue this look after Halloween.

I love horror and the spookies. My inner child is a little goth left in me from the 90s and I cherish her. Friday the 13th is something I celebrate so I planned this project as my "Friday the 13th Project". So, that morning my yarn, materials and pattern were all set aside and ready to go. I even did a gauge swatch. I was not let down. This was the perfect celebration crochet.

The "Filet Crochet Skull Jumper" is a pattern by Pony McTate. Pony has a few other patterns on Ravelry, as well. I am going to need a rapture top. Maybe a scrappy one, too. And her new sweater might need to happen, too. I have a holiday sweater along coming up November 1st in the Ravelry group. This one is tempting!

So, lets talk about the pattern. It was originally found in issue 59 of Simply Crochet magazine. I get that on my phone every issue so it was easy for me to access. But, the pattern can also be bought on its own here for $4.75 USD. The pattern was clear and simple.

This is a picture of the original pattern:

My modifications:

First off...no band on the bottom. That would have stolen my zest for this project. Just leached the fun out for me right off the bat. I just chained very loosely for as many stitches as I would need, plus 3 and then double crocheted back. Keep in mind this is worked in two pieces. Front and back. And then you sew them together. You can then add sleeves. I chose not to. I made is so wide that it practically formed its own cap sleeve.

I used an Boye Ergonomic Size 3.75 hook (an F) instead of the 4.5mm hook suggested. It sounds odd. But, I sized down my hook because I sized up my yarn. I went with Aran weight "I Love This Cotton" yarn instead of the sport weight "Yarn and Colors Must-Have" cotton yarn. I don't have easy access to The Must-Have  but it looks to have very similar drape and texture to the I Love This Cotton that I used. And this yarn has been sitting in my stash for YEARS. I love the color and just couldn't make myself turn it into a dishcloth. The ideal swatch size was 4 inches. After downsizing the hook my swatch was 6 inches wide and having a 50% larger skull was perfect in my eyes. BINGO!

I used the swatch to do the math on how many squares I wanted in my top. I figured out that I wanted 6 blank squares below the design and 4 blank squares above. I needed 10 free squares on the right and left of the widest part of the skull. This was all just a quick doodle on some 10 squares per inch graph paper (buy it here or print it from here). Having this on paper makes creating any new designs very simple. I think I'll need a big rose for Spring.

Outcome:

I love it! Its soft and comfy and just enough festive to walk around in all month long before a holiday. This was a fast project, simple enough for a beginner. I could not recommend it more.

Have a great day! Love always,
Mel

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