Decorative Wristlet With Skull Shape
Halloween Accessory Free Pattern

An Original Design by Sandi Marshall

Here's a great accessory to wear around Halloween time.

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Finished Size, when made with materials above:
Skull is 1 1/2 inches tall x 1 1/4 inches wide, at widest point
Granny Square behind the Skull is 2 inches square
Wristlet is 2 inches wide x 3 3/8 inches long (when wristlet is folded, with ends joined)

Gauge is not important for this project. Wristlets come in many different widths so if yours varies from the 2 inches wide of the example, that's fine. The length of the wrist band determines the fit ... this is adjusted by crocheting more rows or fewer rows so that the wristlet will fit the wrist of the person who will be wearing it.

More Skulls Free Crochet Patterns • Skull Shaped Applique • Skull Square Hanging Decoration • Glowing Skull

Note: Starting with round 3, it may be helpful for you to mark the first stitch of each round so that you can more easily locate the correct stitch to work the slip stitch in when each round is finished. This will make it less likely to accidentally do the final slip stitch in a chain or previous slip stitch, which would incorrectly increase the number of stitches in the next round causing the pattern of the next round to be incorrectly placed and have leftover stitches (if this is happening when you crochet this pattern, you may wish to try marking the first stitch of the round). For a marker, you could use a safety pin, contrasting color strand of yarn, twist tie or a purchased stitch marker (when a round is finished and you have crocheted the first stitch of the next round, move the marker to that new stitch).

Starting Chain For Skull: With Color A, chain 4, join with a slip stitch to form a ring.
Rnd 1: ch 1, 8 sc in ring, sl st in first sc, to join.
Rnd 2 (loops): * ch 4, skip next sc, sl st in back loop of next sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** 3 more times. These loops will be used later to attach the background square to the skull shape.
Note: Keep the round 2 loops behind the round 3 stitches. You may want to fold the round 2 loops back and be careful not to accidentally crochet into the round 2 loops while doing round 3.
Rnd 3: Work in the front loops only for this entire round. ch 1, 2 sc in ea of first 3 sc, ch 5 (for eye hole), skip next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc, ch 5 (for nose), 2 sc in next sc, ch 5 (for other eye), skip next 2 sc, sl st in first sc of this round, to join.
Rnd 4: ch 1, sc in same sc as sl st just made, (2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc) twice, 2 sc in next sc, 6 sc in ch-5 loop (eye), sc in ea of next 2 sc, 7 sc in next ch-5 loop (nose), sc in ea of next 2 sc, 6 sc in next ch-5 loop (other eye), sl st in first sc of this round, to join.
Rnd 5: ch 1, sc in same sc as sl st just made, sc in next sc, (2 sc in next sc, sc in ea of next 2 sc) 4 times, dc in next sc, ch 2, sc in next sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc, ch 3, skip 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, sc in next sc, ch 2, dc in next sc, sc in ea of next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in ea of next 2 sc, sl st in first sc of this round, to join.
Rnd 6: ch 1, sc in same sc as sl st just made, sc in ea of next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in ea of next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in ea of next 4 sc, sl st in ea of next 5 sc, sc in next ch-1 sp, sl st in next sc, 2 sc in ch-2 sp, sc in ea of next 2 sc, 4 sc in ch-3 sp, sc in ea of next 2 sc, 2 sc in ch-2 sp, sl st in next sc, sc in ch-1 sp, sl st in ea of next 5 sc, sc in ea of next 2 sc, sl st in first sc of this round, to join.
Rnd 7: sl st in ea of next 16 sc, sl st in ea of next 5 sl st, sl st in ea of next 3 sc, (sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc) 4 times, sc in ea of next 2 sc, sl st in ea of next 4 sc, sl st in ea of next 7 sl st.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Background Square Behind Skull:
Attach Color B (black thread in the example) in any ch-4 loop on Rnd 2 of the skull shape. Have the right side of the skull facing you as you crochet the background square (so that the right side of the background square will face the same way as the right side of the skull shape).
Rnd 1: ch 1, 5 sc in same ch-4 loop, ch 2 * 5 sc in next ch-4 loop, ch 2 **, repeat the directions between * and ** twice more, sl st in first sc, to join.
Rnd 2: sl st in ea of next 2 sc, * ch 7, skip next 2 sc, skip ch-2, skip first 2 sc of next group, sl st in next sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** twice more, then ch 7, skip next 2 sc, skip ch-2, skip first 2 sc of next group, sl st in the first sl st that was made after the first ch-7.
Rnd 3 Note - Securing Top Of Skull In Place: (Optional) When you are crocheting any stitches of round 3 that would line up close to the skull edge, (holding the skull at the angle that you want it to stay in), after wrapping the thread over the hook in preparation to do that double crochet, insert the hook through a part of a stitch on the back of the skull (in such a way that the background color will not show through to the front of the skull). After drawing the background color thread through the skull stitch, proceed with that double crochet for the background square. If you do this several times near the top of the skull head, it will help secure the skull head in place. If you don't wish to use this method to secure the skull, you can sew several stitches in the skull head later to secure the skull to the background.
Rnd 3: sl st in first ch-7 loop, ch 3 (counts as first dc), (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same ch-7 loop, * ch 2, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-7 loop **, repeat the directions between * and ** twice more, ch 2, sl st in first dc, to join.
Rnd 4: sl st in ea of next 2 dc, sl st in next ch-3 sp, ch 3 (counts as first dc), (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same ch-3 sp, * ch 2, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, skip next 3 dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-3 sp **, repeat the directions between * and ** twice more, ch 2, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, skip next 3 dc, sl st in first dc, to join.
Rnd 5: sl st in ea of next 2 dc, sl st in next ch-3 sp, ch 3 (counts as first dc), (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same ch-3 sp, * ch 1, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip next 3 dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-3 corner sp **, repeat the directions between * and ** twice more, ch 1, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip next 3 dc, sl st in first dc, to join. End off. Weave in ends.

Hold the background square so that the right side of the piece is facing you and the skull head is right side up. Attach Color A (white thread in the example), attaching it in the right-hand side corner ch-3 space of the background square (with skull shape facing right side up).
Background Square Finishing Round: ch 1, sc in same corner ch-3 sp, sl st in ea of last 2 chains of same corner ch-3 sp, sl st in ea of next 3 dc, (sl st in next ch-1 sp, sl st in ea of next 3 dc) 3 times, sl st in ea of first 2 chains of next corner ch-3 sp, ch 1, sc in same corner ch-3 sp, sc in ea of next 3 dc, (sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in ea of next 3 dc) 3 times, sc in next corner ch-3 sp, sl st in ea of last 2 chains of same corner ch-3 sp, sl st in ea of next 3 dc, (sl st in next ch-1 sp, sl st in ea of next 3 dc) 3 times, sl st in ea of first 2 chains of next corner ch-3 sp, ch 1, sc in same corner ch-3 sp, sc in ea of next 3 dc, (sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in ea of next 3 dc) 3 times, sl st in first sc made in this round.
Wrist Band Short Rows:
Now you will begin working in short rows.
Row 1: ch 1, turn, sc in back loop only of ea of first 3 sc, (ch 2, skip next sc, sc in next sc) 5 times, ch 2, skip next sc, sc in back loop only of ea of last 3 sc.
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc in back loop only of ea of first 3 sc, (sc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, skip next sc) 5 times, sc in next ch-2 sp, sc in back loop only of ea of last 3 sc.
Row 3: ch 1, turn, sc in back loop only of ea of first 3 sc, (ch 2, skip next sc, sc in next ch-2 sp) 5 times, ch 2, skip next sc, sc in back loop only of ea of last 3 sc.
Repeat Rows: Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have the length you need (I repeated these rows 19 more times for a size that will fit an average adult female wrist and will fit over the hand to put the wristlet on and off - total of 40 short rows). The rows will stretch to fit over the hand so you want the band to be loose enough for going over the hand but not overly loose around the wrist. When you think you're close to having the right size, try the wristlet around the wrist of the person who will be wearing it and crochet more rows, as needed (or pull some rows out, if it needs to be smaller). When satisfied that you have the right fit, end off.
Joining: Using a large-eye sewing needle, thread a strand of the Color A thread on the needle and hand sew (with wrong sides facing you) through the front loops only of the two ends, to join.
When finished, end off. Weave in ends. Turn right side out.

This is my original design. My written instructions and pattern example images copyright 2005 by Sandi Marshall, licensed to About.com, Inc. Free for your own personal use only (this means that you can make items from this pattern as many times as you wish for yourself or for gifts ... but you cannot sell or give away the design, alterations of the design, reproduced copies of the pattern instructions or reproduced copies of my pattern example photo). You are welcome to link to this page but, per copyright law, do not place the actual content of the page on another website; do not redistribute the actual content of the page in any form (even for free)! Thank you! Any reproduction or redistributing of the pattern instructions or pattern images on this page involves the written permission of both myself and About.com and involves the drawing up of legal paperwork detailing the specific permission to be granted, any fees for the requested use in reproducing or redistributing the pattern and signing of said legal paperwork by the parties involved. In light of the fact that having the exact same content on multiple websites can damage the original web site's standing with search engines, permission to reproduce on individual websites will not be granted. Permission for companies or publishers for print publication will be considered.
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