Crochet Skull Granny Square for Halloween

This square has a skull in the middle, and it's just four rounds. The first round, in a magic ring, already has the shape of the skull: double crochets for the head, chains for the two eye sockets, and a chain for the nose. The second round shapes the brow and the teeth. Then two rounds in contrast colours fill the corners and square it off.

Make one for a keychain, or a stack of them for a Halloween bag or blanket. You'll find the original tutorial on Elise's lilthings channel.

Video tutorial by Elise on her YouTube channel, lilthings: watch "crochet skull granny square tutorial💀 | crochet Halloween idea for beginner, crochet skull keychain" on YouTube.

Written from the video. Rounds 3 and 4 follow the skull's shape, so watch them once before you start.

Materials

• 5-ply milk cotton in white (or orange) for the skull, and black and orange for the square
• 3.0 mm hook
• A stitch marker, scissors and a darning needle

Round 1: the skull

With white, make a magic ring and chain 2. Into the ring, work:

1. 4 dc (right side of the skull)
2. chain 3 (right eye socket)
3. 1 dc
4. chain 1 (nose)
5. 1 dc
6. chain 3 (left eye socket)
7. 4 dc (left side of the skull)

Pull the ring tight and slip stitch to the first dc.

Round 2: brow and teeth

Chain 1, then:

1. [1 sc, 2 sc in the next] twice, over the first 4 stitches.
2. 5 sc into the first eye socket.
3. Slip stitch into the next dc, chain 3.
4. 4 dc into the nose chain: these are the teeth.
5. Chain 3, slip stitch into the next dc.
6. 5 sc into the second eye socket.
7. [2 sc in the next, 1 sc] twice, over the last 4 stitches.

Join, changing to the background colour on the last stitch.

Round 3: squaring it off

Work round the skull with short stitches where the skull sticks out and tall ones where it dips in, and a chain 3 at each corner:

• 2 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, chain 3 (corner 1)
• 2 dc in the next, 2 hdc, 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc in the next, chain 3 (corner 2)
• 2 tr in the next, 4 sc across the teeth, 2 tr in the next, chain 3 (corner 3)
• 2 dc in the next, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc in the next, chain 3 (corner 4)
• 1 dc, 1 hdc, 2 sc

Change to the border colour on the last stitch.

Round 4: frame

Chain 1. 4 sc, then [1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc] into the corner space. Work 8 sc along each of the next three sides, with the same 5 stitches in each corner, and finish with 4 sc on the first side. Close with an invisible join.

Tips

• Pull the ring tight after round 1: the eye sockets only show if the centre is closed.
• Trebles under the jaw. The 2 tr in round 3 fill the deep dips beside the teeth. Don't swap them for shorter stitches.
• Join squares for a bag or blanket with a slip stitch or single crochet seam in the border colour.

Frequently asked questions