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Jack-o’-lantern Basket – Free Pattern

Halloween Jack-o'-lantern basket

Halloween and trick-or treating are not as big in Australia as they are in the US and UK, but every year it gets more and more popular. Not everyone takes part, but those who do certainly have lots of fun!

My eldest went trick or treating for the first time last year with a friend and their mum, and this year I think I’ll tag along and take my youngest out too. 

To help with the Halloween celebrations, I have created this spooky Jack o’lantern basket using t-shirt yarn. 

Halloween jack-o'-lantern basket
Halloween Jack-o’-lantern basket

Jack-o’-lantern basket pattern

What you need

  • Tshirt yarn in orange and black or grey (i used a dark grey)
  • 8mm crochet hook
  • Scissors
  • Yarn needle with a large eye
  • Optional, rope for a handle

Stitches used

  • Single Crochet (sc)
  • Slip Stitch (ss)
  • Back Loop Only (BLO)
  • Invisible Join (Check out this great instruction from Mooglyblog if you are not sure how to do the invisible join)

Notes on the yarn

Due to the recycled nature of t-shirt yarn, no 2 yarns are exactly the same and widths can vary quite a lot. The yarn that I used, which came from ministry of yarn, was quite thin for T-shirt yarn. If your yarn is thicker or thinner you will need to adjust your hook size, and this will affect the size of your finished basket.

Instructions

  • Start with a Magic Circle
  • 1: 6 SC in the MC SS to join
  • 2: Ch1 2 sc in each stitch, ss to join (12)
  • 3: Ch1 *1 sc in first stitch 2sc in next stitch*, repeat x5, ss to join, (18)
  • 4: Ch1 *sc in the next 2 stitches, 2sc in the next* repeat x5, ss to join (24)
  • 5: Ch1 *sc in the next 3 stitches, 2sc in the next* repeat x5, ss to join (30)
  • 6: Ch1 *sc in the next 4 stitches, 2sc in the next* repeat x5, ss to join (36)
  • 7: Ch1 sc in the BLO for each stitch around (this help create the base of the basket), ss to join (36)
  • 8: Ch1 *sc in the next 5 stitches, 2sc in the next* repeat x5, ss to join (42)
  • This is the base and the start of the sides, the next row is where we start to add in the face for our Jack o’Lantern.
  • 9-16: Ch1 sc in each stitch around, ss to join (42)
  • 15: Ch1 sc in each stitch around, Cut yarn, leaving about 15cm, then finish with an invisible or needle join. (42)
    • There is no increasing or decreasing in rows 9-17. Just pick up and drop the colours as needed as you follow the chart below. 
Graph for Halloween jack-o'-lantern basket

Notes for changing colours and carrying yarn

My technique when changing colour is:
The stitch before you need the new colour you start the stitch as normal. So insert the hook, and yarn over with your current colour and pull through, then drop that colour and yarn over with the new colour and pull through the stitch. The new colour is now on the hook ready for the first stitch. You then do the same when changing back to the original colour.
Because t-shirt yarn can be quite bulky, my preference for making this basket is to not carry the grey colour all the way around the basket. What I did was drop it when finished with it in that row, and then pick it up in the next.
This will mean having a length of yarn at the back of your work going up the inside of the basket. As long as you don’t pull it too tight when picking it up, it won’t affect the work and you can just crochet over it as you go along the row. The picture below shows the inside of my basket, you can see where the grey was carried up to the next row.

Inside the jack-o'-lantern basket

And there you go, one fabulous jack-o’-lantern basket. Fill it with lollies and chocolate and impress all the kids that come knocking on Halloween. Or you could attach a rope as a handle and use it collect all the yummy treats.

Halloween jack-o'-lantern basket
Halloween Jack-o’-lantern basket

Happy Halloween everyone, and if you make this basket, I would love to see the results! So please post a comment below, or tag me on Instagram @crochetbycarms

Love
Carmen xoxo