i am going to use up a bunch of old stained thread for this project. i am hoping that will give character to the skulls. this thread is either smoke damaged (from smokers) or just darkened from age. i have no idea if the stains will wash out or not so this is a good way to use them up.

knit cro sheen is actually bedspread weight which is a bit heavier than #10 weight thread. anyone who has ever used knit cro sheen knows it’s a heavier weight.

i like the idea that this particular doily looks like very realistic skulls. plus, when i read through it, there are a lot of stitches that i have never tried before. i understand this is a challenge from the projects i have read and just reading through the instructions. still, even though i curse a lot at it, it’s going to be fun. (remind me i said that later)

i want to learn new stitches and new techniques.

here goes!

starting with a larger hook (Boye Size 1 - 2.75 mm) because one of the projects mentioned that the larger hook helped her to get her doily to lay flat.

the first challenge is the extreme brevity of the directions. the second challenge is the naming of his stitches.

a trTr which he calls both triple treble and quintuplet crochet is fortunately defined as a 4yoc - 4 yarn over crochet.

a sxc which he calls a sextuplet is a 5yoc - 5 yarn over crochet.

some of the stitches are much more obscure such as in Round 4. i am pondering what a dc-inc2 is? a dc-inc is 2 dc in the same stitch but what is a dc-inc2? 4 dc in the same stitch? why not just say so? well, after peering at pictures, this is what i think it is.

i was wrong. a dc-inc2 means a 2dc in one stitch and then 2dc in the next stitch. he is actually saying that you should work INTO the chain stitches. it helps to know that in his terminology - “inc’ means 2 of the same stitch placed in one stitch. then when he has a number at the end of the stitch name, that’s how many times you repeat it. confusing to me but at least i finally figured it out.

R4 - starting in 6th ch - (2dc in next st) 2 times, dc, (2dc in next st) 2 times,
then ch 4, 4yoc in the middle of the tr2tog, ch 4 - repeat 6 times.

R5 - * (2dc in next st) 2 times, 5 dc, (2dc in next st) 2 times, ch 2, FPdc, ch 2 * 6 times

starting the notorious R9. you know, if he would JUST say where the stitch is supposed to be placed, that would help immensely.

9a) first skull - start with fwd-ch6. skulls 2-5 will start with 5yoc.

9b) at the end he says ch1^ - i believe this means t-ch 1, turn.

final interpretation of ch1^- you are not turning as you would normally. you are doing the ch1 and this moves you to the bottom of the fnd-sc row that you have just worked. the ch 1 moves you down the side so that you are now positioned to work the teeth. it helped me to put a small stitch marker into my first fnd-sc (on each skull) so that i always knew where the top of the row was and could keep my teeth on the bottom.

tooth instructions - OMG! best you read through each section of instructions and THEN try to process them. it does get easier as you figure out how he is communicating.

tooth section - these instructions are worked over 2 stitches only. referred to as first and second stitch.

dc-dec means yarn over, insert through front loop of the first stitch, then through the front loop of the second stitch, yarn over, pull through and complete dc as normal.

i found this very difficult because of trying to get your hook through the front loop of the second stitch without distorting everything.

(BLOsp, ch 2, dc) in first st, dc-dec in first and second st, (ch 2, slp) in second st.

so those are the exact instructions, spelled out as best as i can interpret them. when i worked them they left odd holes in the tooth. so i changed it to be much simpler and it now looks like the pattern picture.

(BLOsp, ch 2, dc) in first st, (dc, ch 2, slp) in second st.

9e) sl-dec?? slip stitch decrease

from the internet

insert hook into stitch, insert hook into 2nd stitch (you will have 3 loops on the hook), YO, pull through all the loops on the hook.)

that’s a horrible stitch to make. make sure you are not a tight crocheter when following these instructions. did i do it like that? nope. it was too hard.

i put my hook through the first stitch front to back, then the second stitch back to front, pulled up a loop and pulled it through like a sl stitch. much easier and i can see no visible difference. no twisting of the stitches at all.

mouth area finished - yes, it is easier to to work each section of the mouth once you figure out the first one.

R11- i assume the FPdc is around the sl st in R10.

R15 - WTH is an “inc”? i believe he means 2 sc into the same st. that’s what i am going with.

i found the following on his pattern page.

All of the stitches in this row are working into the stitches of row 14, including into the fwd-ch. They are not being worked around the fwd-ch.

The first inc you mention is just a simple increase. So you have done your dc to start the row, then a sc, then you came to the point where the fwd chains started and you did a sc2tog-o3 to bridge your way onto the fwd chains. Now, you simply do 2 sc in the next stitch, and that is your increase. After this you repeat the pattern (sc in the next stitch, 2 sc in the next stitch) 6 times, and end with one more sc.

At this point you should have made it over the eye and to the nose. This is where there is the wonky grad-dec-o5. Over the next 5 stitches you will make 2 stitches. Insert your hook through the next stitch, yarn over and pull through. Leaving that loop on the hook, yarn over (for a dc) and then insert into the next stitch, yarn over and pull through, and now yarn over and pull through 2 loops, still leaving 3 loops on the hook. Yarn over twice (for a tc) and insert into the next stitch, yarn over and pull through, now yarn over and pull through 2 loops twice, and you should still have four loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops and you have completed the first half of this stitch. To finish the second half you do the mirror of this, starting with a tc, then the dc in the middle, and ending with the sc. However you start in the same stitch you just used for your tc, so both tc go in the same stitch. When all is said and done you will have used up 5 stitches from row 14 and will be left with 2 stitches that you will work into in row 16. Now you have to make your way around the other eye, which is just a mirror of the first eye.

I can see why he uses the fwd-ch loops. when you work INTO the top of the ch stitches, it leaves a nice flat work instead of the more traditional rounded look. this is very even and has a really nice appearance.

R15 error - at the end of the 2nd eye, it should read

sc2tog-o3, sc, dc4, FPdc-inc

R20 - there seems to be missing instructions for this round. i believe he means the following

skull 1 - slp 8 (until you are in the 2nd stitch of the hdc-inc of the previous round. for me, this was slip st 9 even though my count in the previous round was perfect). then you start your sc in the NEXT st which is the first hdc of the hdc6 from the previous rnd. work your stitches, ending with a slip stitch into the first or inner most stitch of the last hdc-inc of the previous round.

so when you work the top of each skull, you will begin and end with a slip stitch in the same hdc-inc stitch on each side.

skulls 2-6 - sl st into the correct hdc-inc stitch to start the top of the skull and then work as you did skull 1. in the instructions for skulls 2-6, it seems this first sl st is missing but that it is intended that you make it.

R21 error - the last section of stitches across the 2nd ch 11 should read “sc5, dc2, tr, ch 5, tr, dc2, sc5”.

Dimensions
pre-block
width - 15 inches

post block - 19 inches

the next step will be to see how it blocks out. unfortunately, that will be awhile as i am waiting for the heat to dissipate more so that i can have cool water to wash things with.

Final thoughts - i thought this was going to be really hard. it wasn’t. the errors i listed above are on the pattern page as errata. i just didn’t realize that.

this was actually, a really fun doily to make. the designer’s attention to detail is incredible. once you get going, it’s fun to see the skulls take shape. it was also fun for me to learn several new things - like the forward chain.

AWESOME! This doily was super easy to block. I just used a pin in each of the points. Minimal pins. It laid flat as can be.

I love that I used the stained thread. My skulls look like they have blood stains. So scary!

This doily is DEFINITELY one I am going to make again. I love it!