New Pattern: Grinning Ghoul!
While August is still very much Summer here in North Carolina, I know it’s also a time when crafty folks start planning for Fall and Halloween creations. I’m happy to share with you my newest pattern: a single block, spooky season, delightfully 3-dimensional creation called Grinning Ghoul!
Grinning Ghoul is a whimsical Halloween block pattern perfectly sized for a wall hanging, throw pillow cover, tote/trick-or-treat bag, or patch for a hoodie or jacket (and I include instructions for lots of those options). It’s super scrap friendly, and a great introduction to curved piecing and prairie points (the teeth and hair bits)!
Origin story
I’d been interested in playing around with prairie points for a while, and was inspired to add them to one of my favorite blocks, the quarter-circle curve (seen in Heliconia and Inbound). I’ve made a couple wall hangings using this concept, including my 2024 Pantone challenge, shown at right, and another piece that’s under wraps until I submit it to QuiltCon 2025 🤞 😉
When playing around with these blocks, right away they gave off a very toothy, monster mouth kind of vibe. I combined a snowball block with another quarter circle curve to get some eyes and Grinning Ghoul was born!
I’ve made my samples into a wall hanging and throw pillow covers to adorn the couch for the month of October (along with my Halloween-themed Safety Dance throw quilt of course!). Tester Rachel (@littlebitsalove on Instagram) used Sarah Jean Makes’ Hella Big Candy Bag tutorial to incorporate her ghoul block into an absolutely delightful tote!
Customization options abound - you can make the teeth (and hair) match or get super scrappy; you can leave the hair out completely (Rachel did on her tote above); and you can also switch up the orientation of the eye blocks to make your ghoul more or less scary or goofy!
The teeth and optional hair bits extend out from the surface of the block, which makes them an appealing sensory feature. I know I can’t resist playing with them 😆
When the block is made into a pillow cover, they really pop out!
Grinning Ghoul is suitable for solids and blenders (I really love using Moda’s Grunge line for this), and prints can work as well - as always, pattern matching or directional prints might require a bit more fabric than indicated at right.
If you’re intimidated by curved piecing, I’m here to help! You can find video tutorials here (or click Tutorials at the top of the page). You can do this!
I cannot wait to see the spooky goodness y’all create! If you share your ghouls on Instagram, please tag me @Sewistry_NC and use the hashtags #SewistryQuiltPatterns and #GrinningGhoulBlock
