A Classic Haunt

A Classic Haunt by Hands on Design — a small round Halloween chart with “Trick or Treat” in chunky outlined lettering through the middle, surrounded by the genre’s standard cast: tiny orange jack-o’-lanterns at the corners, a small white ghost floating beside the lettering, a spider on a web in the corner, and a haunted-house silhouette off to one side. Stitched on a soft hand-dyed orchid ground so the unstitched fabric reads as Halloween-purple twilight under the motifs.

I stitched this one twice, finished back-to-back as one double-sided ornament:

• Side 1 (finished May 16, 2024): the chart as written, with grey lettering for Trick or Treat.
• Side 2 (finished May 26, 2024): a palette swap — same chart, but I changed the grey lettering to purple to match the orchid fabric better and give the second face its own identity. Everything else (the gold/olive lettering outlines, the orange pumpkins, the white ghost, the spider) stays the same.

Same 32ct Orchid Belfast linen for both sides, same Weeks Dye Works thread palette except for the lettering swap, same 69×69 stitch count.

Finished as a round double-sided hanging ornament:

• Two stitched fronts seamed together, padded between, trimmed to a circle
• Twisted DMC cording in purple-and-lime-green worked around the entire perimeter to hide the seam, looping up at the top into the hanger
• A small pewter “2024” charm sewn at the seam where the loop meets the body, dating the piece

Finished May 26, 2024.