Turn an ordinary soap bottle into a cheerful Halloween ghost with this reusable crochet cover, complete with a sweet face and an easy-to-adjust fit for different dispensers.
Halloween decorations don’t have to take over an entire room to make an impact. Slipping a little crochet ghost cover over your everyday soap dispenser is an easy way to bring the season into the bathroom or kitchen while keeping something useful on display. The soft crochet texture and simple face make the bottle feel like part of your Halloween decor rather than an ordinary household item.
The shape is also practical to crochet because you’re essentially building a small tube around the bottle. The base establishes the circumference, the straight rounds create the height, and the final increase gives the bottom its ghostly flare. If your soap bottle is a little wider or taller than the standard size, the pattern can be adjusted without changing the whole design.
Credit ChristaCoDesign
Materials & Tools Needed
- Yarn: About 53 yards of #4 medium worsted-weight yarn in white; cotton yarn is a practical choice for a bathroom accessory.
- Black yarn: About 2 yards for the eyes and mouth.
- Crochet hook: 4 mm (G).
- Yarn needle: For attaching the facial details and weaving in ends.
- Stitch marker: Helpful because the body is worked in continuous rounds.
- Scissors: For fastening off and trimming yarn.
Finished Size & Fit
The finished cover is designed to fit a standard liquid soap dispenser. Because soap bottles vary in width and height, check your bottle before you begin rather than assuming every dispenser will fit exactly.
The first round determines the starting circumference, while the number of straight rounds controls the height. If your bottle is wider, add stitches to the foundation; if it is taller, add extra straight rounds before making the bottom flare.
The cover should stretch gently over the bottle without being so tight that it pulls the stitches out of shape.
Pattern Abbreviations
US crochet terms are used throughout.
- ch: Chain
- sc: Single crochet
- esc: Extended single crochet
- sl st: Slip stitch
- st(s): Stitch(es)
- inc: Increase, 2 stitches in the same stitch
- rnd: Round
- rep: Repeat
How to Crochet the Ghost Soap Cover
Create the Base
The base is made as a narrow strip of 12 stitches and then worked around as a continuous tube. This is what allows the cover to slide over the soap bottle instead of becoming a flat applique.
If you need to change the size, adjust here. Adding stitches makes the circumference larger, while removing stitches makes it smaller.
Round 1: Make 12 foundation single crochets (FSC), or ch 13 and sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and each remaining chain across; do not join with a slip stitch, and begin the next stitch directly in the first stitch to form a continuous spiral. (12 sts)
Why no slip stitch? The body is worked in continuous rounds, so joining every round would create a visible seam. A stitch marker will show you where each round begins instead.
Build the Ghost Body
Round 2 creates the initial expansion. The stitch count doubles here so the cover can develop enough width to fit around the dispenser.
Round 2: Work 2 esc in each stitch around, placing a stitch marker in the first stitch and moving it up as you begin each new round. (24 esc)
Once the circumference has been established, the next rounds simply build height. You do not need to increase during these rounds.
Rounds 3-7: Work 1 esc in each stitch around, moving the stitch marker to the first stitch after completing each round. (24 esc)
At this point, check the cover against your soap bottle. It should already resemble a small sleeve around the lower portion of the dispenser. If it is too tight, the problem is usually the circumference rather than the height.
Give the Cover More Room
Round 8 widens the cover again. This increase is useful because the body needs enough room to continue upward without pulling tightly around the bottle.
Round 8: [1 esc in each of the next 3 sts, 2 esc in the next st] repeat around. (30 esc)
The following rounds maintain this new circumference and create the main height of the ghost.
Rounds 9–20: Work 1 esc in each stitch around. Adjust the number of rounds here if your soap bottle is shorter or taller than the intended size. (30 esc)
Fit check: Before making the bottom, slide the cover over the dispenser. The top of the cover should sit around the bottle comfortably, leaving enough room for the final round to flare outward.
Shape the Ghost Bottom
The last round changes from extended single crochet to regular single crochet. The increases spread the lower edge outward, creating the soft, floating shape that makes the cover read as a ghost rather than a plain bottle sleeve.
Final Round: [1 sc in the first st, 2 sc in the next st] repeat around; slip stitch across 1–2 stitches at the end to smooth the edge, then pull up a long loop and cut the yarn. (45 sc)
You do not need to force the edge into a particular shape. Once it is placed over the bottle, the increased stitches naturally create the flared bottom.
Make the Ghost Eyes
The eyes are small circles worked separately in black yarn. Making them separately gives you more control over their size and position than trying to embroider a complicated shape directly onto the cover.
Eye Round 1: With black yarn, make a magic circle and work 6 sc into the ring; pull the ring closed. (6 sc)
Eye Round 2: [2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in each of the next 2 sts] repeat around, then slip stitch to the next stitch to finish. (8 sc)
Make 2 eyes in total.
Give the Ghost a Simple Face
Before sewing the eyes permanently, place both on the cover and look at the face from a short distance. This makes it easier to adjust the expression before the stitches are secured.
Position the eyes around Rounds 15–17, keeping them roughly level with each other. Sew them in place with the yarn tails, taking small stitches through the body so the eyes stay flat without pulling the crochet fabric inward.
For the mouth, use black yarn and a yarn needle to embroider a small smile below the eyes. Leave enough tail at the back to secure the embroidery, then weave the ends into the inside of the cover.
A small placement tip: The face does not need to be perfectly symmetrical. Slightly uneven eyes can make a handmade ghost look especially charming, but keeping them on approximately the same round will prevent the face from looking accidentally tilted.
Finish and Fit the Soap Cover
Weave all remaining yarn ends securely on the inside of the cover. Trim only after the ends are anchored so they cannot work loose through the stitches.
Finally, stretch the ghost gently over your soap dispenser. If the cover feels slightly snug, allow the crochet fabric to settle around the bottle rather than forcing it into place. If your dispenser is noticeably wider or taller, use the foundation and straight-round adjustments described above for a better fit.
The finished ghost turns an everyday soap bottle into a small Halloween decoration without taking away its usefulness. It can stay on the dispenser throughout the season and be removed afterward, making it an easy reusable piece of seasonal decor.
