Three witches and the five characters around them, and why this set sells out before Halloween rather than during it.
Who is in the set
Eight characters in the Hocus Pocus crochet doll set: Winifred, Sarah and Mary, with Max Dennison, Dani Dennison, Allison, Billy Butcherson, Thackery Binx and the Black Cat.
Three silhouettes that must differ
The three witches have to be recognisable apart at a glance, and that is done with shape rather than with faces — one tall and narrow, one round, one built around a wide skirt. Hair does the rest: three different methods, worked in three different weights of yarn.
Order early
A doll takes about three weeks to make and a week to arrive. An order placed in the middle of October does not arrive for Halloween, and every year some do. If the set is for the season, order by the end of September — the timings are set out in how long a crochet doll takes.
Which size
10 inches and up for the witches, where the costume and hair carry. The cat works at any size.
Where they come from
Three witches hanged in a New England town three centuries ago are brought back for one Halloween night by a teenager who did not believe the story, and have until sunrise to stay.
The eight dolls split neatly into the ones trying to stop them and the ones doing the haunting, which is a rare thing in a doll set: the group divides into two halves that both make sense on their own.
See it at Hocus Pocus crochet doll set, the three witches on their own at Sanderson Sisters crochet doll set, and more October work in seasonal crochet dolls.