How to Make Fabric Pumpkins

Want to learn How to Make Fabric Pumpkins?  You’re in luck, I’ve got a great tutorial to share that will show you how to make these cute and colorful fabric pumpkins!

DIY Fabric Pumpkins

My kitchen table has been in need of a little update for fall.  I’d been seeing these Fabric Pumpkins around in the last year or so and wanted to try and make myself a few.  I finally did and am tickled pink on how they turned out. (Or should I say tickled orange and purple?)  

These DIY Fabric Pumpkins make the cutest little centerpiece on my dining room table.  I think I’ll make a couple for our teachers (just for fun.)

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a pretty great collection of quilting cotton. I’m on a mission to curate a collection that has all the colors so I can make something seasonal or whatever trending, without having to rush off to the fabric store.  I had picked up this collection of fall-themed fabric from my local fabric store and have a ton of ideas on projects to use the fabric, starting with these easy fabric pumpkins.

Are you looking for more projects for your quilting cotton stash?  Be sure to check out all these easy quilt patterns for beginners, this free Pillowcase Dress Pattern or maybe this adorable Pincushion Pattern!

How to Make Fabric Pumpkins

Would you like to make some fabric pumpkins too?  It’s so easy and you don’t even need a sewing machine!

The best part of this fabric pumpkin pattern is that the pumpkins can be made with fabric scraps you already have on hand. This tutorial includes cutting dimensions to make three different sizes.  (Small, medium and large.) There is a tiny bit of sewing (the side seam and the bottom) but if you don’t have a machine, don’t worry, it is a tiny bit that you can hand sew in minutes.  (You could even use hot glue on the side seam to speed up the process.)

Materials needed to make DIY Fabric Pumpkins

• Fabric
• Pillow stuffing
• needle and thread
• hot glue
• scissors/ruler
• Something for the stem and leaves (I used sticks I found outside leaves from an old discarded fake plant, but you could use felt or fabric for the leaves (if you even want a leaf) and for the stump, you could stuff a small piece of felt or fabric or use a stick from the yard or maybe even a twisted brown paper sack.)
• Twine, string or yarn to wrap around the pumpkin.
• Twine, raffia, felt or extra fabric (in case you need to hide any exposed hot glue around the stem, I only needed it on 2 of my 3 pumpkins.)

Instructions to make an Easy Fabric Pumpkin:

Step 1: Cut your Fabric.

Cut your fabric into a rectangle, different dimensions will give different shapes.  Technically, a standard pumpkin shape would be width = 2 times the height.  I wanted various shapes that would complement each other, so for reference my cut pieces were:

• orange fabric:  15.5 wide by 7.5 tall
• purple fabric:  32 wide by 13 tall
• stripe fabric: 21 wide by 16 tall

Step 2: Sew the side seams.

Fold your fabric in half, right sides together and hand sew, machine sew or even hot glue the side seam.

Step 3: Close the bottom.

Next, sew a wide basting stitch along the bottom of the tube.  (I tried to use my machine for this basting stitch, but it works better hand sewn since you can get a much wider stitch.)  Gather the bottom up so it is tightly closed and sew a few stitches to secure the bottom.

 

 

Step 4: Stuff your fabric pumpkin and close the top.

Flip the fabric right side out and stuff your pumpkin.  (To conserve my stuffing, I made a hole in the middle of the stuffing and used plastic bags and fabric scraps, then put stuffing on top.)

Sew a basting stitch along the top and close it the same way as the bottom.

Pull the top closed and add a few stitches to secure it.

Step 5: Add the finishing touches to your fabric pumpkin.

Wrap the twine/string around the pumpkin 2 to 4 times (whatever looks best to you.) Wrap it tightly and tie it off on the bottom.  The tension gives the pumpkin the the puffiness.  If the knots at the bottom bother you, you could cut a circle of fabric/felt and hot glue it over the knots to cover them up.

Add a dollop of hot glue to the top of the pumpkin and attach your stem.

 

Add your leaves and twine with a little more hot glue and Voilà!  A pumpkin!  Cute isn’t it?

Now go make a few!

What fall sewing projects do you have lined up?

*photos updated 7/2017

 

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