It’s really starting to feel like fall here in the Midwest. We still have our occasional warm day, but for the most part fall is upon us. Fall is my favorite time of year with all the fun festivals, pumpkin patches, apple orchards…….I truly value the beautiful seasons each year.
Since it finally feels like fall, I think it’s time to get out some decorations for around the house. I wanted to make something for our home that tied in with the season as well as our decor. Though I tend to use bright colors in my clothing design, my home is decorated in more rich tones….think deep red, green, mahogany and cherry wood. I came up with these chubby fabric pumpkins and can’t wait to put them around the house. I thought you might like to make some too………so here’s the “how to”:
Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial
Supplies:
Fabric pieces – variety of sizes
2 pieces of brown felt
1 piece tan felt
Fiberfill or other stuffing material
Brown embroidery floss
Thick twine
Hand-sewing needle
Sewing Machine
Decorative wire berries (optional)
Directions:
Gather your fabric. I found these upholstery fabric samples at Joann’s for $2.00 a piece. They were discontinued special order fabrics. I decided to use decorator fabric because I love the variation in textures and designs, but you could definitely used quilting cotton for this project if you would prefer.
Cut your fabric. I wanted my pumpkins to be all different sizes since no two pumpkins are ever the same. Here are some of the measurements I used:
17.5″ x 10″
17.5″ x 12″
12″ x 6″
12.5″ x 7.5″
17″ x 13″
Basically you are looking to cut out a rectangle shape.
Fold your rectangle, right-sides together. Stitch down the long-side (side to the right) with a regular straight-stitch. Then run a gathering stitch around the top and the bottom (leaving the top and bottom OPEN). Turn right-side out.
Pull the bobbin thread to start gathering one of the ends. Work the gather until you have pulled it as closed as possible. If you are using regular cotton this will be much easier. If you are using decorator fabrics, this can take some time. You may also consider hand-sewing a large straight stitch with embroidery floss and using that to gather instead of your machine (my thread broke on one of my pumpkins). Either way will work.
This is as tight as I could pull my bobbin thread with the upholstery fabric. Tie your thread ends together and turn it in-side out again.
Place the gathered end in your sewing machine and stitch to close. You will have to kind of jam the fabric under the foot as it is very thick, but don’t worry, your machine can handle it. You may also choose to hand-sew the opening closed with embroidery floss.
Next fill your pumpkin with fiberfill or whatever type of stuffing you have on hand.
Once you have stuffed your pumpkin, pull the bobbin thread from your other gathering stitch to begin to close the opening.
Close the opening entirely by hand-sewing.
Take your twine and wrap it around the pumpkin (very tightly). Do this as if you were wrapping a present. Loop it around, then cross-over, around and cross-over. You will cross-over at the top and bottom of the pumpkin. Go back and forth until you have 6-8 sections on each pumpkin. Finish by simply tying in a knot.
You may need to slide the twine around until you have even look sections – just work it until you like the look.
Next you will need to make your stems and leaves. I made each stem a different size, so just cut out whatever shape you like from your brown felt. I also machine stitched on top of the felt to add some texture. Place both stem pieces together (right-sides together) and stitch around the curve (leave the straight-side open). Turn right-side out.
Suff your stem with fiberfill.
Cut out two to three leaves per pumpkin. I did mostly brown leaves and a couple tan ones. Again, I machine stitched veins onto the brown felt with brown thread. This is your opportunity to be creative……cut your leaves out in any shape or size that you like. Mine were all different.
Next hand-sew your stem and leaves to the top of each pumpkin. There is no special technique here. Just place the leaves where you like and stitch away.
You can certainly skip the stitching on the stem and the leaves, but I think it adds a more realistic feel to the pumpkins.
For a final finishing touch, I took a bunch of deep red and green berries and added them to the top of each pumpkin. This was just one bunch that I purchased at Joann’s. I cut the bunch apart and wrapped two wire pieces around each stem. To make the curls, wrap the wire around a pen or pencil.
On a couple of the tan leaves, I hand embroidered some detail. I like the contrast between the tan leaves and the brown ones. You could hand-embroider all of the leaves or machine-stitch all of them……again, it’s up to you.
And there you have it – a family of festive fall fabric pumpkins!
They are just so cute, don’t you think? I could just squeeze them! Well, I won’t, but my daughter Savannah already did……she gave each one a hug and said, “I love you pumpkins!”.
Happy Fall!
Lindsay Wilkes is the owner and designer behind The Cottage Mama. She creates timeless, vintage inspired sewing patterns for children’s clothes. She is also a fabric designer for Riley Black Designers / Penny Rose Fabrics, author of the book ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’ and can be seen teaching nationwide and online in her video series ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines.
Those are adorable! I love it, but I’d rather buy them than make them. =)
I ADORE them… Pumpkins make me sooo HAPPY!
LOVE these! So cute! What a fabulous idea. Would love to make one as a cute little pincushion too! 🙂
Ralna
housebynumbers.blogspot.com
These make me so happy! I have some leftover fabric that would be PERFECT for these! Thanks for the tutorial.
These are great!!! Awesome tutorial! Thank you!
What I great idea! Love it.
http://cupcakesandscissors.blogspot.com/
Lindsay, fantastic tutorial. I love the fabrics you chose, the pumpkins look so substantial and the little berries and twists are a sweet touch.
love these pumpkins! so cute and the fabric is just perfect for them. 🙂
I love the tutorial…very clear and the pumpkins are absolutely adorable 🙂 Fall is my favourite time too.
These are really, truly cute. Great job, and very creative!
I was looking for something just like this! Thanks for the tutorial! Now I’m going to go through my fabric stash for something pumpkin-y
Jenifer
http://www.CantaloupeCorner.blogspot.com
These are so cute! I love the colors and fabrics you used! They feel so nice a fallish and the pumpkins are just cute as they can be! I just started a blog and I really enjoy yours.
PS- I’m your newest follower 🙂
These are adorable and I love the leaves and garland you added. This is a project I will have to try.
Hugs, Sherry
Those turned out ADORABLE- super cute!
I love the upholstery material you used in these pumpkins. They are gorgeous! rich and textured! I am featuring these at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for the tutorial. I am definitely going to try making these out of some extra fabric.
Tracy
http://www.cutorcopyandpaste.blogspot.com
These are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing the tutorial. I used to have a pattern for similar but cannot find it. Your choice of decorator fabrics for these was just perfect! I have signed on to get the updates to your blog. Great ideas.
I love these – they are so adorable! And I must say this is one of the most put together tutorials I have ever seen, thank you so much for all the detail and showing each step – your pictures are amazing! Great job!
These are so awesome! My Joannes had a bunch of those $2 clearance fabrics but I only eyed them from the cutting table because I couldn’t think of a reason I needed them! Thanks for sharing!
I absolutely love these! I featured your pumpkins on my blog today:
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2010/09/pumpkin-patch-at-oopsey-daisy.html
Thanks for the inspiration!
~Alison
I am new to blogging and enjoy all that I have found so far- I was introduced to your site through my daughters blog- love the pumpkins!
LOVE the fabric textures you chose. So very huggable!!!
What a great tutorial, these are so cute. I like your attention to detail.
I like the way ..That how beautifully you create this lovely pumpkin….The fabric and the design is so creative i like the way of yours….its superb…..
Love these! I’m going to make them with the kids this weekend!! Yay!!
I love these!!! Thanks for sharing this tutorial!!
Just fabulous! Love those pumpkins. Following, found you through New Friend Friday.
These are TOO cute! I love the textures! I made some similar ones that I posted about on my blog today too : )
These are sooooo stinkin cute…hoping it gets cooler here on the coast soon! Hope you have a FUN weekend!
Blessings,
Linda
First, I want to say thank you for stopping by my blog! I’m coming over from Tatertots too…I just love these pumpkins and the fabric is gorgeous. Great tutorial.
Take care,
~Karen~
Super cute! I love your use of upholstery fabric and I also love the stitching on teh stems…a must.
Those are so beautiful! I love them! 🙂
I’ve seen many different tutorials for fabric pumpkins this fall and I have to say I think yours are the cutest. Can’t wait to make some of my own with fabric scraps I have lying around.
I just started a new thing on my blog called “Feature Friday” and you were my first showcased project: http://forsuchatimeasnow.blogspot.com/2010/10/feature-friday-fall-fabric-pumpkins.html
Thanks for the inspiration!
Lovely!! Thank you for this great idea!!!
Laura
Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial! I am starting to learn to sew and found this to be such a great project! I just finished making my adorable pumpkin!
Hi Lindsay, Thanks for sharing this darling tutorial. I can’t wait to make mine. I was just realizing last night that I don’t have hardly any fall decorations, so these will be great! I will be posting a link on my blog ziggycrafts.blogspot.com Thanks!!
These are by far my favorite fall decorations. They are darling. I hated to take them down last year. You are so talented. I was just googling a tutorial for fabric apples for some back to school decorations, and I thought of your pumpkins and I was dying to know if you’ve ever thought of creating fabric apples. I’d LOVE to see what you’d come up with. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas!!
I love these!! Cannot wait to give them a try this year, thanks for the tutorial!
I love your pumpkins. I featured them today at So Creative. http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-roundup.html
These are great and I have a whole box of the samples!
So fun! I’ve linked this tutorial to my fall decor round up http://bethannecreates.blogspot.com/2011/11/talking-more-than-turkey-day.html
I posted a craft almost just like yours! Here is my link:
http://marcy-beth.blogspot.com/2011/11/fabric-pumpkins.html
These look great! Thanks for this tutorial. I know it takes time to put it all together. I want to make some of these for next fall… always have to plan early, LOL.
This is so stinking cute! I am in love! I featured it on my blog this morning at http://iamonly1woman.blogspot.com/2012/09/pumpkin-crafts-ideas.html
I love them very much!!!!!!!!!
Anna from Italy
They are so cute and autumnal!!! Thank you for sharing this tutorial. I´ll try it right now!
i made some for my mom and myself 🙂 love them! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/230387337161486456/
LOVE them but sure wish there was a print icon for us to print this off by………PDF of this would be great!!