fabric pumpkins tutorial.

during fall you'll always find pumpkins in all the nooks and cranies in our house.
these fabric pumpkins are SO easy to make that you'll have your own pumpkin patch in no time.

materials needed:
1 fall themed layer cake {or several pieces of fall fabrics.}
perle cotton size 8
rice or dry beans
stuffing
sticks or actual pumpkin stems
raffia ribbon
hot glue gun

i'm going to show yall a few different shapes, styles and sizes of fabric pumpkins.
we'll start with basic directions for making a fabric pumpkin.

take one of your layer cake squares and cut it into a 5" x 10" rectangle.

fold your rectangle in half, with wrong sides together, and stitch down the side.

now you should be looking at a fabric tube.
{if you are using a directional print find your top and bottom.}

take perle cotton and double it for durability.
with your wrong side of fabric facing out, start stitching around the bottom of your fabric tube eyeing a 1/4" seam allowance.
it doesn't have to be perfect.

after you have gone all the way around the tube, pull your thread until it starts to gather.

make sure it's pulled really tight.
make a knot.
cut off your excess thread.

note: the reason i use perle cotton is because it's stronger than regular cotton thread.
you really want this to hold.
trust me.

turn your fabric right side out.
you'll have a cute little fabric bowl.

pour about 1/4 cup rice or dry beans down in the bottom of your fabric.
this will ensure that your pumpkin can stand on it's own.
then start adding your stuffing.

add a stick that suits your pumpkin size.
continue adding stuffing until your pumpkin starts to look a little plump.

stitch around the top of your fabric eyeing a 1/4" seam allowance.
again, this does not have to be perfect.

pull your thread so it gathers, making sure you pull it real tight against the stick.
make a knot.
cut off your excess thread.

to ensure that your stick stays in place, add a dab of hot glue between the stick and the fabric.

now add some raffia ribbon using a glue gun.
and you're done.

SUPER cute huh???
and it's easy peasy just like i promised it would be.

to make different shapes and sizes you need only to change your begining dimentions of fabric.

to make a striped pumpkin ...
take 10 layer cake squares and cut them into 2" strips for a grand total of 50 strips.
{you'll only use 20 of these strips now, but you'll have a nice selection &/or a great start on your next striped fabric pumpkin.}

sew together 2 rows of strips, 10 strips per row, then sew the two rows together.
from this point, you just fold this in half and follow the above steps all over again.

to make a patchwork fabric pumpkin ...
take 4 layer cake squares and cut them into 5" squares for a grand total of 16 squares.
{you could even use a charm pack if you wanted.}

lay your squares out in a 4 x 4 square layout.
stitch together to make one big patchwork block.
from this point, you just fold this in half and follow the above steps all over again.

to make a whole cloth fabric pumpkin ...
it's as simple as cutting whatever size square or rectangle you want, then folding it in half and following the above steps.

note: if you want a rounder, plumper pumpkin, you'll want to start with a rectangle shaped piece of fabric.
if you want a taller, more slender pumpkin, you'll want to start with a regular square shaped piece of fabric.
i know it's backwards, but it's how it works out.

either way, it's easy peasy, just like i promised.

now go make one for you, your neighbor, or maybe even your mother in law.

rachel