If you’ve been to any store with home decor this season it is almost certain that you have seen delightful fabric pumpkins. They come in all shapes, sizes, and fabric choices. I absolutely love them! They are an adorable addition to my fall decorations. The only downside is that these pumpkins can sometimes come with a high price tag. After buying a few and looking them over I knew I could recreate them for much less and an added bonus about DIY is that you can choose whichever fabric color or pattern that will match your decor. 

For this craft you will need:

1. Any fabric of your choice, I went with a light pink and grey plaid print.

2. Scissors

3. Felt (for the stem)

4. Thick sturdy thread (I used regular sewing thread and had to double it up)

5. Needles (I used a regular sewing needle and a long doll needle)

6. Rice or plastic pellets

7. Poly-fil stuffing

8. Hot glue gun

Start off by cutting a piece of your fabric into a circle. I used various sized bowls in my kitchen as a stencil to trace a circle onto the fabric before cutting. 

Next you are going to thread your needle and sew a running stitch along the rim of the circle. You can start to pull the thread as you work around the circle and the fabric will start to bunch up. 

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When you have almost reached the end, stop sewing and start stuffing. First, fill the bottom with your rice or plastic pellets to give your pumpkin a good sturdy base. Then start to fill the rest of the pumpkin with your poly-fil stuffing. A tip is to overstuff the pumpkin, even when you think it looks full stuff a bit more. Trust me no one likes a droopy pumpkin. 

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Now start to pull the opening closed. At this point I like to take a little extra stuffing and make little balls with it and shove it through the opening where I want the pumpkin crowns to peak. 

Now pull it closed as tight as you can. I like to knot it a few times and then do cross stitches over the opening. The goal is to get the pumpkin opening closed as tightly as possible any way you can. 

This next step is optional depending on the shape of pumpkin you are going for. I’ve done this with some but not all of my pumpkins. Take a long needle, like a doll needle, and thread and knot the end of it. Now flip the pumpkin over, then push the needle through the pumpkin and pull the thread through. (Don’t pull too hard or it is likely that the knot will go through the pumpkin base. If this happens just pull the thread all the way through and start over.)

Now start to sew a few stitches through the pumpkin pulling as you go long. This will bring the top and the bottom of the pumpkin closer together into the center. It will give your pumpkin more of a squished look. If you don’t like this and want a fuller rounder pumpkin then skip this step altogether.

We are almost done, the last step is to give your pumpkin a stem! You have some options here. You can go to a pumpkin patch and collect some real stems (just give them a good wash and let them dry out for about a week before using them). You could buy plastic or metal pumpkin stems that are used for crafts online (Amazon has some HERE). Or you can do what I did and make your own from a piece of felt. Pick whichever color you want and cut a strip. Now start to roll it up. When you get to the end secure it with a bit of hot glue. Now I like to trim the top so it is on a bit of an angle, but you can just trim it with a straight cut to get whatever size you like. Now just put some hot glue on the bottom of your stem and push it down onto the pumpkin opening. 

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That’s it you are done!! You have made your very own fabric pumpkin! At first is sounds like a lot of steps but trust me it goes very quickly once you are doing it and will make more sense. This is also a great craft to do with little ones. Just leave the sewing and hot glueing to the adults and let the kids fill and stuff the pumpkin. 

I hope this tutorial will help you with your own creations and if you decide to make some please tag me on Instagram @LifeofStyle_Blog because I would absolutely LOVE to see your pumpkins!