To celebrate Thanksgiving, the girls in my sewing classes made some pumpkins. They enjoyed them so much that I thought they might help to get you in the holiday spirit! Bright and cheerful, they just make me smile.

To make your own, start by reading through this entire tutorial, print the pattern and begin!

Materials

1/4" of cotton fabric

Craft thread

Scissors

Needle

A stick about 4-6" long

Poly-fill stuffing

Green felt

Glue

I'm stuffed! PDF pattern

Once you print the pattern, measure the scaling square to be sure that it measures 1".

You will need to cut six fabric pieces total to make each pumpkin. Lay the template on the fabric and trace with chalk. Cut on the drawn line.

Pin the cut pieces, placing the right sides of two of the fabric pieces together carefully aligning the matching points and edges. Stitch from top to bottom on ONE side using a 3/8" seam allowance. Add a third wedge to the pair. Be sure that you are only sewing through two layers of fabric. You should end up with what looks like a shallow bowl. Repeat for the next three pieces. First sew two together, then add the third.

Reinforce the edges by backstitching when sewing together. Be sure to sew slowly around the curved edges to ensure that your pumpkin will be round and plump.

Pair these two sections together, aligning their cut edges and placing the pieces with the right sides facing together. To do this, turn one half-sphere (3 pieces sewn together) right side out and tuck it inside the other half sphere with the right sides facing together, aligning the points to match. Sew from the top of the straight edge to the opposite top straight edge around the sphere. Do not stitch the wide flat edge opening.

Do you see how the seams on the pointed side are matched on the inside? Pin carefully when you are sandwiching together.

Do you see how the pointed edges are pinned and sewn together? The flat edges will remain open.

Does yours look like an inside out pumpkin bowl? Turn the sphere right side out through the opening then stuff it.

This is the what the bottom will look like.

Secure a thread through the seam and knot. Finger press the raw edge under 1/4" and hand sew around the opening. Once you have sewn completely around, push the stick into the center and pull the thread to secure.

Continue to stitch around the stick once more. Knot.

Glue the felt leaves.

Finish by tying a ribbon or yarn around the stick.

These pumpkins were made by the Fashionable Friday Class!

Happy Thanksgiving!

XO, Hilarie