How to Make Velvet Pumpkins

It turns out that making velvet pumpkins is a piece of cake, or should I say pumpkin pie in this case?

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I’m kicking myself for not making them years ago when I first laid eyes on them. This would be such a fun craft idea for a party and if you happen to be my friend and your birthday is in the fall, well, you just might be getting velvet pumpkins for your present this year!

I don’t know why I have been so intimidated by them until now. In less than an hour and for a few dollars you can have a little set of the sweetest fall decorations ever.

And, surprise! You probably have a lot of the supplies sitting right under your nose.

Materials Needed

Velvet fabric
- For a set of three (small, medium, large) pumpkins, you will need a yard of fabric.
- Use the stretch velvet, not the regular velvet.
Sharpee
Fabric Scissors
Upholstery Thread or Unwaxed Dental Floss
Sewing Needle
Upholstery Needle (optional)
Beans or Rice
Canning Funnel (optional)
Stem
- Use any stem you like from any squash, pumpkin or zucchini in the produce section, farmers market or your garden. The funkier the better.
- Here is a link on how to dry them. To speed up the process, you can put them in the oven at 200 F for about an hour. You will never look at another pumpkin stem the same again!
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

My dear friend, Tanya, came over for lunch and a play date on a rainy September day.

We whipped up a whole, little pumpkin patch by the fire and only had one dramatic moment when a naughty pig got out of his pen.

The two of us, with all the kids were running around like crazy chasing that pig,

finally, we offered him a nectarine and that did the trick!

Hopefully, you won’t need to catch any pigs during your pumpkin production time.

Tutorial

Draw a circle on the back side of your fabric with your sharpee. It doesn’t need to be a perfect circle, just do your best. If you want to trace something, a salad plate makes a small pumpkin. A 16″ (diameter) circle makes a medium pumpkin, 24″ (diameter) makes a large pumpkin.

Cut out your circle with your fabric scissors.
Thread your needle with your upholstery thread or unwaxed dental floss, we liked doubling the thread and making a big, messy knot at the end.
Hand stitch using a large running stitch. Start about one inch from the edge of the circle and make your stitches about one inch wide. Continue until you have stitched around the entire circle.

Cinch up your circle and fill with rice or beans until you like the size and weight. Use the canning funnel for the medium and large pumpkins.

Pull on the thread as hard as you can and tuck the edges inside. Now stitch across the top a few times to hold it in place. I also liked stitching straight through the bottom a couple of times so they had an indent for the stems. Use an upholstery needle for the large pumpkins.
Knot the thread, cut and hide the the extra thread inside the pumpkin.