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September 5, 2023 By Brandy Leave a Comment

Home » Craft Tutorials

Easy Fabric Pumpkins (+ Video)

Filed Under: Craft Tutorials, Halloween, Sewing

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These darling fabric pumpkins are easy to make and are perfect for fall. Make them in any size you’d like with our easy-to-follow tutorial.

You might also like our 10-minute sock pumpkins, our felt Halloween candy pouches or our Target dollar spot pumpkin wreath tutorial!

easy fabric pumpkins

Watch our step by step video!

Make your own little pumpkin patch this fall with this easy tutorial. A great way to use up scrap fabric. These fabric pumpkins are easy to make! I made a basket of pumpkins to give to the ladies at my church for a training meeting that I am doing. If you’re interested in the pumpkin spiritual thought that I shared you can scroll down to the very bottom of the post!

fabric pumpkins arranged on table.

Fabric Pumpkins Are Easy To Make

If you made our sock pumpkins last year you’ll love this tutorial! Instead of socks, we’re using cotton fabric. Fabric pumpkins require a few seams of sewing, but they are simple stitches that can be done by hand or by using a sewing machine (or a combination of both which is my preferred method).

hand holding two fabric pumpkins

Add a few pumpkins to a basket, stack a few and place them on a bookcase, set on a windowsill or use as placeholders on Thanksgiving! These would make great teacher gifts too with one of my printable gift tags! I love these ones with an Anne of Green Gables quote. The darling tag says, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

fabric pumpkins with felt stems

Fabric Pumpkin Supplies

  • Fabric (Halloween Prints) (Plaid Prints)
  • Felt Scraps
  • Scissors
  • Embroidery Thread
  • Stuffing
  • Sewing Machine/Thread
  • Measuring Tape
  • Small Pliers (optional)
  • Hot Glue/Glue

fabric, felt, thread, scissors and pillow stuffing.

Fabric Choices for Fabric Pumpkins

My favorite fabrics to use are lightweight cotton prints such as calico or quilter’s cotton. They come in so many fun prints and are easy to stitch through. I used a combination of plaid prints and cotton prints for these pumpkins. Flannel or muslin would be a great choice, too.

You can also upcycle fabric from sweaters to make adorable pumpkins. Because sweater fabric already has holes in it, it’s easy to pull a needle and thread through the center of the pumpkin.

fabric pumpkins arranged on table

Fabric Pumpkin Variations

Here are a few ways to add variety and your own style to these pumpkins!

  1. Use a small piece of wood or a cinnamon stick for a stem.
  2. Add a felt leaf as a decoration with the stem.
  3. Add buttons or other trim for texture and color.
  4. Tie a ribbon around the stem.
  5. Add a few drops of essential oil to the stuffing before closing up the pumpkin.

fabric pumpkins with felt stems

How To Make Fabric Pumpkins In a Variety of Sizes

It’s easy to make small, medium, and large pumpkins with this tutorial. Take the width measurement and double it for the length measurement. Here are some example measurements below. The pumpkins shown in the photos are made with an 8″ x 16″ rectangle of fabric (medium-sized pumpkins).

Fabric Cutting Guide

Small (5″ x 10″ rectangle of fabric)

Medium (8″ x 16″ rectangle of fabric)

Large (10″ x 20″ rectangle of fabric)

If making a larger or smaller pumpkin, adjust the stem size by adding a bit to the width and length.

basket of fabric pumpkins

Easy Fabric Pumpkins Tutorial

fabric pumpkins arranged on table.
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5 from 1 vote

Easy Fabric Pumpkins Tutorial

These darling fabric pumpkins are easy to make and are perfect for fall. Make them in any size you'd like with our easy-to-follow tutorial.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Active Time10 minutes mins
Total Time20 minutes mins
Yield: 1 pumpkin
Cost: $1

Equipment

  • sewing machine
  • measuring tape
  • scissors
  • long sewing needle
  • hot glue gun/glue
  • small pliers (optional)

Materials

  • fabric
  • stuffing (poly-fil)
  • embroidery thread
  • felt scraps

Instructions

  • You can make any size of pumpkin that you'd like by doubling the width measurement. For example, my fabric was 8" wide and 16" long.
    CUTTING GUIDE
    Cut fabric into a rectangle that measured 8" x 16".
    Cut a piece of felt that is 1"x 6" for the stem.
    Cut a 2" oval of felt for the bottom of the pumpkin.
    fabric, felt, thread, scissors and pillow stuffing.
  • Fold the fabric in half with the right sides together.
    fabric folded in half inside-out.
  • Sew along the seam using a 3/8" seam allowance.
    sewing machine stitching side seam of fabric
  • You should now have a tube of fabric. Look at the pattern and note which side will be the bottom and which side will be the top.
  • Thread a long piece of embroidery thread through a needle.
    Stitch a gathering stitch around the bottom opening of the pumpkin.
    Note: To gather, you'll create a wide running stitch along the top of the opening, about 1/4" away from the edge. Leave the ends of the string long so that you can pull them to gather the fabric later.
    pumpkin opening before being cinched closed.
  • Pull the end strings tight to close off the bottom of the pumpkin.
    pulling thread tight to close pumpkin opening
  • Tie the strings in a double knot and trim excess. Save the needle and thread for a later step.
    hands tying thread in a knot to close off pumpkin opening.
  • Turn the pumpkin right-side out.
    fabric turned right-side out.
  • Fill the pumpkin with stuffing.
    stuffing inside fabric pumpkin
  • Grab your needle and thread and stitch a gathering stitch around the top opening of the pumpkin.
    hand poking needle into fabric
  • Pull the end strings tight to close off the top of the pumpkin.
    thread being pulled to close off pumpkin opening
  • Tie strings in a double knot and trim excess.
    needle poked into fabric pumpkin
  • Cut a strand of embroidery thread that is 48" long. Thread it through a long needle and tie a knot at the end.
    Press the pumpkin down to squish it down a bit (this makes it easier to insert the needle).
    Poke the needle through the center of the pumpkin and out the back. Pull until the knot hits. Bring the needle around to the top again, insert through the center and out the back again, then pull the thread TIGHT.
    You'll notice that you've created one of the pumpkin grooves on the side of the pumpkin.
    thread being pulled through stuffed pumpkin.
  • Continue this process until you have 6 sections (dimples). It can sometimes be a little difficult to pull the needle through the stuffing. A small pair of pliers can be helpful in grabbing the needle.
    NOTE: I highly recommend referring to my step-by-step video for a great visual on how to create the pumpkin sections/shape using the thread.
    pliers pulling needle through fabric pumpkin
  • Roll up the piece of felt.
    hands rolling up a thin piece of felt.
  • Hot glue the end of the piece of felt to secure it.
    hot glue on end of felt stem.
  • Glue the stem to the top of the pumpkin.
    hand gluing felt stem on top of pumpkin
  • Glue the oval of felt on the bottom of the pumpkin (this adds a finished touch and hides any knots and unfinished edges on the bottom of the pumpkin).
    small piece of felt glued to the bottom of the fabric pumpkin.

Video

Notes

Suggested cutting guide for small, medium, and large pumpkins:
  • 6" x 12" (small pumpkin)
  • 8" x 16" (medium pumpkin)
  • 10" x 20" (large pumpkin)
If making a larger or smaller pumpkin, adjust the stem size by adding a bit to the width and length.
Small and medium pumpkins are my favorite to make because it's easier to pull the needle through the center. The more stuffing that you have (large pumpkin) the wider the area the needle will have to pull through. Just use a long needle and pliers to make that step easier.

Pumpkin Spiritual Thought

I mentioned above that I am giving these pumpkins as gifts to the ladies in my church. I found a talk called, “What a Single Pumpkin Seed Taught Me about God’s Love” by Larry  Laycock.

Here are some of my favorite parts:

“My boyhood home was surrounded by alfalfa fields. When I was nine years old, I cleared a small plot on the edge of the fields to plant a garden. In early spring, I planted a single pumpkin seed and cared for it each day, eager for it to sprout. Within days, to my delight, small green leaves pushed through the soil. Over the days and weeks that followed, I marveled at the rapid rate of growth of my small, single pumpkin seed. With divine components of seed, soil, sunlight, and water, my small seed miraculously transformed into multiple vines stretching out in all directions.

A short time later, green bulbs appeared where orange and yellow flowers had just bloomed. And over the course of the summer, the bulbs transformed into large, orange pumpkins. When the harvest arrived, I cut open my pumpkins. I was astonished! Each pumpkin had produced hundreds and hundreds of seeds.

You might be thinking to yourself, “That’s great, but what does this pumpkin seed have to do with me as a young adult?” Well, in observing the seemingly endless supply of seeds from my harvest, I suddenly understood how, with God’s help, the finite (one seed) could be transformed into the infinite and eternal. I saw that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). I experienced the truth of the scriptural words “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).

God created my small pumpkin seed to produce limitless, even infinite, generations of seeds in a never-ending cycle of growth and development. And the same is true for many other things in our lives, including the ability to feel and share His divine love.

printout of pumpkin spiritual thought with fabric pumpkins

Over time, I have come to understand that our loving Heavenly Father has planted within each of us the seed of His eternal love. God loves us enough to plant His love in our souls with the intention that we cultivate and grow it through service, faith, repentance, and covenant keeping.

…If we cultivate God’s love through kindness, courtesy, compassion, and inclusion, it will grow exponentially. Our capacity to love and serve others will become infinite, eternal, and more beautiful than we ever dreamed possible.

As we cultivate the seed of God’s love within us, we can reap the pure love of Christ—charity (see Moroni 7:47). Those who cultivate the seed of God’s love also reap a bounteous crop of friends, fellowship, and increased faith…

As we carefully cultivate the seed of God’s love, we can experience a limitless harvest of eternal love in our family relationships, our Church service, and our personal lives.”

Click here for the full talk.

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About Brandy

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com without any additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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