DIY Fall Decorations: Simple and Cute Yarn Pumpkin Tutorial

The best thing about this tutorial, is it can be a knit or a crochet, and requires only the most basic level of yarn skill. If you can make a rectangle, you can make a pumpkin. It is also a great way to use up leftover bits of yarn.

The supplies you will need are

• Two Colors of yarn (pumpkin & stem)
• Stuffing
• Crochet Hook or Knitting Needles
• Yarn Needle
• Scissors

When I do a crochet pumpkin, I will chain 3 to 6 inches and then double crochet until my little ball of yarn runs out, or I have about a 12 inch rectangle swatch. If I’m knitting, it’s the same concept. I will start a row that is a few inches long, and then just knit out till I have a nice sized rectangle.

This is my favorite kind of yarn project. There’s no need to count stitches, or purl, or slip any stitches; You can sit and mindlessly create while you zone out on the couch with a good show.

Whether you decide to knit or crochet this piece, you will want to leave yourself a nice long tail when you create your first row. The shape of your pumpkin will depend on how long your swatch is and how full you stuff it. For a shorter fatter pumpkin, aim for a longer swatch.

Once you have your rectangle swatch, leave yourself a nice long tail and bind off. If possible, end with that tail on the opposite side of your beginning tail. (If not, no worries, you can still have a cute pumpkin. You’ll just need to trim one end off)

Thread one of your tails through a yarn needle, and stitch together the two ends of your rectangle to create a cylinder. Tie off at the end.

Then, take your needle, and weave it up and down through the piece around the edge. What do you want to do here is pull the tail through so that it cinches all the ends together. Weave your needle up and down around the entire circle, And then pull it as tight as you can. If it doesn’t close up entirely, that’s OK. You can go back and stitch up any gaps.

Once you have the end of your cylinder closed off, go ahead and stuff that pumpkin as much or as little as you’d like. You can have a slouchy pumpkin, a robust fully stuffed pumpkin, or somewhere in between.

To create the stem, you have a few different options here. One simple way I have found, is to chain some crochet single stitches together leaving two long tails on either end. This way kind of resembles a friendship bracelet from middle school, and takes no time at all.

If you want to get a little more creative, you can knit or crochet in a round to create a long skinny cylinder for the stem.

However you decide to make your stem, be sure to leave yourself two long tails.

On this open end of the pumpkin, you’re going to do the same weave & cinch that you did on the bottom, but in two halves. Take one tail from your stem to weave and cinch one half, then thread the needle onto the other tail to cinch that half.

After you’ve cinched both sides as well as you can, tie the ends together & put both tails through your needle. Stitch through any open gaps to close up any remaining holes, and then push your needle down through the center of your pumpkin and out the bottom. Pull these through as tight or as loose as you’d like to create a bit more of a ‘pumpkin’ shape instead of a ball with a stem.

Tie these ends together, then tie them to the two tails that were left. Clip off the ends of all the tails and admire your cute little pumpkin!

This project is so open ended and could be done in a million different ways. I love the idea of doing a “Pumpkin Patch” of all white or cream pumpkins, or Pink ones to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. The possibilities are endless! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.