Fabric Pumpkins

It's Friday and my brain is fried. The week flew by in a second and I think that's why I feel like I have whiplash from the week. I'm so glad its the weekend. We are doing our yearly decorating of Gingerbread houses at Grandma's tomorrow. Princess can hardly wait. She says to everyone, "Hi, I'm Snenna, I make a gingerbread house." And then I go into the explanationn of what she is talking about. Tons of relatives pack into one kitchen and we all decorate gingerbread houses at the same time. We eat yummy soup and warm bread and the kids eat as much candy as they possibly can. Its great. Since it always happens the weekend before Thanksgiving, I feel like it is the kick off to the holiday season. Thanksgiving is next week! I can't even wrap my head around it. I wanted to get one or two more Fall decorations made before then. Today's project is so cute and doesn't require many materials. The only thing about it is that it requires quite a bit of hand sewing. But the end result is so worth it! These fabric pumpkins are so cute and can be customized to anyone's taste. They make a sweet addition to any tablescape, mantle or windowsill.

You will need:
Fabric in colors and patterns of your choice
Batting
Sewing materials

There are two great tutorials that I found for this project. One from Danielle Thompson and one from Boho Weddings. Both are great and its worth taking a look at both so you can see a variety of pictures to really see how to do it. Seriously, pictures ARE worth a thousand words. Most of the time I don't even need to read the directions if the pictures in a tutorial are good enough. I've included my own pictures for you also, although mine are much inferior to the others.

1. Fold your piece of fabric in half. Then cut either a 8X16 inch piece for a bigger pumpkin or a 6X12 inch piece for a smaller pumpkin. These are the dimensions for the fabric when it is folded! Unfolded it would be like a 8X32. You can make any size pumpkin, just make sure the length is double the width.

2. Fold so that the fabric is wrong sides out. Sew along the opposite side of the fold with a sewing machine or hand sew it. This is the only part you can really do with the machine, so I would take advantage!

 3. Sew a running stitch all along the top of the piece and pull together as tight as you can.

 4. Make a loop a few times around so that the bunch doesn't come undone.

5. Flip so that the fabric is right side out again. The bunch you just made is going to be the bottom of the pumpkin.

 6. Sew a running stitch along the top and tighten halfway.

 7. Stuff with fluff. Winnie the Pooh style.

 8. Pull the thread and tighten all the way.

 9. Sew closed. Kind of like a football.

 10. Make several if you want a few different patterns and sizes.

 11. Cut out two pieces for the stem.

 12. Flip right sides together and sew all around the sides and top. Leave the bottom open for stuffing.

 13. Stuff with fluff. Then tuck in the bottom edges.

 14. Sew onto the top of the pumpkin covering as many stitches as you can.

 Done! Display on tables, mantels, windowsills, anywhere that needs a little Fall.

You will notice (if you took a look at the other tutorials) that I skipped one more step. They both added yarn around the sides to give it more of a defined pumpkin look. I skipped this because a. I didn't have a big enough needle and b. because I'm lazy. But it looks great if you want to add this step! My way looks a little more home made and a little more vintage. Sure. Lets go with that.

Have a great weekend everyone!