2 X DIY Easy Pumpkins | How to Sew Pumpkin Pillow Ornaments

Halloween is a-coming so I thought I would try to sew my own pumpkins this year, and do so with templates I created myself. I wanted a classic round shape as well as more of a segmented shape, and the 2 designs above are what I came up with.

I hope you like them!

Supplies

- Fabric: For both pumpkins I used lightweight woven cotton fabrics. For pumpkin #1 I used 3 different fabrics, and for pumpkin #2 I used 5 different fabrics (this project is great for using up scraps!) But obviously you can choose whatever colours and patterns you like, you don't have to use the variety of fabrics that I did.

- Stuffing: I used polyester toy stuffing.

- Scissors

- Ruler

- Paper

- Pen/pencil

- Disappearing or 'magic' fabric pen

- Green felt or other material for the stalk

- Glue (for making the stalk)

- Sewing machine & matching thread

- Hand sewing needle

- Sewing pins

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Here you can see the fabrics I used, plus the sizes of the paper pieces I made my templates from.

The first image shows the shape of the final templates for each of the pumpkins.

Note that you can make your templates however large you want to.

Step 2: Pumpkin #1: Making the Template

I started with a piece of paper measuring 8 x 20 cm (approx. 3 x 8"). This size of template made a finished pumpkin that measured 10 x 15 cm.

Fold the rectangle in half, and then in half again.

With the folds along the left and bottom edges, draw a curved line as show in the photos.

The curve should go from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner. Try and turn the line into a vertical line as it nears the bottom-right corner - in other words, above the bottom-right corner the line should be vertical for at least 1 cm or so.

Cut along the line, through all layers.

Now you have your template.

Step 3: Pumpkin #1: Cut Out the Pieces

Now you need to use the paper template to cut out thefabric pieces. This pumpkin needs 6 pieces, and I cut 2 pieces out of each of my 3 fabrics.

Place the paper template a seam-allowance-distance away from the edge of your fabric. My chosen seam allowance for this project was 1 cm, but you can use 1/2" (or other similar amount) instead if you prefer.

Draw around the template using your fabric pen, then add your seam allowance around the outside and draw another line.

Cut out this shape.

Use this fabric shape as the template to cut out the other 5 pieces.

Note: if you like to follow a guideline when sewing, feel free to add in the lines a seam-allowance-distance from the edges of all of your fabric pieces.

As you may notice from the last photo, I labelled the 'top' of each template with a 'T' (even though in this design that's not necessary because the template is symmetrical), and I also cut off the 'points' of the fabric pieces to remove some fabric bulk. Make sure you don't cut off more than a seam-allowance amount from the pieces - stay a few mm outside of the inner lines you've drawn. If in doubt, leave it and trim off the fabric bulk later on.

Step 4: Pumpkin #1:Sew the First Pieces

If you are using different fabrics, decide what order you want those fabrics to be displayed in on the finished pumpkin, and keep that in mind when sewing the pieces together. We will be sewing the pumpkin in 2 halves and then joining the halves together.

Take 2 pieces of fabric that you want next to each other, line them up (right-sides-together), and then pin them together along 1 edge.

Sew all along this edge, a seam allowance distance from the edge. I used a 2.5 mm straight stitch.

Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end, and don't sew over the pins.

Step 5: Pumpkin #1: Complete One Pumpkin Half

Then you need to attach a 3rd fabric piece to the pair you just sewed together.

To do this, turn the sewn pair right-sides-out. Then place the 3rd piece face down on top - so 2 fabric pieces are right-sides-together.

Pin the 3rd fabric to the fabric piece below, along the open edge, not along the fold. Make sure the edges line up.

Ensure that you are only pinning 2 fabric pieces; completely ignore the piece of fabric on the bottom of the pile. You don't want to pin or sew that piece at the bottom.

Then sew along the edge you have pinned, the same as in the previous step.

You will now have 3 pieces sewn together in a line, which equals half a pumpkin.

Step 6: Pumpkin #1: Make the Other Half

Then repeat the above steps to join the other 3 pieces of fabric together- creating 2 halves of the pumpkin.

As mentioned before, think about the order you want the fabrics to go in before you sew them together.

Step 7: Pumpkin #1: Join the Halves

Make sure that one half of the pumpkin is right-sides-out, and the other half is wrong-sides-out.

Place these 2 halves together so that they are right-sides-together.

Line up the edges, then pin and sew along one edge.

Then pin and sew the remaining edge together, but make sure you leave a big enough gap in this seam so that you willl be able to put stuffing through it.

Then turn the pumpkin right-sides-out.

Step 8: Pumpkin #1: Stuff & Complete

Stuff the pumpkin until it is firmly filled.

Then fold in the edges around the gap in the seam, and pin in place.

Hand sew (using the invisible/ladder stitch) the seam.

I left a gap in the seam at the top, as I will be sewing the stalk into this gap, but you could instead sew up the entire seam and glue (or sew) the stalk on top.

To make the stalk, I simply cut out a rectangle of green felt, 3 cm wide, added glue and then rolled it up.

I pushed the stalk into the gap I left in the seam and hand sewed around it to attach it to the fabric.

If there is also a gap in the centre of the base, hand sew that closed too. If you would like to hide these stitches, feel free to attach a circle of fabric over the top (cut out using pinking shears to prevent fraying).

Then it's finished!

Step 9: Pumpkin #2: Making the Template

I started with a piece of paper measuring 11 x 21 cm (approx. 4 1/4 x 8 1/4"). This size of template made a finished pumpkin that measured 12 x 24 cm.

Fold the rectangle in half.

With the fold along the bottom edge, draw a straight line 2.5 cm from the right-hand edge.

Then draw a curved line which starts at the fold, travels a couple of cm up the vertical line, and then gently curves towards the top-right corner.

Then draw another curved line. This time it needs to go from the fold, along the left-hand edge for at least 1 cm, and then gently curve to the top-right corner.

Cut along these lines, cutting through both layers of paper.

You now have your template.

Step 10: Pumpkin #2: Cut Out the First Pieces

I'm using 5 different fabrics for this pumpkin, and I'll be cutting 2 pieces out of each one; so 10 fabric pieces is what you'll need in total.

As we did for the other pumpkin, you will need to draw around your paper template onto your fabric, and then add your seam allowance (in my case 1 cm) around the outside. Then cut out this shape.

Use this fabric shape to cut out a matching piece in the same fabric.

Step 11: Pumpkin #2: Sew the First Segment

Line up your first 2 pieces of fabric, right-sides-together, and pin along the outer curved edge.

If the fabric edges aren't meeting exactly, just use your scissors to neaten them up, removing as little fabric as possible. You want both pieces to be identical, and the curves to be nice and smooth, because we'll be using this fabric as a template later on.

Sew along this edge, backstitching at the beginning and end as usual.

Step 12: Pumpkin #2: Cut Out the Rest of the Pieces

Repeat the previous steps to make the other 4 pairs of fabric pieces ('segments').

Note: Use the fabric pieces you have just sewn together as the template to save you time.

Pin each pair together and sew along the outer curved edges. You will then have the 5 segments of the pumpkin.

Step 13: Pumpkin #2: Join the First Segments

Now you need to join the first 2 segments together.

To do this, turn 1 segment right-sides-out and place it inside another segment. This will mean that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other.

Note: If you are using different fabrics, plan what order you want them to be sewn together, and keep that in mind during these sewing steps.

Pin these 2 segments together along 1 edge - on one side only.

Sew along this pinned edge to join these segments together.

Step 14: Pumpkin #2: Join the Rest of the Segments

Then just repeat the same thing to join all 5 segments together.

So first, turn the already-sewn segments right-sides-out.

Then put one of these segments inside another unattached segment - they should be right-sides-together.

Pin along 1 edge on one side, so you're pinning through 2 layers of unsewn fabric only. Line up these edges as best as you can.

Then sew along this edge.

Make sure all segments are right-sides-out and repeat the same steps to add the 4th segment, then the 5th.

Step 15: Pumpkin #2: Stuff the Pumpkin

Pin and sew the last remaining seam between the 1st and the 5th segments - making sure you leave a gap in the seam that is large enough to put stuffing through.

At this point you can (carefully) trim off the pointed fabric ends to remove fabric bulk if you like.

Turn the pumpkin right-sides-out.

Stuff all of the segments individually, until firm, and then stuff the centre.

Step 16: Pumpkin #2: Finishing

Sew up the gap in the seam by hand using the invisible/ladder stitch. As with the previous pumpkin, fold the raw fabric edges inside first.

Then to make the stalk, I again glued and rolled up a long rectangle of felt. I used a 3 cm wide piece. I then added a circle of felt on top, and also glued a leaf shape to the side.

You can sew or glue the stalk to the top of the pumpkin to finish. I really love the 'poufiness' of this pumpkin shape!

Note: You could decide to leave off the stalk if you like and instead make a fun star-shaped pillow :)