Making Velvet Pumpkins

Ok, a couple of years ago, I visited a friend's home and she had the prettiest little velvet pumpkins.  I have been on a quest to have some of my own ever since.  I searched on line and found several but a little pricier than I was interested in.  Then I searched Pinterest and You Tube and found several people making these little guys.  So I thought I would take a shot myself.

Here is my finished product

And here is what you need to make them: A bag of stuffing, needles, thread, fabric, dried pumpkin stems and a glue gun.  When I went to the fabric store, the real velvet was still more than I wanted to invest.  So I went with this fabric that looks a lot like it but is much less in price.  The fabric is called Panne.  I got a yard of white, rich gold and olive. But there are several color options so you could choose what you like best.

I bought these longer doll needles because you need one that has some length to it.

And I ordered these real dried pumpkin stems from Etsy.  There is a really big market for these and lots of options out there.  Just search Etsy for dried pumpkin stems.  

Once I gathered all the supplies here is how I put them together.

First, cut yourself some circles out of the fabric.

I just free handed these.  Real pumpkins are far from perfectly round so I thought it was safe to just cut out some random circles.

Then thread your needle with your thread.  Make sure it is a strong thread because we are going to be tugging on it pretty hard and we do not want it to break.  I used a heavy duty quilting thread.  Then I made big loose stitches all the way around the circle

Once I had all the stitches in, I started to  pull the thread tight and it gathers up into a nice little pumpkin pouch

Then stuff it with the fiberfill

And pull the thread until the hole completely closes.  Then make several stitches thru where you pulled it closed to secure it.  Tie a couple of knots to make extra sure it is going to stay.  Then cut off your thread.

Put a small amount of hot glue where you want your stem to go.  Because these are real stems, they have very unique crooks and hooks. So before you glue test out which one works best for the size pumpkin you just created.  

Hold the stem in place for a few minutes to allow the stem to completely set.

It took me about an hour to make all of these

I still had a little fabric left.  I could have made 2-4 more but I was all out of stems.

I loved the way they turned out.  And next week I will show you how I am using them in a great table setting.

Make yourself a little colorful pumpkin patch.  The possibilities are endless.

Have a wonderful weekend.