Learn how to make adorable felt pumpkin crafts! Your felt pumpkins will make the perfect decor for a dining room table or your window sill! This project is super easy, and can be used in various fun & creative ways (scroll to the end for some ideas). If you are looking to bring the gorgeous colors of autumn into your home, then this DIY craft is for you!
Fall is in the air & the world is dressed to impress! I don’t know about you, but Autumn is absolutely my favorite season. With cooler temperatures and colorful trees, everyday is perfect for hoodies, flannels and baked goods!
I kicked off the season by adding pumpkins to my front porch! For many homeowners, there is a special joy in decorating their home for the season. Watching Mother Nature change the planet while we all try to compliment her artwork is one of the many small blessings of life.
I believe Autumn is the perfect season for reflection, love, and healthy life changes. Autumn is also a time to bring people together and to celebrate friendships, family and community.
To get into the Fall spirit, I invited my friend Kayleigh over for a day of felt pumpkin crafts! I personally believe that making crafts with friends is the perfect way to celebrate the Autumn season!
Soon, the weather will cool down, and depending on the snow accumulation in your area– you might be spending a lot of time alone. So, definitely spend some time to get your fall crafts in while sharing the joy with your loved ones!
craft-time!
Kayleigh is an arts teacher and makes the best crafts! Recently, she saw some felt pumpkin crafts at a local store. After seeing the price, she realized that she could probably make one herself.
So, Kayleigh and I decided to make our own felt pumpkins at home, and by the end, we both agreed– they were super cute, substantially cheaper to make, and much higher quality than the ones at the store. However, most importantly, we had a blast making them together!
Felt Pumpkin: Materials List
To begin your DIY felt pumpkin project, please make sure that you have all of the materials. For this project you will need:
- Template: Pumpkin Body & Stem
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue Stick
- Orange string
- Orange Felt
- Threading Needle
- Stuffing
You also can use different felt colors or strings to add variety to your pumpkins. For example, you can make felt pumpkin crafts that have a variety of fall colors! For this project, I am sticking to the traditional orange!
Pre-Work: Cut the Felt to Shape!
To start, take the pumpkin body template and stem template and trace it onto the felt! You will need six cut-outs of the pumpkin body, and two cut-outs of the pumpkin stem!
After cutting out all of the pieces, stack them on one another to make sure that the sizes match! You may need to trim a little to get the perfect shape! Note: Do not worry if the black lines from your felt tracing is visible– it will be sewn in later on.
Step 1: Sew two Pumpkin Body pieces together (on one side)
Take two of the pumpkin body pieces, and touch them together at the tip. Make sure that the outlined part is facing inward. Then, sew on the edges using a slip stitch (or ladder stitch) method.
To do this, use an embroidery thread and needle! Using your orange thread, you will thread the needle and tie a knot at the end of the thread. Then, you will bring the needle out through the fabric from the inside of the fold of the hem, so that your end knot stays hidden. (Look at the picture above for context).
Next, position the needle across from the exit point of the first stitch, so that it goes back through to the inside of the opposite fold. You want to bring the two sides of fabric together at the same points on each side.
Then, moving ⅛ inch forward, you will bring the needle back around the same side, and move it across both pieces of felt.
This process is a lot simpler than it reads, but if done correctly, your stitch should match the bottom image on Step 1. If this is your first time hand-stitching, then check out Instructables for a tutorial!
Note: You can also speed up the process by using a sewing machine!
Step 2: Add another piece of the Pumpkin body to the other two pieces!
You should now have two pieces of the pumpkin body sewn together. Hold up your sewn piece, and open it up like a mouth! Then, add your third piece to the top upper-lip piece of your felt! The image above (step 2), models exactly how you should hold the felt.
From here, complete the same directions in Step 1, and create another slip stitch. If you run out of string, you should easily be able to make a final knot and then pick up from the same spot when you have more string.
Step 3: Continue Stitching until you run out of Pumpkin Body pieces!
By now you should have a good hang of the slip stitch! Essentially, you will continue adding the unsown pumpkin body pieces to the now growing pumpkin exterior. As a rule of thumb, make sure to keep the traced part of your template to the interior of the pumpkin. You will need to keep stitching until you are almost done with the sixth part.
When you get to the last (sixth) pumpkin body piece, you will need to stop stitching about 3 inches from the end! For a clean look to your felt pumpkin crafts (or any felt craft using this method), you will want to flip it inside out.
Using the small 3-inch slit, push the stitched side into the hole until you have completely inverted the felt pumpkin. You will now have a cleaner exterior with a lot less stitch marks visible on your pumpkin!
Step 4: Fill the base of your Felt Pumpkin
Congrats on completing the exterior of your felt pumpkin! Now comes the fun part (or at least when you start to see the pumpkin come together). You have two options here–fill a quarter of your pumpkin with either some dry rice or dry beans.
I personally prefer the feel and look of beans in the pumpkin, but you can use other items at home as well! By filling the base of your pumpkin, it will be heavier and a lot more stable to use as a decoration piece.
Step 5: Stuffing & Stitching
After you have a solid base, you should fill up the remainder of the pumpkin with stuffing. Kayleigh and I used the stuffing from an old pillow to fill up our felt pumpkins! You will want to fill your pumpkin as much as possible for a nice firm and sturdy look!
Once the exterior of the pumpkin is filled, you will need to make some final stitches to completely seal up the pumpkin! At this point, the exterior of your pumpkin is complete!
Step 6: Stem & Design
Once the body of your felt pumpkin craft is done, you will want to sew the stem pieces together. Use the same stitching technique as before! Kayleigh decided to add an optional stitch design to the bottom of her stem for some added character! Regardless of what design you go for, do not stitch the bottom shut! The stem should be hollow on the inside, so that you can fill it with stuffing!
After sewing, pack the stem with stuffing! Then, heat up your glue gun and attach the stem to the top of the pumpkin!
Once you have glued your stem to the top exterior– you should have a gorgeous felt pumpkin crafted by YOU!
Felt Pumpkin Crafts & Other Ideas
- You could add black felt cut-outs to decorate your pumpkin to look like spooky carved Halloween pumpkins!
- I used my felt pumpkin crafts as decor for my dining room table! However, you could easily pair the pumpkins with other Autumn goodies to decorate a mantle or use it as a centerpiece!
- You could give your DIY felt pumpkin to each one of your friends using their favorite colors of felt! Or, you can give it to your loved one with a little note that says, “You’re Gourd-ous!”
- Felt pumpkin crafts can also be used as an adorable seasonal needle holder! Or, you can stick notes and reminders into your little pumpkin!
- You can also make a quick felt vine, and attach it to your pumpkin. Then, each vine could have a little name hanging off of it! This craft could be used as a place card for a fall wedding or for your Thanksgiving table seating!
- Or, you could just place the pumpkin on your dogs head, as he wonders what in the world you are doing! In the end, the crafting ideas are endless!
Let us know if you tried this craft! How did it go? Did you design it differently? If so, share your end product with us and we may feature you!
Otherwise check out some other fun decor projects like: Treat Yo Shelf & Inspired by Moroccan Blue.