This really is such an easy way to make a crochet pumpkin, it’s an ideal project for a complete beginner, and I’ll bet that once you’ve made your first one, you’ll want to go on and make a whole pumpkin patch full of them!
What Makes This Crochet Pumpkin So Easy To Make?
The reason it’s such an easy pumpkin to crochet, is because you don’t need to worry about crocheting in the round, this little beauty is made with a simple rectangle of crochet!
Yep, just 20 stitches in each row for 27 rows!
The Stitches Used For Making A Pumpkin
US crochet terms are used.
We’re keeping this one very simple, so the only stitches we’ll be using are;
Chains
slip stitch
Half Double Crochet. To do a half double crochet;
- Yarn over, and insert the hook into the next stitch.
- Yarn over, and pull up a loop, you will have 3 loops on your hook
- Yarn over again, and pull the yarn through all 3 loops on the hook.
Things You Will Need To Make A Crochet Pumpkin
Yarn – For the pumpkin body and the stem
Darning needle
Scissors
Toy stuffing – If you haven’t got toy stuffing, you can use yarn ends, (I save all my yarn ends to use as stuffing) You could also use the stuffing from an old pillow, or even old clothing cut up into very small pieces.
I love to use what I have, rather than having to pay out for more craft supplies, so repurposing something I already have always makes me happy!
You can use any yarn type or color that you like… I have used everything from chunky acrylics to the finest cotton, and they’ve all looked fab!
These are great for stash buster projects as they only use a small amount of yarn.
As for the colors, well I know a lot people like to do the more traditional fall colors like orange, but I like to do other colors too like bright reds, blue, purple, or any other color that I have available.
How To Crochet A Pumpkin In Different Sizes
If you want to make pumpkins in a different size to the one below, or a series of different sized pumpkins, it’s really very easy.
In the example below, we have started with a chain of 21 but you can change the size by making less chains for a smaller one and more chains for a bigger one.
Then continue in the same way as below, by measuring how wide the rows are and continuing to crochet more rows until the length measures twice as long as the width.
You can make really tiny pumpkins by using very thin yarn, or big ones with chunky yarns.
If you want to make your pumpkin even smaller, you could use single crochet, instead of the half double crochets in the example below.
Photo And Video Crochet Tutorial For A Pumpkin
I have created a step-by-step photo tutorial for you here, but if you need further help, I have also recorded a video tutorial which you can find at the bottom of this page which I hope you will find helpful.
How To Crochet A Pumpkin
To start off we’re going to make a chain of 21 – Making sure to leave a tail of yarn about 12 inches long. (We will use this later to sew the sides together)
ROW 1 – In the 2nd chain from the hook, do a half double crochet, and then do a half double crochet in every chain to the end. You will have a total of 20 half double crochets.
Chain 1 and turn your work.
ROW 2 – In the very first stitch do a half double crochet, but in the back loop only. I’ve marked with the red arrow where you need to go in with your crochet hook. (see image)
This image shows the 1st half double crochet, and the red arrow shows where to do your 2nd half double crochet.
Continue this row by making a half double crochet in the back loop only in each stitch across.
You will have a total of 20 half double crochets.
Chain 1 and turn your work.
This is how it will look after doing your first 2 rows.
Now we are going to repeat row 2 until we have our finished size.
I like to do it so it’s twice as long as it is wide.
For example, this one measures 11cm across for my 20 stitches… So I continued until the length of mine was 22cm… In this example, that was 27 rows.
Fasten off, but make sure to leave a very long end of about 30 inches. (We are going to use this end later to sew the ends together and to wrap around the pumpkin to give it some shape)
Using the shorter tail end from when we did our starting chain, sew the 2 shorter sides together .
Using the long tail, sew around one of the open ends with a simple running stitch and then pull the end closed.
To keep the end closed, sew 4 or 5 stitches backwards and forwards across the join. DO NOT CUT THE YARN.
Push the yarn need through to the other end ready to sew after stuffing.
Stuff the pumpkin with your choice of stuffing and then close this end the same way as the first one. STILL DO NOT CUT THE YARN.
To give our pumpkin some shape, push down into one end to give a dip, and then push the darning needle down into the dip and secure the thread on the bottom end with a couple of stitches.
Push the needle back up to the top side and repeat the above step to give it a more defined dip to the centre of the pumpkin. STILL DO NOT CUT THE YARN.
Take the yarn from the bottom of the pumpkin and wrap it around to the top, and then sew it down into the centre to create the segments around the pumpkin… Keep doing this until you have as many segments as you like… I usually make six segments. NOW YOU CAN FASTEN OFF THE YARN 😃
Easy Crochet Pumpkin Stem
To make the stem, choose a contrasting color yarn.
Make a slip knot and chain 4, then slip stitch into the first chain to form a circle.
Do 8 single crochet into the circle and join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet.
Chain 1, then keep doing single crochet all the way around in a spiral until your stem reaches the length you want for your pumpkin.
Measure the stem against your pumpkin, and when you’re happy with the length, sew it in place.
That’s your pumpkin finished!!
I’ve made loads of them in all sorts of colors, but they don’t stay with me for long because everyone wants them as soon as they see them! 🥰😂
I hope you enjoy making yours as much as I did!