Crochet Pumpkin Home Decor: Easy Fall Crochet Guide

Design guide: This article explains construction and styling choices. It is not a complete stitch-by-stitch pattern; use a numbered pattern suited to your measurements when making the project.

Crochet pumpkins get their shape from a gathered fabric tube and strands that divide the stuffed body into lobes. You can change the proportions without changing the basic assembly: a short, wide tube creates a squat pumpkin, while a taller tube creates a rounder one.

Make a Ribbed Rectangle

Choose a yarn with enough stitch definition to show the ridges. Work a rectangle in rows of single crochet through the back loop, using one turning chain that does not count as a stitch. The starting chain sets the height of the pumpkin body; the accumulated rows set the tube's circumference.

Before cutting the yarn, roll the rectangle into a tube and check the proportions. Leave a long sewing tail. Join the first and last rows to form the tube, aligning the edges rather than forcing an extra row into the seam.

Gather and Stuff

Run a strand through the stitches around one open end and draw it closed. Secure that end, then add stuffing through the other end a little at a time. Rotate the body as you fill it to avoid one hard lump. Gather the second opening and secure it.

Use enough filling to support the shape, but leave the surface soft enough to indent when you add the lobes.

Divide the Body into Lobes

Take a long matching strand from the top center through the bottom center and around the outside. Repeat at evenly spaced positions, tightening each strand gradually. Check the shape after each pass so one lobe does not become much smaller than the others.

Add the Stem

Sew a small crochet stem over the top gather. Keep it separate from the tensioning strands so it cannot loosen the body's closure. A coiled crochet vine or flat leaf can be attached as a decorative finish. These pumpkins are household decorations; keep stuffing and loose decorative parts inaccessible to young children.

For another small decorative project, try the mushroom guide.