We’re putting our fiber arts skills to the test to make crochet pumpkin decorations for the fall!
For this DIY, you’ll need:
- Yarn in the color you want your pumpkin to be
- Twine
- Crochet needle for the size of your yarn (we used size I)
- Scissors
- Blunt needle
- Stuffing
To make your very own crochet pumpkin, follow these steps:
Step one: We’re going to start by making a slipknot. Take some of your yarn from your yarn ball and loop once over your crochet hook. Insert the crochet hook into the center of the loop. Then, use your hook to grab more yarn and pull it through the center of the loop. The loop on the crochet shoot should be tight, but still loose enough to slide up and down the hook.
Step two: After making your slipknot, you’re ready to “chain” 17 loops. “Chaining” is your establishing loops for your crochet piece. To chain, take your crochet hook, loop your yarn once around the hook, and pull through your slipknot. Once you’ve done 17 loops, you’ll do one more for the “turnaround” so you don’t lose a stitch.
Step three: When you’ve chained 17 and added one extra, we’re going to start making a single stitch. This is one of the most basic stitches in crochet. To do a single stitch, insert your hook into your next loop, loop your yarn once around your hook (this is called “yarn over”), then pull your yarn through the stitch. You should have two loops of yarn on your hook. Then, loop your yarn over one more time, and pull your yarn through both loops.
Continue doing this step until you’ve passed through all 17 original chain loops.
Step four: Once you’ve completed your first row, remember to add a stitch. Then, flip your work over so you can crochet the opposite way. Remember to do this each time you come to the end of your line. This helps create the bumpy “pumpkin” effect.
Step five: Continue the single stitch, back and forth 33 times.
Step six: Now that you’ve got 33 rows of stitches, you’ll want to tie a knot at the corner of your now rectangle. The way we do that is to make a loop with your yarn, then put your yarn ball through the loop and pull it into a knot. Make sure you leave an extra long tail to tie up the sides.
Step seven: Fold your rectangle in half and start sewing the ends together with your extra long tail and blunt needle.
Step eight: Once you have a cylinder, take your needle and yarn and weave the yarn back and forth through the edge’s stitches. Then, cinch the yarn so you create a bottom for your pumpkin. Take your yarn and needle, and stitch up through your new bottom of your pumpkin, so your extra yarn is sticking out the top.
Step nine: Stuff your pumpkin as much as you’d like with your stuffing. Once you’ve done that, take your needle and yarn and do the same weaving technique as step eight. You can take your needle and yarn and go back and forth through the middle of your pumpkin to secure it.
Step ten: Now that you’re done with your pumpkin base, take your twin and crochet a stem! Start crocheting with a slipknot in step one, then chain 10. Once you’ve chained 10, and left an extra chain to turn around, start doing a single stitch for one row only. Again, leave a long tail so you can stitch it into the pumpkin.
Step eleven: All done with your stem? Take the stem’s tail and stitch it through the middle of your pumpkin, and back up. Tie together the loose ends, if needed, and cut any extra twine off.
For an experienced crocheter, this project can take about an hour. For a beginner, this project may take a few hours.
Crocheting takes practice, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it the first time! There are plenty of YouTube videos out there, as well, that you can use to walk step-by-step through a single stitch.
If there’s a craft you’d like to see the Katies do, email them to katywashburn@910mediagroup.com or katiebirecki@910mediagroup.com
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