knitted pumpkins diy

I'm not sure when I decided to make a knitted version of the pumpkins that Danielle Thompson came up with for this diy, but I do love how they came out! And they were really easy - and if you have much experience as a knitter, they don't take long to whip up, either. 

I do have to mention that I'm much happier with the orange pumpkin - which is made from a wool blend yarn as opposed to the acrylic that I used for the aqua colored one. I generally stick with natural fibers when I knit, but happened to have some of the acrylic laying around from a previous craft project. And, just in case you're wondering - this fabulous orange patterned paper is from Pink Paislee. YUM. Can't wait to use in on a project!}

Knit the pumpkin in the round according to the following instructions. As you can see - I love tiny needles. The tight stitch that I get makes me happy. I've included the instructions for both the large and smaller pumpkins.

Knitted Pumpkin Pattern

cast on 40 stitches to circular needles, leaving a good 12" tail for later

rows 1-20: knit

row 21: knit 3, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 22: knit

row 23: knit 2, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 24: knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 25: knit

row 26: knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row. Clip yarn, leaving about a 4" length. Pull through remaining stitches and tuck the excess yarn inside the top of the pumpkin.

The instructions for the aqua pumpkin are identical - just slightly larger.

Cast on 60 stitches.

rows 1-30: knit.

row 31: knit 3, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 32: knit

row 33: knit 2, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 34: knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row.

row 35: knit

row 36: knit 2 together. repeat for the entire row. Clip yarn, leaving about a 4" length. Pull through remaining stitches and tuck the excess yarn inside the top of the pumpkin.

Now we get to stuff our little pumpkin!

Assembly instructions:

Using a heavier gauge yarn, cut a 4-6" piece and tie into a loop.

Push the loop through the top hole left in your knitted piece:

Keeping the knot inside.

Now stuff your pumpkin:

I use bamboo fiber. a.) because I like how firm it feels. b.) I'm all about eco-friendly. And Make sure you stuff it nice and tight. When I finished this one, I thought it could have used just a bit more stuffing.

Thread the yarn tail that trailed from your beginning cast on, onto a big, sharp, scary needle.

I have no idea why mine has a flat tip. Let's just say it came in a variety pack, and that's all I could put my fingers on when I was putting this together.

Run a stitch around the bottom to close the opening:

Tie closed.

Now cut a nice long length of yarn and thread on your needle:

And get ready to make the "spines" of the pumpkin.

Poke your needle straight through the pumpkin, from the bottom through to the top. Try to avoid the stem that you've added already:

Pull through and stick the needle through

And poke the needle up through again, bottom to the top:

Continue to create all of your spines. Make sure that you're pulling firmly as you go to create them:

I usually loop through about six times, to create seven little sections.

When you're final loop through is complete, catch one edge of the bottom and loop through.

and tie a knot

Pull tight and clip your yarn.

All done!

And ready to make your home pretty!

Have fun making your pumpkins - and be sure to let me know of any questions! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend

***note: this pattern is only intended for personal use. Not to make items to sell. Please respect the time and effort it took to develop this. Thanks!***