Gemma 
To satisfy the autumn-loving gremlin inside of me, I wanted to make some seasonal decorations to celebrate the turn of the season and general leafiness. I decided to make some decorative pumpkins from some of the yarns in my stash, so that I had my very own, yarn-y pumpkin patch to bring out in the autumn months, year after year.
I thought this project would be a great way of trialling some of the amazing, free patterns out there for knitted/crocheted pumpkins. I wanted my pumpkins to have a variety of textures, colours and patterns, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out lots of different methods and styles. In total, I made 5 different pumpkins. In this post, I’ll go through all of the details for each pumpkin, link the patterns I used & share any amendments/changes I made.
I think it’s time for some pumpkins, don’t you?
Table of Contents
- Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey
- Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães
- Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry
- Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers
- Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel
- Final Thoughts
Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey
Craft: Knitting
Pattern: Wee Pumpkins by Susan Rainey.
Yarn: King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, in the shade Cinnamon (leftover from my Anthology Pumpkin Hat).
Needles: 2.75mm DPNs.
Stem Details: 5-stitch i-cord, made using King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply in Chocolate (023) on 2.75mm DPNs. I knitted 5 rows of i-cord, then pulled the yarn through the stitches to ‘cast off’.
Adaptations:
- Used fingering weight yarn instead of sport.
You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #1 here!
Thoughts on Pumpkin #1
- This makes a super small pumpkin. It’s SO cute, but a little flat.
- It’s quite easy to make the pumpkin ‘segments’ uneven by accident (I did).
- Pattern used BLCO for increases (not my fave method) and K2tog for decreases (a classic). This pattern, unlike some of the others, does include shaping, which gives the pumpkin a nice appearance.
Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães
Craft: Knitting
Pattern: Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães (large size, in-the-round version).
Yarn: Scheepjes Sweetheart Soft, in the shade 06 (leftover from a spontaneous mammoth amigurumi, made a while back for my soon-to-be sister-in-law).
Needles: 4.5mm circular needles (40cm).
Stem details: I followed a similar method to the stem of Pumpkin #5, using the same Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062), but made the stem a bit wider (24 stitches, as opposed to 12) to suit the larger pumpkin. Because of the larger stitch count, I worked an extra round of k2togs before finishing off.
Adaptations:
- Used fluffy, chunky weight yarn instead of worsted.
- I added stitch markers to mark where the purl stitches went on every round. This was super helpful, particularly at first, because the fluffy yarn is quite difficult to see/work with! It also made the knitting process much quicker/easier, because I didn’t have to keep double checking where I was in the round.
- I knitted the main piece until it measured 25cm.
You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #2 here!
Thoughts on Pumpkin #2
- I had planned to crochet a pumpkin using this yarn, but my GOODNESS it was hard to work with— it was a real struggle to feel where the stitches were! I decided to use it for a knitted pumpkin instead and it was MUCH easier.
- This particular pattern gave some very helpful information on the ratio between the length of the knitted piece and the height of the finished pumpkin (0.4 ish), which I was able to apply to all of my subsequent pumpkin-making endeavours.
- I LOVED the use of purl stitches as a guide in this pattern— it made dividing the pumpkin up evenly SO simple and easy.
Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry
Craft: Crochet
Pattern: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry (regular size).
Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK, in the shades Cream (1005) and Gingerbread (1806) (from my excessive stash of Stylecraft Special DK).
Hook: 5.0mm
Stem details: I made a basic, crochet stem for this one using a single strand of the Gingerbread yarn and a 3.0mm hook. The pattern is as follows (as always, UK terminology is used):
Round 1: Work 6 dc into a magic loop (6)
Round 2: 2 dc in each stitch around (12)
Rounds 3-7: dc in each stitch around
Fasten off yarn, leaving long end for attaching to pumpkin.
Adaptations:
- Used DK weight yarn held double, instead of worsted (obviously, this is not equivalent, so my pumpkin is a bit chunkier than it should be!).
- For the surface crochet, I worked all of the horizontal stripes on the right side, leaving 4 stitches between each one. For the vertical stripes, I alternated between working them on the right and wrong side (to add a bit of interest) and left 5 1/2 rows between each right-side, vertical row.
- I didn’t darn in the Gingerbread ends from the surface crochet, just used a needle to carry them right to the edge of the work, in the same chain pattern, then tied them off and caught them behind the work with the ‘cinching’ yarn (though I don’t actually think the pattern calls for darning in the ends either!).
- I used a few extra stitches as well as the ‘cinching’ method to close the pumpkin shut (because my fabric was so chunky!).
- I used the MC yarn (Cream), not the CC yarn (Gingerbread) to define the pumpkin ‘segments’. I think this looks a little more seamless.
You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #3 here!
Thoughts on Pumpkin #3
- Using DK held double was probably a bit thick— it worked perfectly everywhere except the top and the bottom, where there was a bit too much stiff material to gather it in properly.
- I really liked the effect and colour combo of this pattern!
Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers
Craft: Knitting
Pattern: Trio of Pumpkins by Sara Myers (Pumpkin #1 (Maroon & Beige Vertical Stripe)).
Yarn: Cascade Cantata, in the shades Cocoa (15) and Sand (16) (leftover from my Atlantis Sweater).
Needles: 5.0mm circular needles (40cm).
Stem details: Using the darker shade (Cocoa), I made a 4-stitch i-cord that was about 10cm long, then twisted it back on itself and secured it in that shape with a few stitches before attaching it to the pumpkin.
Adaptations:
- I used smaller needles than suggested (even though I actually used the right yarn weight with this one!) because I was worried about the stuffing poking through. I’m actually glad I did this— I think I could have gone even smaller because this pumpkin definitely has the loosest gauge of all of them!
You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #4 here!
Thoughts on Pumpkin #4
- I was a bit disappointed that my pumpkin wasn’t as ‘swirly’ looking as the pumpkin in the pattern photo? I’m not entirely sure how you could achieve that, and I do like the stripes, but it’s just not quite what I was hoping for.
- As I mentioned, I think I would use slightly smaller needles if I were to make this again— perhaps 4.0 or 4.5mm?
Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel
Craft: Knitting
Pattern: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel.
Yarn: Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, in the shade Citrine (118) (leftover from a project that I will be sharing soon!).
Needles: 2.75mm (DPNs and circular (40cm)).
Stem details: I followed the instructions for the stem from the pattern, but made it separately (as opposed to directly on from the pumpkin itself) and stitched it on after stuffing because I knew my pumpkin was a little more sparse at that end (because of my reduced row count) and wanted to stitch it together first! Like Pumpkin #2, I used Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062).
Adaptations:
- Used fingering weight yarn instead of worsted.
- After round 62, I jumped straight to round 103 to decrease the height of the finished pumpkin.
- I intended to follow the pattern from there as written, but I was playing yarn chicken, so, I ended up working rounds 103-108, then only worked rounds 110, 112, 115, 117, 119, 121, 124 and 126-134 (i.e. the ones with shaping/cables, plus a few extra rows, just until I was confident I had enough yarn!). I don’t recommend doing this, because (obviously) the top of my pumpkin was a little sparse, but it was nothing a little darning couldn’t disguise.
- I made the stem separately (so that I could fix the problems caused by my above fudging more easily).
You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #5 here!
Thoughts on Pumpkin #5
- I ran into SO MUCH trouble with this one at first, because I just couldn’t work out the increases vs the stitch count! Turns out you absolutely NEED to use an increase that doesn’t use an existing stitch (i.e. not KFB), otherwise the stitch count won’t add up right. I ended up using a combo of lifted increases and M1Ls.
- This pattern is a little bit fiddly to work up at the beginning and the end (when you’re on the DPNs), but becomes much more fluid on the circular needles.
- This definitely took the longest of all of my pumpkins— it involves a lot more knitting than the rest!
- If knitted as instructed (using worsted weight yarn/ and working the whole pattern), this pumpkin would be absolutely huge. Like, HUGE. If you want a massive pumpkin, this pattern is your friend.
- I absolutely LOVE the cable pattern and yarn colour.
- I’m also a big fan of the slip knot/crochet starting technique used in this pattern! It’s not a technique I’ve come across before, but I thought it was very neat and super snazzy.
Final Thoughts
I have to say, I really LOVE my yarn-y pumpkin patch. I think each pumpkin has so much character— they’re all so different and individual, but still all very pumpkin-y. I think that they make the perfect, autumnal decorations!
Overall, I think my favourite pumpkin is probably Pumpkin #5 (the Handsome Cable Pumpkin), which is funny because it was definitely the one that caused me the most grief as I was making it! I don’t think the written pattern is perfect, but the cable pattern is just so gorgeous, and the Fyberspates yarn is such a pretty shade of orange, I think it all came together really nicely (even with all of my fudging).
Sadly, I do think Pumpkin #4 (the Vertical Stripe Pumpkin) is my least favourite of the quintet. It just doesn’t have the same neatness (dare I say, elegance?) as the other pumpkins, and I was disappointed not to achieve the same swirly effect that the pumpkin from the pattern seems to have. I also think I could have knitted this pumpkin on even smaller needles, because it has a slightly more open fabric than I would have liked for a stuffed object.
Having said all that, I love all the pumpkins together and think they make a lovely, autumnal cluster! What do you think? Which pumpkin is your favourite?
Gemma
xxx
