DIY Knit Pumpkins

DIY Knit Pumpkins

Preparing for the holidays for me means DIY projects, to answer the question, “how am I going to set the table this year” ? This post give great DIY instructions for knit pumpkins.

Looking for ideas on Pinterest almost always produces and couple of good ideas. A nice photo of a couple of knit pumpkins led me here to the Sitting Tree blog which offered a free knitting pattern for little pumpkins that I could not resist.

My yarn stash was full of beautiful fall colors, so I didn’t even need to purchase any new yarn. I had lots of sizes of double point needles and decided to vary the size of the pumpkins with needle size, yarn thickness and tube length. This example shows the use of double threads, knitted as one. Cast on 12 stitches to each needle, leaving a 8″ tail. Knit 5, purl 1, knit 5, pearl 1 across the first needle using a forth needle that will now hold your row. You simply rotate the needles around the circle. Continue in the above pattern on each needle, around the circle until you reach the desired length. My pumpkins varied between 3″ to 5″ long tubes to give you an idea.

Deciding how long you want your tube will determine the height of the knit pumpkin. Cut about an 8″ tail to use for closing the bottom.

Once the tube is the length you want, take your needle and pull off the stitches one by one until the the 8″ tail goes through all the stitches on the 3 needles.

Now pull the yarn tight so the circle at the bottom of the pumpkin is closed.

It’s time to flip your knit pumpkin inside out so the purl ridges are on the outside.

Stuff the shell with fiberfill and close the second end with a running stitch around the top edge with the yarn left from the cast on.

Tighten the end and then plunge the needle all the way through the fiberfill to the other end and tie a knot. Do this again with the first end to create a knit pumpkin shape instead of leaving it looking like an orange apple. You can’t believe how effective it is to constrict the centers to each other.

Here you can see the pumpkin shape that is created and also the little i-cord stem that is sewn into one of the dimples.

Here is my little knit pumpkin patch ready to set a festive mood on the Thanksgiving table. Don’t you love how the different sizes, shapes and colors create a life like, yet texturally rich pattern? If they were all the same yarn and size, the little guys would look like they were made by machine and sold by the dozen. Making your own in much more fun.