Easy DIY Pumpkin Decor for Fall

It’s fall! Are you ready to make some easy DIY pumpkin decor out of velvet or satin to decorate your space? I know I am! We’ve been pulling out the fall decorations and scents and are ready to celebrate the season.

The leaves are turning yellow, red, orange, and gold. There’s finally a chill in the air, I’m listening to a lot of Loreena McKennitt music, and Grandpa’s giving the kids giant warty pumpkins and Indian corn to decorate our front porch.

Let me say it again, it’s fall!! Autumn is easily my favorite season, and I LOVE pulling out the scarves, earth-tone sweaters, and pumpkin spice soaps and candles.

The Velvet Pumpkin – Super Easy DIY Pumpkin Decor

It’s also that time of year when the catalogs start pouring in from the mailbox, and I’ll admit I look forward to seeing all those fall colors and holiday preparation guides.

There’s one catalog, in particular, I read from cover to cover and look forward to receiving multiple versions of every fall. This year I prepared my mug of tea and snuggled in on the couch after the kids had gone to bed to enjoy my catalog (it’s the little things).

One item that jumped out at me was a beautiful burnt orange velvet pumpkin, and of course, that voice in my head said, “Oh! I would love several of those to put around the fireplace in the living room!”

Then I looked down at the dollar mark, and the sensible voice from the other side of my mind countered with, “That’s silly. You could easily make those for a quarter of the price!” The next day, I shared this idea with my 8-year-old daughter who thought it was a fabulous plan, and we got to work! So here we go, easy DIY pumpkin decor…

Make your easy DIY pumpkin decor

1. To begin, gather your craft supplies together

You know you’re going to be at a craft, fabric store, or even Wal-mart to get costumes ready. Pick up a couple things for yourself while you get everything ready for the kids.

• Velvet, satin, or other fabric
• Thick green or brown fabric that does not unravel for the stem
• Needle and thread
• Fabric scissors
• Measuring tape
• Stuffing or newspaper
• Sharpie or another permanent marker

2. Cut out a circle of fabric

After you have your supplies set out the fabric you’ve chosen for your first pumpkin. I tried several, and if you can get some burnt orange velvet or velveteen, you’ll get sort of a vintage look. Other fabrics work great too, such as satin or simple cotton.

Fold your fabric in half so you only have to cut out a half circle. Then take your tape measure and mark a 9-inch radius. Basically, you’ll have 9 inches from the center of your circle all around.

In order to do this, I placed my tape measure at the folded edge and used a Sharpie to mark 9 inches all the way around the half circle. For a smaller pumpkin try 7 inches or for a larger just increase to 12 inches or whatever you like.

Once your pattern is marked, cut out your circle and unfold it.

2. Gather and sew your pumpkin

Now, take your needle and thread it with a thread at least a similar color to the fabric.

Then knot the end of the thread and begin to sew about half an inch from the edge of your circle. Weave the needle back and forth to make half-inch stitches.

Don’t forget to tighten the stitches so it gathers the fabric as you stitch around the entire circle of fabric.

You’ll see it start to look like the picture below, sort of a hat or little purse shape.

As you finish going around, leave the last several inches loose so you have a big enough hole to fill your pumpkin with filling or newspaper.

3. Stuff the diy pumpkin decor craft

While I don’t get a physical newspaper anymore, my parents get one daily. If you have any sitting around, this is a great way to reuse them! For a 9-inch radius pumpkin, I used 5 double sheets of newspaper wadded up and stuffed them into the empty pumpkin velvet skin.

Use more or less to your preference, but shape it as you go. If you prefer, you can use the poly or pillow stuffing from your local craft store (or here on Amazon if you want – Poly-Fil Fibre Fill).

Next, tighten the stitches and knot and finish off your thread so it looks like the picture below. In the center, you should have the perfect small hole for the stem to fit into.

4. Cut out the stem

Once the pumpkin shape and fabric is secure, take your stem fabric and cut out a right triangle (a triangle with one 90-degree angle) or as close as you can get.

It definitely doesn’t have to be perfect as you can see from my example below! I used about a 5 by 10-inch right triangle.

5. Make the pumpkin stem

When the triangle is cut out, begin from the wide end. Roll it up tightly so it spirals up and the stem is thick at the bottom and becomes thinner the taller it gets.

6. Attach the stem to your easy DIY pumpkin decor

You’re almost done! Again, thread your needle folding the thread in half to make it double strength.

Next, tuck the edges of the velvet pumpkin fabric inside. Then sew from the stem to the velvet pumpkin fabric about half an inch from the edge. The extra half-inch is what’s pushed down inside the pumpkin to make a clean edge.

Sew all around the stem, from the stem to the velvet each time, to secure the stem. If the pumpkin will be used and thrown around by kids you may want to sew around the stem twice!

7. Finish the pumpkin stem

From here on the finishing touches are up to you! If you like the stem as it is, leave it that way. I trimmed mine down and sewed the tip closed on this pumpkin, as you can see in the picture.

Also, I bought some ribbons to attach around the stem but then decided I preferred the plain and simple. Play around with it, be creative, but have fun!!

Enjoy the season!

Do you love fall as much as I do? Then I really hope you try this project out and have fun with it. It is pretty easy for a sewing project, and even my 8-year-old daughter was able to do almost the entire thing herself. You don’t even need a sewing machine.

She did need a little help sewing the stem to the pumpkin, but that was it! You know, they also make great gifts. My son took one (very proudly) to his preschool teacher, and said maybe she’d like to put it on her desk. She loved it, and it made his day.

While you’re in the fall spirit, light those pumpkin spice candles, plan a fall hike in the mountains, find a new book, buy some new hot teas, and pull out your favorite sweater. Well, at least that’s what I plan to do!

What other fall traditions do you and your family have?

Craft supplies for easy DIY pumpkin decor:

• Velvet, satin, or other fabric
• Thick green or brown fabric that does not unravel for the stem
• Needle and thread
• Fabric scissors
• Measuring tape
• Stuffing or newspaper
• Sharpie or another permanent marker