Autumn is the time of year I really get back into crafts. Maybe it has something to do with all those years of going back to school, collecting objects for the nature table, making leaf rubbings and chestnut animals. Or maybe it is because the evenings are growing dark and it just feels right to be snug and cosy inside with a project or two on the go.

Over the past few weeks we’ve done some crafts with the children – walnut ladybirds, felt bags and paper toadstools, to name a few – but in the evenings when they are sleeping soundly I have been doing my own crafts – crocheting, making felt flowers and fiddling about with fabrics.

Inspired by some fabric pumpkins I spotted in my Instagram feed last Thursday, I decided to put some of my fabric remnants to use and have a go at making my own fabric pumpkins. Luckily I had everything I needed here in the house and was able to pursue my spur of the moment idea.

Making the pumkpins was so much quicker than I had imagined. In the space of an hour and a half I had made three, and that was at a leisurely pace while watching TV. Using a sewing machine for the first part makes it all quite fast, but if you don’t have one or couldn’t be bothered dusting it off, you can easily sew it by hand.

You can make them as large or as small as you like. The key thing to remember is that your fabric has to be twice as long and wide, e.g. 20 x 40 cm. The pumpkins shown in the photos here were made with 25 x 50 cm rectangles of fabric.

What you’ll need:

Rectangles of fabric

Strong thread or fine twine

Wadding or soft toy filling

Twigs / Sticks

Ribbon or twine

Hot glue gun

Per pumpkin you need to take one rectangle of fabric and fold it in half, right sides together, to a square. Using the sewing machine or by hand with backstitch, sew a straight line along the edge where the two ends join.

By hand, use a tacking stitch to stitch along on the the other ends then pull the thread so that the fabric puckers up. Secure the end and turn the fabric right side out. You should have a little bag.

Fill the bag with balled up wadding or with soft toy filling, making sure to stuff as much in as you can. You want your finished pumpkin to be nice and plump.

To close the pumpkin, fold the top edge of the fabric inwards and stitch around the whole of the top of the fabric with a tacking stitch as if you were tacking a hem. Then pull the thread to pucker the fabric, like on a drawstring purse. Secure the thread with a knot.

Using doubled thread or fine twine, divide the pumpkin into six sections. You can do this by securing the thread or twine with a stitch at the top of the pumpkin and again at the bottom, pulling the thread tightly to draw in the fabric and filling. Repeat until you have six sections.

Use the hot glue gun to stick a twig or short stick at the top of the pumpkin as a stalk. You can tie a short length of ribbon or rough twine around the stalk to give a more rustic look.