Happy Friday guys! In this post, you’ll learn how to crochet the Great Striped Pumpkin – a chunky striped crochet pumpkin. This is a great project for pumpkin lovers, or anyone looking for a cute and cozy way to decorate for Fall and Thanksgiving.
I’ve been crocheting for almost 6 years, and in that time, I’ve never attempted to make a pumpkin. Clearly I was missing out because I quickly became obsessed with crocheting pumpkins.
The only obstacles that stood in my way were a lack of yarn and a tight crafting budget. If I had an endless supply of yarn and an unlimited budget, I would make enough pumpkins to fill a room! Instead, I settled for 3 different pumpkins: The Great Crochet Striped Pumpkin, the Night of the Witches Pumpkin, and the Perfectly Imperfect Pumpkin.
Today, I’m excited to share the Great Striped Pumpkin with you! For this design, I used Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick yarn in the colourways Fisherman and Butterscotch. If you are all out of Wool Ease Thick and Quick, don’t fret. Any super bulky weight 6 yarn will work well for this pattern. Did I mention that this is a beginner friendly pattern that uses the half double crochet stitch and less than 100 yards of yarn? Let’s get started!
Other Crochet Patterns You’ll Love:
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Materials:
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Weight 6 Super Bulky (80% acrylic, 20% wool, 106 yd/ 97 m, 6 oz/ 170 g)
- Colour A: Fisherman (1 skein – used approx. 50 yds)
- Colour B: Butterscotch (1 skein – used approx. 50 yds)
- 6.5 mm crochet hook
- Scissors
- Yarn Needle
- Stuffing
- Small, thick stick for the stem!
A Cheaper Alternative to Buying Polyfill Stuffing in a Bag
My friend turned me onto a cheaper alternative to buying Polyfill stuffing, and I thought I’d share this hack with all of you. Polyfill is a type of stuffing – usually found in pillows – that crocheters use to fill their amigurumi, pillows, and pumpkins! Depending on how many ounces are included in the bag, Polyfill can range from $10 – $30+. Buying Polyfill on top of yarn can get expensive, so a cheaper alternative is buying a large pillow from Walmart. If you walk through the Bed and Bath section of Walmart, you’ll see a shelf of Polyfill pillows that range from $4 – $7. In these pillows you can get more Polyfill (sometimes double or triple the amount of stuffing) than you would from buying a 16oz bag of stuffing.
To stuff my pumpkin, I found an old pillow in our linen closet, cut it open, and took as much stuffing as I needed. I was able to stuff 5 pumpkins, and I still have more than half of the pillow stuffing leftover.
Pin this Chunky Striped Crochet Pumpkin – Here!
Construction of the Crochet Pumpkin:
This pumpkin is a lot easier to make than it looks! So let’s talk about how to put this pumpkin together, so there are no surprises as you work through the pattern. A picture is given for each of the 6 steps below.
- The pumpkin starts out as a rectangle, which is worked flat in short rows.
- Then, the rectangle is folded in half to seam the edges of the rectangle together. This creates a cylindrical shape.
- Next, we tackle the bottom of the pumpkin by weaving the yarn needle and yarn tail through every other row. Then we pull on the yarn tail to close up the bottom and secure it with a knot.
- The next step is to fill the pumpkin with stuffing before closing up the top!
- Then, we use the same weaving method to pull the top of the pumpkin closed.
- Finally, add a stick into the center of the pumpkin to complete the look!
Pattern Measurements:
Original Pumpkin Size:
- Height: 4″ Tall from Base to Tip
- Diameter: 6″ from one end of the pumpkin to another
Customizing the Size of your Crochet Pumpkin:
To customize the size of your chunky striped crochet pumpkin, there are a couple of things you have to know:
- #1: The length of your rectangle must be double the width of the rectangle. For example, the original pattern makes a rectangle that is 6″ wide by 12″ – 13″ long. Therefore, the length of the rectangle is twice the size of the width of the rectangle.
- #2: The height of the finished pumpkin is 2/3 the size of the width of the rectangle. For instance, the width of the rectangle is 6″ wide, while the height of the finished pumpkin is 4″. Therefore, 6″ (width) x 2/3 = 4″ (height). This means that your pumpkin will lose about 1/3 of its height during the shaping process.
Now that you know some of these mathematical pumpkin principles, you can easily customize the size of your pumpkin. The original pattern calls for chaining 17, which works out to a height of 4″ and a diameter of 6″. This is about a medium sized pumpkin.
To make your pumpkin smaller/larger:
- Chain until you are happy with the width of your rectangle. The initial chain will determine the height of your pumpkin.
- Remember that you will lose about 1/3 of the height when you begin to shape your pumpkin.
- Crochet the first row of your pumpkin/rectangle.
- Measure the width of your rectangle.
- Multiply the width by 2 to determine how long your rectangle needs to be.
- Continue to repeat Row 2-3 of the pattern below, until you have reached the desired length. Make sure to end on Row 2. It is okay if the length of your rectangle is slightly longer than it needs to be; however, it is not okay for the rectangle to be shorter than what it needs to be.
Carrying Yarn to Minimize the Number of Ends to Weave In
Crocheting a striped pattern is fun, but there are usually a million ends to weave in at the end of the project. To minimize the number of ends to weave in, you can use a technique called “carrying the yarn through”.
Step 1:
At the end of each row, we will be changing colours to create a striped pumpkin.
- To do this, work a half double crochet in the final stitch of the row.
- Before pulling through the 3 loops on your hook, drop the current yarn (white).
- Yarn over with the new colour (grey).
- Pull it through the remaining 3 loops on your hook to close the stitch.
- Turn your work and chain 1.
Step 2:
Now that we changed colour, we need to carry the second colour through the row, so that we can change colours again at the end of the row.
- To do this, make sure that you work each half double crochet stitch over top of the yarn strand that you are trying to carry.
- When you get to the end of the row, drop your current strand of yarn, and gently tug on the new colour to get rid of any bumps in your work. Repeat Step 1 to change colours.
Abbreviations:
- St(s) – stitch/stitches
- Ch – chain
- Hdc – half double crochet
Gauge: 11 Hdc Sts x 7 rows = 4″ x 4″
Pattern:
Notes:
- The beginning ch 1 does not count as a st.
- To minimize the number of ends in this project, try carrying the yarn through the project. There is a tutorial for carrying yarn and changing colour above.
- This chunky striped crochet pumpkin is worked as a rectangle, before it is seamed together and stuffed to give it shape.
With Colour A, ch 17
Row 1: Hdc in second ch from hook, and in each ch across. Turn. (16 hdc)
Row 2: With Colour B, ch 1, hdc in each st across. Turn. (16 hdc)
Row 3: With Colour A, ch 1, hdc in each st across. Turn. (16 hdc)
Rows 4 – 22: Repeat Row 2 – 3, alternating between Colour A and B.
Fasten off, and leave a long tail (approximately 30″) to seam the pumpkin together. Weave in all ends except the long tail.
Seaming the Pumpkin Together
To sew the pumpkin together, we will be using a technique called the whip stitch. If you are unfamiliar with this stitch, there is a great tutorial by Wool and the Gang to help you here.
Fold the rectangle in half, making sure that the rectangle is facing right-side up. Thread your yarn needle with the long tail, line up the edges of the rectangle, and begin whip stitching across the edges. You should have a total of 16 whip stitches – 1 whip stitch for every half double crochet stitch.
Shaping the Chunky Striped Crochet Pumpkin
Bottom of the Pumpkin:
Stand the “pumpkin” up, so that it resembles a cylinder. Insert your yarn needle into the nearest row and pull the tail through. Continue to weave your yarn needle and yarn tail through every other row, until you reach the beginning of the circle. Pull the tail until the circle scrunches up and closes. Weave the needle through to close the tiny hole and secure it with a knot.
Insert the needle into the center of the bottom and pull it through until the tail comes out the other side (top of the pumpkin).
Top of the Pumpkin:
Stuff the pumpkin with Polyfill until you are happy with the amount of fluff inside.
Insert your yarn needle into the nearest row and pull the tail through. Continue to weave your yarn needle and yarn tail through every other row, until you reach the beginning of the circle. Pull the tail until the circle scrunches up and closes. Secure it with a knot.
Shaping the Crochet Pumpkin:
- To shape the pumpkin, insert your needle into the top center hole, and pull the tail through to the bottom of the pumpkin. Pull tight.
- Insert your needle and yarn tail from the bottom center out of the top center hole. Pull tight.
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, a total of 3 or 4 times, or until you are happy with the look of your pumpkin. Play around with your pumpkin and fluff to achieve an imperfectly perfect pumpkin look.
Final Touch to the Crochet Pumpkin:
Add a small, thick stick through the small hole you’ve left in the top of the pumpkin. If the hole is too large, sew it closed with the remaining yarn tail, and secure it with a knot.
Tip: If your stick isn’t completely secure, use a bit of hot glue to hold it in place!
And You’re Done!
Congratulations! You’ve made your first Great Chunky Striped Crochet Pumpkin. I hope it’s a nice addition to your Fall decor. If you loved this pattern, please share it, so that others can make it too!
Disclaimer: You are welcome to sell items that you’ve made from this pattern; however, you are not allowed to use my pictures or sell my pattern as your own (Copyright @ ThisPixieCreates).
Thank you guys so much for following along. I can’t wait to see what your pumpkins!
Love, Dayna
