Tuesday Tutorial-The Pumpkin Pin Cushion
Good Morning, Quilters!
We have a different sort of “Tuesday Tutorial” today…I was waylaid by Halloween and a wonderful tutorial offered at Fiskars for an adorable pumpkin pin cushion. After making several pumpkins, I made a few changes to make it easier and add a bit more detail.
So today I offer my own version:
Most of the supplies are things you have right in your sewing room…
Begin by cutting 4 inch squares of orange fabric.
For each pumpkin you will need eight squares.
Choose 4 squares for the bottom and stitch the 4-patch.
Press the seams open.
Choose 4 squares for the top of the pumpkin.
This is going to be stitched a little differently…
For the second seam in the 4 patch, leave an opening.
This seam is left open for stuffing the top of the pumpkin.
WHY?
The original pattern recommended leaving an opening in the circle for stuffing the pumpkin, however, it is very difficult to slip stitch this seam neatly (see below)…
We can hide the slipstitching in the center top of the pumpkin with leaves and stem!
Place the 4-patches, right sides together and trace a circle for stitching.
Vary the diameter of the circle from 4 inches to 7-1/2 inches for a variety of pumpkins.
Stitch the entire circle.
Trim the excess.
Turn right side out and stuff with fiberfill.
Add lavender if you like…(I always do!)
Slipstitch the top of the pumpkin.
Choose a heavy weight thread like Aurifil cotton 12 wt to create the contours in the pumpkin.
Stitch on the seam lines pulling gently into the center.
Then divide the pumpkin into eight sections. 
Now comes the FUN PART!!!
Free motion quilt a few leaves, echo stitching three times around the outer edge.
Cut closely around the leaves, leaving a little stem on the bottom for fastening onto the pumpkin.
Use two or three leaves per pumpkin.
Tack the leaves in place.
Another FUN PART…
Go for a walk and find some gnarly sticks and vines (I found a grape vine with dried twisty vines)
Or use a cinnamon stick…
Use a hot glue gun to attach the stems.
I promise, you won’t want to stop with two…
Don’t worry…these adorable pumpkins make great table decorations, pin cushions, gifts….
Then we can try them in red…
Next week: A FREE MOTION quilt Tuesday Tutorial–Promise!
Happy Stitching from my Pumpkin Patch to YOURS!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
For more step-by-step tutorials and skill building exercises, check out my books:
Very cute! I’m thinking these will make great retreat gifts for my bee. Thanks!
What a really great idea! Thanks for this nice tutorial!
Greetings from Germany,
rike
Love these pumpkins and your tutorial! Thanks.
Love the pumpkin pin cushion! Thank you for the great pictures, they really make it helpful to follow along and demystify the process. Looking forward to making one with my sister.
So adorable… your stems are perfect too. Easiest method I’ve seen.
That was a great tutorial. Thank you Lori.
So cute!! 🙂 I’ve got to make a bunch of these!
Those are so cute – thanks for the great tute!
I love it
Love this! How cute!
Thanks these are adorable
These are adorable. I love the leaves.
These are too cute!!!
Thanks so much for the easy to follow directions!
So darn cute! Love the gnarly sticks and vines you added. I have to find an area to go for a walk and find some too. It just adds so much to the pumpkins.
Thank you for the suggestion to use a “gnarly stick” for the stem. There are just tons of tutorials online for pumpkins (i.e. velvet, etc.) that say, “glue a pumpkin stem” to the top! Where do you buy pumpkin stems????? Thank you very much, I will look for gnarly sticks. Those, I can find.
What a great idea. Thank you for sharing with us.
I’m working on last week’s pumpkin today.
Love your pumpkins! Carla is also excited to make these. When you finish your pumpkin pincushion and to add more pumpkin to your life- add pumpking puree, cinnamon and a little sugar to vanilla yogurt. Sit back and enjoy your pumpkin patch!
LOVE Them. love everything about them. Stems and all.
I love the tuesday pumpkin. Plan to make a few!
When I make pin cushions I like to stuff them with crushed walnut shells which you find at pet supply stores (in the bird or lizard sections. Thank you for your version of the pumpkin.
Great idea!
Great idea…though I wonder how it will look when you stitch the pumpkin into sections. Let us know please.
Love it! Great idea to leave the opening at the top instead of the circle (that never looks good).
Bring a couple over tomorrow Lori! HA HA! KEK
Love this idea, thanks for sharing! Now to see what orange fabrics I might have!
In the Fiskars tut they just ran the thread through the center and down the middle. Did you sew the lines on these? They look more real and neater the way you did them and I agree with stuffing through the top. We can always count on you to make things better, easier and more fun! Thanks Lori!
No. I only stitched the circle.
Adorable gonna go make one right now :0)
Super cute. Great tutorial. Total #CreativeGoodness.
QuiltShopGal
http://www.quiltshopgal.com
This is at the top of my to do list for Oct. TKS
These are so adorable…thanks for the tutorial!!!!
this looks like so much fun, I gotta try it Thanks Lori
Thank for reworking the pattern for us. It’s a great project!!
Very, very cute! I especially enjoyed the part “Go for a walk…”. Thank you!
I’m definitely going to make several of these. Too cute!!!
I just made this sweet little pin cushion, not so neat looking as Lori’s but I am still pleased.
Very cute. If you are a vegetable gardener you nay be able to break off the stems of your smallest butternut squash and use those as your pumpkin stem !!!
Love these! I can’t wait to make some!
These are too cute!!
Thank you for sharing. Happy Autumn!!
Thanks for this! These are the cutest pumpkins I’ve seen — can’t wait to make a bunch and fill a basket with them!
Thank you for the step-by-step tutorial to make these adorable pumpkin pincushions!!! I love them!!!
Love these! Going to make some tonight, as soon as I walk the dog!
So adorable. Thank you for sharing your version.
Lori, I searched your blog for a tute for those leaves but couldn’t find one – did I miss it? I will try to wing it but your tutorials are so detailed so I was hoping to find step-by-step instructions. Thank you!
thanks for posting this year, so very cute, and easy…maybe AFTER one of the projects in the notebook is finished….will be great for Thanksgiving
Thank you for such a cute tutorial!
Thank you, Lori. I love the pumpkin pincushion and have moved making one to the top of my priority list!
I’ve made this type of pin cushion before, but not as a pumpkin – great idea, thanks:)
Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing!