Little pumpkin pattern

Height

12 cm

Gauge

21 stitches and 23 rows in 10 cm

Stitches

1998

You will need

• Worsted (4) yarn in the colours listed
• 3.5 mm crochet hook, or the size that matches your swatch
• Polyester fibre stuffing, yarn needle, stitch marker
• A: Orange
• B: Olive

Before you start

• Size depends on how tight you crochet. Fewer stitches per 10 cm makes a larger toy.
• Make a small test piece first. If it comes out larger than the gauge, try a smaller hook. If it comes out smaller, try a larger hook.
• A number in brackets at the end of a line, such as (24), is how many stitches you should have. Count them before moving on.
• Made a mistake? Pull the yarn gently to undo the stitches back to the mistake, then carry on from there.
• Toys are worked in a spiral, so rounds are not joined. Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round. When you come back to the marked stitch, the round is done: take the marker out, work that stitch, and put the marker in the stitch you just made. That is the first stitch of the new round.
• Keep your stitches tight so the stuffing does not show. A smaller hook than the yarn label suggests helps with this.
• Add stuffing a little at a time, and shape it with your fingers before closing a part.

Abbreviations

MR	magic ring. Make a loop with the yarn tail, work the first stitches into it, then pull the tail to close the hole.
sc	single crochet. Put the hook in a stitch, wrap the yarn, pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), wrap again and pull through both.
inc	2 sc in the same stitch. One stitch becomes two.
dec	invisible decrease: sc 2 together through front loops. Two stitches become one.

Pumpkin

Colour A (Orange). Work in a spiral. After the last round, cut the yarn leaving about 20 cm and thread it on a yarn needle. Take the needle through the front loop of each of the 6 remaining stitches, always from the hole outwards. Then pull the yarn to close the hole.

Rnd 1	6 sc in MR	(6)
Rnd 2	inc × 6	(12)
Rnd 3	(1 sc, inc) × 6	(18)
Rnd 4	(2 sc, inc) × 6	(24)
Rnd 5	1 sc, inc, (3 sc, inc) × 5, 2 sc	(30)
Rnd 6	(4 sc, inc) × 6	(36)
Rnd 7	2 sc, inc, (5 sc, inc) × 5, 3 sc	(42)
Rnd 8	sc around	(42)
Rnd 9	3 sc, inc, (6 sc, inc) × 5, 3 sc	(48)
Rnd 10	(7 sc, inc) × 6	(54)
Rnd 11	4 sc, inc, (8 sc, inc) × 5, 4 sc	(60)
Rnd 12	sc around	(60)
Rnd 13	4 sc, inc, (9 sc, inc) × 5, 5 sc	(66)
Rnd 14	(10 sc, inc) × 6	(72)
Rnd 15	sc around	(72)
Rnd 16	(11 sc, inc) × 6	(78)
Rnds 17–23	sc around	(78)
Rnd 24	(11 sc, dec) × 6	(72)
Rnd 25	sc around	(72)
Rnd 26	(10 sc, dec) × 6	(66)
Rnd 27	4 sc, dec, (9 sc, dec) × 5, 5 sc	(60)
Rnd 28	sc around	(60)
Rnd 29	4 sc, dec, (8 sc, dec) × 5, 4 sc	(54)
Rnd 30	(7 sc, dec) × 6	(48)
Rnd 31	3 sc, dec, (6 sc, dec) × 5, 3 sc	(42)
Rnd 32	sc around	(42)
Rnd 33	2 sc, dec, (5 sc, dec) × 5, 3 sc	(36)
Rnd 34	(4 sc, dec) × 6	(30)
Rnd 35	1 sc, dec, (3 sc, dec) × 5, 2 sc	(24)
Rnd 36	(2 sc, dec) × 6	(18)
Rnd 37	(1 sc, dec) × 6	(12)
Rnd 38	dec × 6	(6)

After round 36, add most of the stuffing. After round 37, check the shape and add a little more if needed. Then work the last round and close.

Stem

Colour B (Olive). Work in a spiral. When finished, cut the yarn and leave a long tail. You will use it to sew this part on.

Rnd 1	6 sc in MR	(6)
Rnd 2	inc × 6	(12)
Rnds 3–8	sc around	(12)

Leave the top open. You will stuff it lightly when you sew it on.

Assembly

1.	Shape the stuffing as you go. It should feel firm but still give a little, so the yarn can sink in and make the grooves. Then close the pumpkin.
2.	Cut about 240 cm of Colour A and thread it on a yarn needle. On the widest round (78 stitches), put a pin or stitch marker every 16 stitches. These 5 marks keep the grooves evenly spaced.
3.	Go in at the centre of the bottom and come out at the centre of the top, leaving a 15 cm tail at the bottom.
4.	Take the yarn down the outside of the pumpkin, over the first mark, to the centre of the bottom. Go in there and come out at the top again, then pull until the yarn sinks in and makes a groove.
5.	Repeat over each of the other marks, so the yarn goes around the outside 5 times. Pull with the same force each time, and check the shape after each pull. If a section looks larger, loosen the yarn and even it out.
6.	After the last groove, tie the two ends tightly at the bottom and hide them inside the pumpkin.
7.	Put a little stuffing in the stem so it stands up, without making it hard. Set the open end on the dip at the top and sew all the way around with the long tail, taking the needle a little deeper every few stitches so the stem does not wobble. Hide the end inside.

Stitches used in this pattern

• How to make a magic ring in crochet
• How to single crochet for beginners
• Crochet increase and invisible decrease