Pumpkins have long been one of my favorite things to recreate in fabric, fiber, floss, paper, wood, crayon, papier maché, goo, interpretive dance… whatever. And every year I have plans to knit up a bunch of pumpkins to display at this time of year. But the closest I’ve ever come is making pumpkin hats for my nieces and the babies of some of my friends:
You’ll have to take my word for it that the Jack o’ Lantern hat is a lot less creepy in real life. Jinkies!
Anyway… in the meantime, here are five pumpkin patterns on my wish list of knitting patterns (and the first three on the list are free!). Someday, I will knit these up and they will be mine. Oh yes, they will.
- These Pumpkins by Jordana Paige from the Fall 2005 issue of Knitty are really simple to make and bonus — felting!
- I also really like this variation on the standard pumpkin pattern. “Fall Pumpkin” by Sarah Hawkins of Lavenderlime Knits calls for variegated, chenille, and novelty yarns, and then you add actual cut-off stick as the stem. Finally a way to combine gardening and knitting–I know we’ve all been waiting for that! Lots of possibilities here, and a great way to use up that oddball yarn (or odd ball of yarn) you can’t figure out what to do with.
- And then there’s this adorable little Pumpkin Pie Amigurumi by Miss Dolkapots Krafties.
- This “Pumpkins on a Vine” stranded colorwork cowl by Thea Eschliman is gorgeous and I love the variegated orange yarn. The pattern calls for an inside sleeve which you can do in any contrasting color you want, which is like having a reversible cowl. For sale on Ravelry.
- And, finally, a twofer from Erin Black: Chevron Pumpkins and Cable Knit Pumpkins (for sale on Ravelry and Etsy). These are my absolute favorites.
Tomorrow, I will bring you part II of my two-part series: It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherstitchers!
The Lyf So Short 