Halloween Fabric Pizza Pan Pumpkins

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Halloween celebrations are upon us and for my son, there’s no better way to start the magic than to decorate.  I pulled out our two big bins of decorations that stretches a few generations… lampshades, candles, tablecloths and treat pails.  I picked up a new banner this year for our fireplace and decided to expand on a years-old craft that I had a lot of fun with.  These pizza pan pumpkins are a snap to make, with a little stuffing, you can create soft toys the kids can play with all season long!

The last time I was at the fabric store, I languished over the seasonal quilting cottons; I eventually picked up three yards of the Nightmare before Halloween fabrics, because they are so fun! Red loves Jack Skellington as much as I do, but know if they had Hocus Pocus fabric I would have bought the entire bolt!  (Snag your own Jack Skellington Fabric here on Amazon!) You can make at least two pumpkins from one yard, depending on how large or small you like your fabric-shaped gourds. 

So why are they called Pizza pan pumpkins?? Because you use a pizza pan to trace the fabric – that simple.  BUT, since we’ve moved, I could NOT find my metal pizza pan anywhere.  No matter! I grabbed my pizza stone instead for a large, round template to trace.  You can use a pizza pan, or just draw a large perfect circle.  For a pumpkin you can hold in one hand, you’ll want the circle to be at least 13″ across.  Use a sharpie to trace; you won’t be able to see the line in the finished product. 

Using button thread (it’s MUCH thicker than regular thread), weave back and forth along the edge of your circle.  Stay about 1/4″ away from the edge to prevent unraveling and fraying.

As you work along your circle, you can start to pull the fabric together and scrunch it up. You’ll start to see something like this:

When you’ve worked all the way around the circle, a pouch starts to form.  Don’t close it off quite yet. There’s more work to be done!  Keep the hole large enough to put your hand inside the fabric pizza pan pumpkin.

Grab some stuffing or polyester fiberfill.  The stuffing I used dries easily if we encounter a spill.  It’s just a few dollars at the craft store or Amazon, and you’ll have PLENTY for crafts here and later.  Grab a few handfuls and stuff your pumpkin until you’re happy with the firmness.  Word to the wise, go heavier rather than lighter in terms of density.  Your pumpkin will sit nicer. 

After stuffing your pizza pan pumpkin, pull your thread strings TIGHTLY.  Knot or tie off the thread and clip the ends.  Your pumpkin should not lose any stuffing.  The top will look like this: 

Next, warm up your hot glue gun.  Grab a couple of dead branches from your yard and hacksaw off 1-2″ pieces.  These act as your stem! Hot glue the bejesus out of the top of the pumpkin, and lay your stem on, holding until it dries.  Don’t worry about being messy; this, too, will be covered. 

Now snatch some leaves of an artificial stem.  You can use silk ivy, oak or even fall colored leaves.  Just suit your preference.  I find that the ivy gives a more vine-like look, though my fall leaves are a welcome difference on my Jack pumpkins! Hot glue one around the stem base, and then decorate the top as you see fit, using hot glue. 

Next stop, the porch, mantel or Halloween vignette!  I love having these decorations around because my kids can’t hurt them, they are fun to squish, and the fabric choices make it easy to match any decor.  Grab your pizza pan and make these fabulous pizza pan pumpkins, direct from me on Redhead Baby Mama!