Rather than carving a face into a pumpkin, crochet the features and attach them to the surface. It is a neat solution to a real problem: a carved pumpkin starts collapsing within a few days, while an uncarved one with appliqués on it lasts for weeks.
Why this works better than carving
A carved pumpkin is open to the air and rots quickly, particularly indoors. An intact pumpkin keeps for a month or more. Appliqués give you the decoration without breaching the skin.
It is also considerably safer with children involved, and the appliqués can be kept and reused next year on a new pumpkin.
Attaching them
Straight pins pushed through the crochet into the pumpkin flesh are the simplest method, and they leave the pumpkin usable afterwards. Use pins with visible heads so you can find them all when you take the decoration down.
Avoid hot glue directly onto the pumpkin – it will not hold well on a damp waxy surface, and it makes the appliqués hard to remove intact.
For a foam or ceramic craft pumpkin, glue or velcro dots both work and give a cleaner finish.
Making the features read
Black against orange is the strongest combination and reads from a distance. Keep the shapes bold and simple: large triangular eyes, a small triangle nose, a wide curved mouth. Fine detail disappears at any distance and is wasted effort.
Work the appliqués tightly. A loose crochet shape will not hold a clean triangle edge, and the outline is what makes the face work.
Sizing
Cut a paper template and hold it against the pumpkin before crocheting. Features that look right in your hand are often too small once they are on a large round surface – the curve of the pumpkin takes up more area than a flat measurement suggests.
Storage
Store them flat in a labelled bag. They take up almost no space and are ready to use again next October.
