An autumn centrepiece built from small crocheted pumpkins arranged in a basket. Each pumpkin is about 3 1/2 inches across, so the piece comes together from several quick components rather than one long project.
What you need
Worsted weight yarn and size 3 crochet cotton, C and I hooks (or the sizes that give you gauge), a wooden basket, natural raffia, two artificial sprigs of harvest bouquet, polyester fibrefill and a tapestry needle.
The two yarn weights do different jobs: the worsted makes the pumpkin bodies, and the finer cotton makes the stems and vines, which need to be thinner to look right in proportion.
Shaping the pumpkins
The ridges are what make a crocheted ball read as a pumpkin. They are made after stuffing, by taking a long strand of yarn on a tapestry needle, passing it from the base up through the centre to the top and back down the outside, then pulling to indent the surface. Repeat that six or eight times evenly around.
Pull each strand to the same tension. Uneven pulls give a lopsided pumpkin, and it is easier to get right by working opposite pairs – one strand, then the one directly across from it – than by working round in order.
Stuff firmly before adding ridges. A soft pumpkin collapses when you tighten the strands.
Colours
Orange is obvious, but a basket of mixed colours looks considerably better than a uniform one. Cream, pale green, deep russet and a soft grey-blue all read as real pumpkin varieties and make the arrangement look considered rather than novelty.
Assembly
Bed the pumpkins into the basket on a base of crumpled paper or a block of foam so they sit at the height you want rather than sinking. Tuck the raffia and harvest sprigs in around them last, filling gaps and softening the edge of the basket.
