Crochet Pumpkin Amigurumi Free Pattern Beginner Friendly

Kitchen windowsills make a cosy spot for the crochet pumpkin amigurumi, whose burnt orange ridges glow beside green pothos leaves. Thanksgiving hosts can line easy crochet pumpkins down the table as handmade place markers and bring them back out every fall.

Ridged stitches and a real twig make up the whole crochet pumpkin amigurumi. No face. No sewing. Bulky orange yarn, worked round and round, then stuffed. Set it on a shelf or a table. The pumpkin amigurumi is the shortest autumn decoration you will hook this year.

Crochet Pumpkin Amigurumi

Real wood makes up the stem, pushed into the centre of an orange body that sits low and wide like a squashed disc. Deep ridges run from the top down the sides, formed by the texture of the stitch rather than by cinching the whole thing with yarn afterwards. Bulky yarn keeps those bumps raised and holds the shape without much stuffing. No face here, no limbs, nothing sewn on. Parts come down to one worked piece and a twig you find yourself. Beginners can handle the body, since it is mostly the same stitch repeated round after round, and fitting the stem takes nothing more than a firm push.

Beginner Technique Notes

Read this section if double crochet or working in rows is new to you.

Starting Chain and Foundation Row

This pattern begins with a chain rather than a magic ring. Make a slip knot, then chain 16. Your first row of double crochet works back along this chain. The starting chain counts as the foundation, and the chain stitches serve as the stitches you crochet into for row 1.

Double Crochet

A double crochet is taller than a single crochet. To work it: yarn over, insert hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through the remaining 2 loops. One DC complete. This stitch creates the height that gives the rectangle its body.

Turning at the End of a Row

Unlike working in rounds, rows require you to turn the work at the end of each row to work back in the other direction. At the end of a row, chain 3 (this counts as your first DC of the next row), then turn the piece so the unworked stitches face you. The chain-3 you just made stands in as the first stitch of the new row. Begin the row by working a DC into the second stitch from the chain, not the chain itself.

Folding and Slip Stitching

After the rectangle is complete, it folds lengthwise — meaning the short ends of the rectangle come together to form a tube. The long edges become the top and bottom openings. The fold is closed by slip stitching along the edge to form the seam of the tube.

Gathering

Gathering means weaving yarn through a row of stitches or a raw edge, then pulling the yarn to draw those stitches into a tight cluster. This is how the top and bottom of the pumpkin close — the open tube ends are drawn closed like a drawstring bag. Gathering does not require counting stitches precisely; it requires pulling evenly.

Ridging Through the Centre

Once the pumpkin is stuffed and both ends are gathered, a needle loaded with yarn is passed straight through the body from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, several times. Each pass compresses the stuffing slightly along that path and creates the segmented look of a real pumpkin. The more passes, the more defined the ridges.

Materials and Tools

• Medium weight acrylic yarn in orange (or your chosen pumpkin colour)
• 5 mm crochet hook
• Polyester fiberfill stuffing
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• A small stick for the stem (a twig, dowel, or skewer works)
• Hot glue

Abbreviations

• Ch: chain
• DC: double crochet
• Sl st: slip stitch

Pieces List

One piece: the rectangle, which becomes the entire pumpkin body. The stem is a physical stick, not crocheted.

Approximate Size and Time

Estimates based on medium acrylic at a 5 mm hook.

• Finished size: approximately 3 to 4 inches tall and wide after stuffing and gathering
• Working time: approximately 45 minutes to 1.5 hours
• Difficulty: true beginner — only double crochet rows, folding, and gathering

The Pattern

Foundation

• Make a slip knot
• Ch 16

Rectangle Body

• Row 1: DC in the 4th chain from the hook, DC in each remaining chain across, turn Checkpoint: you should have a row of DC stitches along the foundation chain. Count them — you should have 13 DC. If you have more or fewer, re-count from the 4th chain from the hook.
• Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as first DC), DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 3: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 4: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 5: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 6: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn

• Row 7: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 8: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 9: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn Checkpoint: roughly halfway through the rectangle. Laid flat it should look like an orange tile or index card — wider than it is tall at this point, with clean straight edges. If it is curling, your tension is uneven.
• Row 10: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 11: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 12: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 13: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn

• Row 14: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 15: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 16: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 17: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 18: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across, turn
• Row 19: Ch 3, DC in each stitch across Checkpoint: the finished rectangle — 19 rows of DC. It should be taller than it is wide now. The rows run vertically, which is important — when folded, these rows become the ridges on the outside of the pumpkin.
• Ch 1, fasten off leaving a very long tail for assembly

If rounds and stitch counts look confusing right now, don't stress! The video tutorial below walks you through this plushie step by step.

Assembly and Shaping

• Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, so the short ends meet and the open long edges become the top and bottom of the tube
• Sl st along the short-end seam to join the tube Checkpoint: you now have a hollow tube. The long open edges are at the top and bottom. The seam running vertically will be hidden at the back of the finished pumpkin.
• Ch 1 and fasten off
• Turn the tube inside out so the seam is on the inside
• Thread the long yarn tail onto the needle
• Weave the needle in and out through the stitches around one open edge (the bottom)

• Pull firmly to cinch the bottom closed Tip: pull evenly all the way around rather than pulling one section more than another, otherwise the base will pucker to one side.
• Stuff the pumpkin firmly through the top opening, pushing filling toward the sides and into the base
• Weave yarn through the stitches around the top opening
• Pull firmly to cinch the top closed
• Pass the needle straight through the centre of the pumpkin from top to bottom, then back up, several times
• Pull firmly on each pass to press slight indentations into the stuffing and create the segmented pumpkin ridges Checkpoint: the ridges should be visible as slight depressions running from top to bottom. The pumpkin should look like a real pumpkin viewed from the side, not a ball. If the indentations are not holding, the stuffing is too loose — add more filling and try again.
• Secure and hide the yarn tail

Stem

• Apply a small dab of hot glue to the centre of the gathered top
• Press the base of the stick into the glue and hold until set
• Trim the stick to a natural stem length if needed

Stuffing Guide

• The pumpkin needs firm stuffing to hold the gathered shape at both ends and to take the ridge impressions cleanly.
• Use small pinches of fiberfill rather than one large piece — this fills the curved sides of the tube more evenly.
• After stuffing and before closing the top, press the sides gently with your palms to even out any lumps.
• Overstuffing before closing the top will make the gathering stitches pull unevenly and may leave gaps at the centre. If the top is difficult to cinch shut, remove a small amount of filling.
• The ridging step will compress the stuffing slightly, so err toward firmly stuffed rather than moderately stuffed before starting the ridge passes.

Toy Safety

This pattern contains no safety eyes or small attached parts. The only potential hazard is the stick stem attached with hot glue. If this pumpkin is a decoration rather than a toy that is meant to be given to a child, it is fine as designed. If a young child will handle it, replace the stick with an embroidered or crocheted stem shape to eliminate the pointed end.

Frequently Asked Questions

• My rectangle has more or fewer stitches than expected after row 1. The 4th chain from the hook is where the first DC goes — not the 3rd or the 2nd. The 3 chains before it count as the turning chain, not a stitch. Count your DC stitches across row 1 and you should have 13. If you have 14, you crocheted into the turning chain by mistake.
• The tube will not stay round after stuffing — it keeps collapsing to one side. The stuffing needs to be pushed firmly into the base and sides before the top is closed. Once the top is cinched, redistributing the filling is much harder. Before closing the top, stand the stuffed tube on its gathered base and check from the side — it should look like a cylinder that is only slightly round. The ridge passes will compress it into a better pumpkin shape.
• The ridges I pressed in are not showing after I release the tension. The yarn passes need to be pulled firmly and the stuffing needs to be dense enough to hold the compression. Try more passes through the same line — three or four passes along the same track deepen the ridge more than a single pass. If it still will not hold, the stuffing is too soft. Remove the stem if it is already glued and add more filling through the top opening before re-closing.