Hand-Sewn Liberty Fabric Pumpkins in Tana Lawn
Ellie created these charming Liberty fabric pumpkins using Thorpe and Tana Lawn plains in warm autumn shades of orange, purple and lilac. This seasonal sewing project is perfect for beginners — the pumpkins are hand-stitched without a pattern, and she also made matching Liberty fabric coasters. Lovely handmade gifts or autumn table decorations from cotton fabric scraps.
“I started working at Alice Caroline just over three months ago as a non-sewer. I didn’t even know what a fat quarter was but being surrounded by such gorgeous fabrics and being immersed in the culture of Alice Caroline, I was soon tempted to give it a go!”
“I’m a big fan of Halloween and autumn and love decorating for the season. As soon as I saw these fabric pumpkins popping up on social media, I just knew I had to make some.
Choosing what fabrics to use was just as fun as the actual project. Thorpe L was the one fabric that stood out to me and I think it’s perfect as it has some lovely warm, autumnal oranges and reds. I paired this with some Tana Lawn plains. I chose Aubergine O, which is a deep purple and Wisteria P, a much lighter lilac. The plain orange is Pumpkin I so I obviously had to use this too!”
“I sewed these by hand and didn’t follow any particular pattern, but for the big pumpkin I cut 8 strips of fabric approx 13”x 4.5” for the ‘segments’ and sewed the lengths together to create a large rectangle. I folded this in half, sewed the short sides together and then did a simple basting stitch at the top, which I then pulled tight to gather and close the fabric so I was able to stuff the pumpkin. To create the segments, I used some string (you could also use embroidery thread) and fed this through the bottom of the pumpkin and out the top and pulled tight. The pumpkin stalk is made of felt that I hot-glued into the centre – this also hides the threads! I topped it off with a gingham bow (not Liberty but I love gingham!). The smaller pumpkins also make great pin cushions!”
“After making the pumpkins (and being slightly obsessed with sewing new things), I saw a glorious Pumpkin Coaster pattern on Instagram by @zeriano. I used the same Liberty plains but this time with Amelie F. Again, I chose this because it had that autumnal look and I loved the hints of pink. I also made some matching four square coasters too.”
“My collection of fabrics is now growing by the week and I’ve dug out my old hand-me-down sewing machine from the shed and haven’t stopped practicing my sewing skills since!”
It’s so lovely to see a new sewer at work – I wonder what Ellie will make next..
