Two columns of grinning pumpkins joined edge to edge, with green leaf clusters filling every gap and forming a leafy edge all the way round. It is loud, it is unapologetic, and it is the best Halloween thing I make.
The faces are worked as separate black pieces and sewn on. You can carry black through an orange motif with tapestry crochet, but the orange goes muddy where the black floats behind it and the triangles never come out sharp. Sewn on, they are crisp.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in bright orange, a deeper orange, black and olive green.
Around 200 g of bright orange, 60 g of deep orange, 60 g of black and 120 g of green.
A 3.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want a blocking mat, rustproof pins and a tapestry needle.
Finished size is about 100 cm long and 30 cm wide, from fourteen pumpkins in two columns of seven.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, MR is magic ring, sp is space.
Part 1. The pumpkin motifs, make fourteen
Worked in joined rounds. Each finishes at about 14 cm.
In deep orange.
Round 1. MR, ch 3, 12 dc into the ring, join (12)
Round 2. 2 dc in every stitch, join (24)
Change to bright orange.
Round 3. Dc, 2 dc in the next, repeated around (36)
Round 4. Dc twice, 2 dc in the next, repeated around (48)
Change to deep orange.
Round 5. Dc three times, 2 dc in the next, repeated around (60)
Change to bright orange.
Round 6. Dc four times, 2 dc in the next, repeated around (72)
Round 7. Sc in every stitch around, which firms the edge.
Round 8. Skip one stitch, work 5 dc into the next, skip one, sc into the next, repeated around for a scalloped rim. Fasten off.
The alternating orange rounds are what give the pumpkin its ribbed look without any post stitches. Keep the deep orange rounds narrow, one round each, or the motif starts to look like a target.
Stem. In green, ch 5, sc across (4), work four rows. Roll into a short tube and sew to the top of each motif.
Part 2. The faces
Make fourteen sets in black.
Eyes, two per pumpkin. Ch 8. Sc in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next 2, hdc in the next 2, dc in the last 2. Turn and work back along the top decreasing to a point. Fasten off. That gives a rough triangle with one sloping edge.
Nose. The same over a chain of 5, smaller.
Mouth. Ch 16, sc across (15). Work a second row. Then, on the top edge only, work three ch 3 points spaced along it to make the jagged teeth, and shape the two ends into upward curves by working sl st into the last few stitches.
Sew the eyes on at an angle, sloping inwards towards the nose. Angled eyes give a grin. Level eyes give a blank stare, and the whole face reads as sad rather than mischievous.
Sew the nose between and below them, and the mouth across the lower third with the corners turned up.
Part 3. Green leaf clusters, make about thirty
These do two jobs. They fill the diamond shaped gaps where four pumpkins meet, and they form the edging.
In olive green. 6 sc in MR. Then into each stitch work sl st, ch 4, sl st into the second ch from the hook, sc in the next 2 ch, sl st into the same stitch, for six narrow pointed leaves radiating out. Fasten off.
Make about eighteen of these for the gaps and another twelve as half clusters for the edges, worked the same way but over only three or four stitches.
Part 4. Joining
Lay all fourteen pumpkins out in two columns of seven and check the alignment before joining anything.
Join with bright orange, working sl st through the back loops of the scalloped rims where two motifs touch. Join each pumpkin to its neighbour across a span of at least three scallops.
Every pumpkin should end up joined to at least three others, except the four at the corners which will have two. Short joins are what let a two column runner twist along its length.
Where four pumpkins meet you will have a small diamond gap. Sew a leaf cluster into each one, catching it to all four motifs. Those clusters are structural as well as decorative and they stiffen the whole runner considerably.
Part 5. The leafy edge
Sew the half clusters around the entire outer edge, sitting in the notches between scallops, spaced evenly.
Let them stick out past the outline rather than sitting flush. The ragged green edge is what stops the runner looking like a grid of circles.
Part 6. Blocking
Block the finished runner hard. Pin the columns straight, open every scallop and flatten every leaf point.
Do not block the faces flat if they have puckered. Instead, unpick and resew that piece with looser stitches. Black cotton sewn tightly onto orange will pull the fabric no matter how you block it.
Notes and variations
Make half the pumpkins with different expressions, some surprised with round eyes, some scowling. A row of fourteen identical grins is less fun than a mixed crowd.
A cream and grey version with ghost faces instead of pumpkins works from the same motif.
Four motifs in a block make a placemat, and a single one makes a coaster.
Questions I get asked
Why do my faces look sad? The eyes are level. Angle them so the inner corners sit lower than the outer ones.
Why is my runner twisting? Short joins. Three scallops minimum per join, and make sure the corner motifs are properly anchored.
Can I work the faces in as I go? You can, but the black floats show through the orange and the triangles come out soft edged. Sewn on is both easier and sharper.
Can I use acrylic? Cotton blocks better, and bright orange acrylic tends to look plasticky.
How long does it take? About eighteen hours.