Mickey Jack-O-Lantern Pincushion

Project/Craft

Let's get a little crafty by making a Mickey jack-o-lantern pincushion. It can also be used as a Halloween decoration if you don't have the need for a pincushion.

Tools & Materials

To get started, you will need to download the pincushion templates.

Then, collect the following materials. Be sure to read the assembly instructions first so that you can modify the materials list to your liking.

For your convenience, we have provided affiliate links to the materials. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying products.

Assembly Instructions

Step 1

Cut out a rectangle (20cm x 33cm) from your orange fabric and fold it in half length-wise with the front/pattern side (if your fabric has one) on the inside.

Sew a seam along the open end, 1/4″ from the edge, to create a tube. You can use a sewing machine to do this, or you can do it by hand.

Step 2

Open the flaps of the seam that you just sewed, and iron them flat.

Step 3

Hand sew a running stitch all the way around the top open end of the fabric, 1/4″ from the edge. Be sure that you're not sewing to tube shut.

Step 4

Pull the thread (like a drawstring bag) and gather the fabric. Run your needle & thread through the gathered fabric a few times and then tie it off. Snip off the excess thread.

Step 5

Turn the fabric inside-out, and fill it with stuffing. Be sure that you have a good amount; you'll be surprised by how much filling it takes.

Step 6

Hand sew another running stitch 1/4″ from the edge of the open end, then gather and seal the fabric like before.

Step 7

Prepare a very long piece of orange thread. There will be a lot of tension on it, so be sure to at least double it. Anchor the thread to one of the two gathered ends of the pumpkin.

This next part is tricky if you don't have an upholstery needle. If you do have one, move on. Otherwise, you will need to pinch the ends close enough to poke a sewing needle through.

Pinch the two ends of the pumpkin using your thumbs and middle fingers. Work the ends by wiggling them as much as you can through the filling.

Run the thread through the center of the pumpkin, wrapping it around and back through the center. Pull tightly to pinch and shape the pumpkin. Keep wrapping and shaping until you have 8 segments formed. When you have the desired shape, tie off the thread and snip away the excess.

Step 8

Download and print the pincushion patterns. We recommend printing them on card stock so that they can be used as tracing templates.

There are several ways to apply the Mickey face to the pumpkin, so pick a solution that you feel the most comfortable with. You can trace the face into the pumpkin directly and then embroider it by hand; you could paint it on; etcetera.

For this tutorial, we decided to hot glue the templates to black craft felt. The felt falls apart when it is cut too thin, so gluing the templates gives the pieces a nice, firm base as they are cut out and pinned to the pumpkin. We then embroidered over top of the pieces to give an extra-plush appearance.

Step 9

Use the Stem template to cut a matching piece of green craft felt, then use black thread to sew the two straight edges together, forming a cone.

Poke the tip of the cone inward a little bit to create a stumpy look, and secure it into place with thread.

Run a piece of thread down through the seam, then pull to make the stem tilt. Find the tilt position that you like, secure the thread, and snip off the excess.

Add any embellishments to the stem.

Step 10

Use the Leaf template to cut a matching piece of green craft felt, and embellish it as you like. You can also make additional leaves if you so desire.

Step 11

Form 2 pieces of 16-gauge wire using the Vine templates as guides. Use hot glue to secure the small vine to the larger one, creating a vine offshoot.

Wrap the wire with floral tape. This will hide the wire just in case some of it shows through, and it will provide a grippy surface for the upcoming thread.

Wrap the vines with green embroidery thread, using a tiny bit of hot glue to secure the ends.

Step 12

Check the position of the vines, adjusting them as needed. When you're happy with their placement, hot glue them to the center-top of the pumpkin. For added security, you can use a single thread of green embroidery thread (embroidery thread is made of 6 smaller threads) to secure the vines (ears) to the sides of the pumpkin.

Hot glue the stem to the top of the pumpkin.

Hot glue the leaf to the base of the stem.

Wrap a 2-3″ long piece of 20-gauge wire with the green embroidery thread. Wrap it around a small rod (pen, pencil, etc.) and form it into a budding curlicue vine. Hot glue it to the top of the pumpkin.

Your Mickey jack-o-lantern pincushion is complete!

What changes did you make? Did you create a wild color scheme? Submit photos of your creation to the Fan Board so that everyone can see!

BONUS: Mickey Jack-O-Lantern Pixel Art Cross Stitch Pattern

This project was inspired by a couple of old Mickey jack-o-lantern icons. As a bonus, we turned one of the icons into a cross stitch pattern, which is included with the pincushion templates.

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