Funkins

FUNKINS

Celebrate the season with Funkins, fabric pumpkins designed for indoor decor. Learn how to make your own Funkin. Repurpose fabrics, twine, corks, ribbons, paper, and felt you already have on hand.

© 2026 by Jane McLean, PinchPenny Threads
Let’s make decorative fabric pumpkins. Funkins are not toys and should be used for indoor fall displays. Feel free to use what you have to create your Funkin. The following list contains suggested materials.
Materials:

Fabric: six (6) strips approximately 12” x 3.75” of cotton, cotton-polyester, corduroy, faux suede, or wool in Halloween or autumn colors. Using larger or smaller strips of fabric will create different sizes of Funkins.
Sewing Materials: needle, thread, pins, scissors, sewing machine (optional)
Iron and pressing mat
Stuffing: fiberfill, crumpled paper, plastic bags, fabric scraps, or bubble wrap
Twine: string, raffia, or ribbon: three (3) pieces 36” long; tie one knot in the center of the three pieces
String: twine, raffia, ribbon, hair tie/ponytail elastics: for tying ends of fabric plus attaching embellishments
Weight: dried beans, stones, flat washers, or wood scraps, tied or wrapped in fabric or fiberfill scrap
Stem: cork, wooden spool, stick, or cinnamon stick, at least 2” long and about the size of your thumb
Leaves and embellishments (bats, jack-o-lantern features): cotton, felt, wool, or faux silk, approximately 2”-3” long in autumn colors; you can glue two pieces of thin fabric together, then cut shapes out.
Vine: twine, raffia, chenille pipe cleaners in green or autumn colors; you can wrap twine around a pencil taping both ends, spray with spray starch, let dry, and remove from pencil; make ahead as they take time to dry
Embellishments: dried flowers, acorn caps, buttons, ribbon
Spring Clothespin: for an extra “hand” to hold things
Glue (optional, these directions are for a glueless Funkin): Aleene’s Tacky Glue, Elmer’s, or glue stick--be patient, let it dry slightly before moving on to next step; or glue gun

Creating Your Funkin:

Gather your materials and read through the directions.
With right sides together, stitch two strips together along long sides; repeat with other strips; join strip sets to make a fabric rectangle approximately 12” x 20”; then join last sides to create a fabric tube for the body of your Funkin. Leave inside out.
Press seams in same direction. Trim off straggly top and bottom if they bother you.
With wrong sides together, press one end (top) over approximately 1”. Pin and stitch down, press.
Place center knot of 36” twine pieces through bottom edge, leaving long strings inside fabric body.
With your fingers, gather the bottom edge around the twine knot, clip it temporarily with a clothespin. Using string or a hair elastic, tie the bottom edge tight, like tying a balloon. Remove clothespin.
Turn fabric bag right-side-out. The 6 strings will hang down; ignore them until you need them.
Put weight in bottom of fabric bag.
Stuff fabric bag with stuffing, packing it to about 2” from top.
Using your fingers, gather the top of the bag and tie it loosely enough so your thumb just goes down through the hole--that’s where you’ll put the stem.
Lay out the 6 twine strings like a sunburst around the bottom of fabric bag.
Bring each string up along a seam line.
This is the trickiest part; ask a friend for help if you need it: gather the 3 left-hand strings and the 3 right-hand strings and tie them together where the top is tied almost shut. Pull tightly enough so the strings give the Funkin shape along the seam lines, but not so tight that you close the opening at the top. Let the string ends hang down.
Stick the stem down into the hole. It should stay if you don’t pick up the Funkin by the stem. Or glue it in place.
Tie spiral vines and a ribbon around the stem.
Attach leaves and embellishments to strings hanging down, to the ribbon, and/or to the vine. Cut small slits and tie on, or use glue.
Rerrange twine along seam lines if needed.
Your Funkin is finished. The next one will go faster--make one for a friend!