Trying to get back into the creative swing of things – Halloween is always a great motivator for me, since I usually crochet new decorations each year. My Amigurumi Pumpkin pattern is a staple; check it out if you’d like to whip up a few plain pumpkins for your fall decor!
Playing on the amigurumi pumpkin pattern, here’s my “Spooky Pumpkin Cat” – I’ve made a few of these over the years but have never taken any notes before now.
Materials:
- 5 mm crochet hook
- worsted weight yarn in black, purple, and orange
- 12 mm yellow safety eyes
- stitch marker
- polyfill stuffing
- sharp tapestry/darning needle
- sewing needle
- white crochet thread (for whiskers)
- white felt
- black embroidery floss
- hot glue gun
Abbreviations:
| ML | magic loop |
| sc | single crochet |
| inc | increase |
| dec | decrease |
| slp st | slip stitch |
| st | stitch |
| ch | chain |
| FO | fasten off |
| ** | repeat all instructions in between |
| FLO | crochet in front loops only |
Pattern notes:
- This is an amigurumi pattern, meaning we will be working with single crochet (sc) stitches in a continuous spiral. Use a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round to mark your place so you know when to begin the next round!
- I would say this is a medium level pattern. There’s lots of sewing & assembling, a little shaping, plus some embroidery.
- Set aside some time for this project – it takes a bit to finish!
- As with all of my patterns, you made need to pinch, roll, or manipulate your work to shape it correctly. I usually denote this in the pattern, but feel free to pull and shape things as you work.
Pumpkin
In orange, ML 6
| R1: inc in each st (12) |
| R2: *sc, inc* around (18) |
| R3: *2sc, inc* around (24) |
| R4: *3sc, inc* around (30) |
| R5: *4sc, inc* around (36) |
| R6: *5sc, inc* around (42) |
| R7 – R14: sc around (8 rows total) |
| R15: *5sc, dec* around (36) |
| R16: *4sc, dec* around (30) |
| R17: *3sc, dec* around (24) |
| R18: *2sc, dec* around (18) |
| R19: *sc, dec* around (12) |
| Stuff pumpkin here – use enough fluff so that it fills out its shape, but not so much that it’s overstuffed! |
| R20: dec in each st (6) |
FO and cut a looooooooong tail. We’ll be using it to create the pumpkin shape! Thread your tapestry needle with the tail, then sew through each of the 6 remaining stitches to cinch the bottom of the pumpkin closed.
If you look at the top of your pumpkin, you’ll see the pattern made from your increases. We’re going to be sending long straight stitches from bottom to top of your pumpkin along those increases. Pull the yarn along the body of your sphere, and send your needle straight down through the ML to the bottom of your pumpkin. Repeat this all the way around your pumpkin – be sure to pull the stitches tight so it shapes the body, but not so tight that you flatten any section of the pumpkin completely! We want a shapely pumpkin.
Once done, tie a knot and weave your ends in by sending the tail through the body. Set pumpkin aside until assembly!
Wizard Hat:
in purple yarn, ML
| R1: inc in each st (6) |
| R2: *sc inc* around (9) |
| R3: sc around (9) |
| R4: *2sc, inc* around (12) |
| R5: sc around (12) |
| R6: *3sc, inc* around (15) |
| R7: sc around (15) |
| R8: *4sc, inc* around (18) |
| R9: sc around (18) |
| R10: *5sc, inc* around (21) |
| R11: sc around (21) |
| R12: *6sc, inc* (24) |
| R13: in FLO *2sc, inc* around (30) |
| R14: *3sc, inc* around (36) |
| R15: 2sc *inc, 4sc* around, end with 2sc (42) |
To finish, slp st to the first st of R17. FO, and leave a long tail for sewing. Send the tail through the brim to where the cone of the hat starts (we’ll use this to attach the hat later). We’ll also shape the hat, but we need to wait until the body is done. Set aside until assembly.
Bow Tie
in purple, ch 5 +1 to turn
| R1 – R4: sc across |
| R5: ch 1, then sc around the outside of the shape to give the bow tie a clean edge (pictures below) |
After working around, FO and send tail halfway through the row so it is directly centered on the bottom edge. We’re going to cinch the rectangle by wrapping the tail around the center:
Once you’ve wrapped a few times, tie a knot and leave the tail long. We’ll use this to attach to the body during assembly. Set aside for now!
Cat Head & Body
in black, ML 6
| R1: inc in each st (12) |
| R2: *sc, inc* around (18) |
| R3: *2sc, inc* around (24) |
| R4: *3sc, inc* around (30) |
| R5 – R9: sc around (30) |
| R10: *3sc, dec* around (24) |
| R11: *2sc, dec* around (18) |
| R12: *sc, dec* around (12) |
| R13: dec in all st (6) |
Time to add the safety eyes and face features! Eyes go in between R7 and R8, approx. 5 sts. apart. Next let’s do some sewing – grab your sewing needle, black embroidery floss, and white felt.
Cut a 1 inch X 1 inch square of white felt. Thread your sewing needle and sew the mouth on by running three straight stitches stacked on top of each other for the nose, then one straight stitch each for the mouth:
Once you’ve sewed the mouth, cut an even oval around what you’ve sewn (oval is .5 inches X .5 inches). You may be wondering why we sewed first before sewing the shape – I personally have a hard time sewing the mouths centered on a pre-cut oval. If you don’t have this trouble, feel free to pre-cut the oval shape.
Stuff the cat’s head here. Use your hot glue gun to attach the mouth. I centered mine directly between the eyes.
Now let’s add the whiskers – using the white crochet thread and your tapestry needle, thread your needle so that it is halfway down the strand of thread. Tie the two ends of the thread together to form a knot. Send the needle up through the fabric underneath one eye, then cut the whiskers to length.
Whiskers added! I made mine really long, but you can trim yours to any length. Let’s finish up the body…
| R14: 3sc in each st around (18) |
| R15: *2sc, inc* around (24) |
| R16: *3sc, inc* around (30) |
| R17: sc around |
| FO and leave a long tail for sewing |
Cat Paws (make 2!)
in black, ML 6
| R1: *sc, inc* around (9) |
| R2: sc around (9) |
| R3: *sc, dec* around (6) |
| FO leaving long tail. Stuff, then use tail to sew through each remaining stitch. Pull tight to close, but keep tail for sewing later! |
Cat Ear
in black, ML 3
| R1: inc in each st (6) |
| R2: *sc, inc* around (9) |
| FO, leave long tail to sew, don’t stuff |
Assembly!
Whew, finally made it to assembly! Let’s put this cat together.
Body to pumpkin: Put a little stuffing in the bottom half of the body, then use the tail to neatly whip stitch the body to the pumpkin. Seriously, be careful sewing the body on – the stitches are really noticeable on the pumpkin! Add more stuffing as you attach the body to the pumpkin. You don’t need a ton of stuffing, just enough so the body sticks away from the pumpkin.
Bowtie: Position the bowtie then wrap the tail around the neck and bring back around to the other side of the bow. Sew through the bow, then tie a knot and weave the tail in by sending it through the head, pulling tight, and cutting.
Paws to body: Paws sit on either side of the bowtie, touching both the body and the pumpkin. Whip stitch them on carefully!
Hat to head: Stuff the hat’s cone, then position on head. I tend to put mine at a jaunty angle on the left side of the head, but feel free to move wherever you would like (just save room for the ear!). Only sew the base of the cone to the head – we want the brim to be loose/poseable (just like a real hat).
Use the remaining tail to add the shaping to the top of the hat. Bend the top tip down, and use the tail to anchor it to the hat so it’ll stay in the shape. I sort of play around with different configurations until I find a style I like.
Ear to head: Whip stitch the ear to the side of the head that doesn’t have a hat on it! Move the brim of the hat so you can whip stitch all the way around. I also take this time to pinch the tip of the ear so it’s nice and pointy, and ruffle the hat a bit.
Finished!
I hope you enjoy your new spooky kitty friend – I worked really hard on this pattern, both refining it into easy to read steps and taking guiding pictures! Legal stuff: DO NOT SELL THIS PATTERN OR PASS OFF AS YOUR OWN – feel free to share it by sharing my blog with others! You can sell items made from this pattern, but you must credit me as designer on the listing!
I would also love to see what you make – if you post to Instagram, tag me @pixeledpeach so I can like and comment!
Last – this pattern is free, but I always appreciate any support you may send my way! Here’s the link to my Ko-Fi if you want to buy me a coffee – just click the button below! Believe me when I tell you, many cups of coffee were consumed during the creation of this pattern.
you are blessed
I have fun doing the pumpkin cat for my greatgrandson
Omg 😍😍 This is just the kind of pattern I have been looking for, not ghosts or zombies but a witch cat ! 🥰 Thank you so much for putting this pattern on the Internet 😻 🧙♀️
Of course! I hope yours turns out spook-tastically! 🙂