This adorable pumpkin purse makes a great handmade gift for young girls for Halloween. It’s also “sew” easy that you can teach tweens to make their own. Once the materials were organized, this Halloween accessory took just 30 minutes to assemble. While I’ll give you our supply list and step by step instructions, I’ll also tell you about a variety of alternative materials and steps you can take depending on what you have on hand, the age of your crafters and the time you have to make Halloween crafts. Show the kids you love that handmade Halloween fun can be just as sweet as candy.
Materials needed for the pumpkin purse as shown:
Orange felt
Thread
Needle
Orange, white and yellow yarn
One green button per purse
Yellow felt
Fabric glue
Black marker
Directions for the pumpkin purse as shown:
Sketch the shape and size you’d like for your pumpkin purse on the felt with marker. If you’re unsure about this step, try it on paper first and then cut it out, place it over the felt and trace. Layer two pieces of orange felt and cut inside of the marker lines.
Sew a large green button to the top of what will be the front of the pumpkin purse to create a stem.
For the jack-o-lantern features cut shapes from yellow felt and glue on with fabric glue.
While the glue is drying, you can work on braiding the strap.
We chose yellow, white and orange yarn for the strap to keep a friendly candy corn color theme going. Tie the ends of the three colors together. Place the knot under something heavy. A clipboard also works great to hold the ends of the yarn. Braid the three strands in an alternating pattern just as you would create a braid for hair.
Now double thread your needle with a large knot and begin sewing on the top outer corner. Remember you’ll want to leave room for things like lip-gloss, candy, hair bands or other treats to go inside of the Halloween purse.
Of course experience sewers may want to sew inside out so that the seam in inside but when I am teaching children to sew I like to leave the stitches on the outside. I think it helps them learn to be neat and consistent and it looks just fine for this type of sewing project.
The last step is to sew the strap onto the purse at the points where you began and ended your stitches. The result is a homemade jack-o-lantern craft that will really light up a young girl’s day.
There are plenty of alternative materials and ideas for creating this Halloween decoration.
No big green buttons? You could just as easily create a pumpkin stem with green felt or fabric.
Plenty of buttons and time? The jack-o-lantern facial features could all also be created with black buttons.
Black, orange or even green ribbon would work just as well for the strap if you want to skip the braiding step.
Give this homemade gift as a fun alternative to candy or even sweeter, teach a young child a DIY Halloween craft this year.
For more Halloween fun, check out:
How to Make a Haunted House from a Milk Carton
Cheap Halloween Party Crafts
If you enjoyed this easy sewing project for kids, keep this DIY Heart Purse in mind for Valentine’s Day.