Free Crochet Pumpkin Snuggler Lovey Pattern

By Jan Bay

This free crochet pumpkin snuggler lovey pattern makes a soft fall character with a pumpkin head, embroidered face and floppy body with extra-long arms and legs that are so much fun for a child to swirl and twirl. The body stays soft, drapey and delightfully loose, not a hard, round plushie. A short brown stem and single olive green leaf add just enough detail to keep it looking like a pumpkin without making the pattern fussy or complicated to make.

Materials for the Free Crochet Pumpkin Snuggler Lovey Pattern

I would use a soft super bulky chenille yarn for this pumpkin snuggler. The head needs enough body to hold those six pumpkin sections, but the torso, arms and legs need to stay loose enough to flop, bend and drape. A smooth chenille is a better fit here than a stiff craft yarn.

Yarn: Super bulky #6 chenille yarn in the following approximate amounts:

• Pumpkin orange: about 70 to 80 yards for the head
• Cinnamon or rust orange: about 130 to 150 yards for the body, arms, legs, hands and feet
• Dark brown: about 5 yards for the stem
• Muted olive or sage green: about 5 yards for the leaf

The orange for the head should be a little brighter than the cinnamon body. I wouldn't make them identical. That color change is what lets the big ribbed pumpkin head stand out while the rest of the snuggler stays simple.

Hook: 5.5 mm (I/9) crochet hook, or the size needed to make a firm head without large gaps. Don't tighten the body and limbs more than necessary. They are supposed to stay soft and floppy.

You'll also need:

• Polyester fiberfill, about 3 to 4 ounces
• Black embroidery floss for the eyes and mouth
• Yarn needle with an eye large enough for chenille yarn
• 7 removable stitch markers, or 1 stitch marker plus 6 short scraps of contrasting yarn for the pumpkin rib guides
• Scissors
• Straight pins for positioning the arms, legs, leaf and face before sewing

Most of the fiberfill goes into the pumpkin head. The torso stays unstuffed. The arms and legs stay unstuffed too, except for a very small amount in the rounded hands and feet if you want them to hold their shape a little better. Don't pack those pieces firmly or you'll lose the loose, dangling look that makes this a snuggler instead of a regular plush doll.

I would also skip plastic safety eyes, buttons and any hard decoration on this one. The face is embroidered with black floss, and the stem and leaf are crocheted and sewn in place. If you're making the snuggler for a young child, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has additional information about small parts in toys and children's products. Keep this snuggler and other soft toys out of an infant's sleep space. CPSC's safe sleep guidance recommends a bare crib, bassinet or play yard with only a fitted sheet, so use the snuggler for supervised awake-time play instead.

Finished Size and Gauge

At the gauge below, the finished pumpkin snuggler is expected to measure about 19 to 20 inches from the top of the stem to the bottom of the feet when it's lying flat.

Based on the stated gauge, the pumpkin head is expected to finish about 5 1/2 to 6 inches across. The unstuffed body is expected to measure about 6 to 6 1/2 inches long from the little neck opening to the lower edge and about 6 to 6 1/2 inches across at its widest point when it's lying flat.

The finished arms are expected to measure about 6 inches long. The legs are expected to measure about 7 to 7 1/2 inches long, including the softly rounded feet.

Gauge: About 11 single crochet stitches and 12 rounds = 4 inches.

You don't have to hit that gauge perfectly, but don't ignore it completely on this project. The head, body and very long limbs need to stay in proportion. If your stitches are much larger, the pumpkin head can get enormous before the body catches up with it.

For the head, use a hook that gives you a firm fabric without visible gaps around the stuffing. The body and limbs can feel a little looser. That's what we want. They need to collapse and drape when you pick the snuggler up.

Pattern Notes and Abbreviations

This pattern uses U.S. crochet terms.

MR: magic ring
ch: chain
sl st: slip stitch
sc: single crochet
hdc: half double crochet
dc: double crochet
inc: work 2 sc in the same stitch
dec: single crochet the next 2 stitches together
FO: fasten off

Work the head, body, arms, legs and stem in continuous rounds unless the instructions say otherwise. Don't join at the end of each round. Move your stitch marker up as you work.

The finished snuggler has eight crocheted pieces:

• 1 pumpkin head
• 1 unstuffed body
• 2 arms
• 2 legs
• 1 stem
• 1 leaf

The six pumpkin ribs are added after the head is stuffed. They aren't separate crocheted pieces.

The body stays completely unstuffed. Leave the long parts of the arms and legs unstuffed too. You can put a very small pinch of fiberfill into each hand and foot, but stop there. If you fill the limbs all the way up, you'll make a regular stuffed doll instead of the loose snuggler shown here.

Keep your yarn tails fairly long on the arms, legs, stem and leaf. You'll use those tails for assembly.

Pull every magic ring tightly closed. Secure and weave in each starting tail before stuffing or assembly makes that area difficult to reach. Leave only the long sewing tails the pattern specifically tells you to keep for joining pieces.

Crochet the Ribbed Pumpkin Head

Make the head with the brighter pumpkin orange yarn. We're starting at the top of the pumpkin, widening quickly, holding the full width for a few rounds and then bringing it back in underneath.

Round 1: Make 6 sc in a MR. (6)

Round 2: Inc in each stitch around. (12)

Round 3: [Sc in next stitch, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (18)

Round 4: [Sc in next 2 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (24)

Round 5: [Sc in next 3 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (30)

Round 6: [Sc in next 4 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (36)

Round 7: [Sc in next 5 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (42)

Round 8: [Sc in next 6 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (48)

Rounds 9 and 10: Sc in each stitch around. (48)

Round 11: Sc in each stitch around. (48)

Place six rib-guide markers in Round 11 now. Put them in stitches 1, 9, 17, 25, 33 and 41 so the six sculpted grooves will be spaced exactly 8 stitches apart. Keep your regular round marker separate. If one marker lands in the same place, use a different color so you can tell them apart.

Rounds 12 to 14: Sc in each stitch around. (48)

Round 15: [Sc in next 6 stitches, dec] 6 times. (42)

Round 16: [Sc in next 5 stitches, dec] 6 times. (36)

Round 17: [Sc in next 4 stitches, dec] 6 times. (30)

Round 18: [Sc in next 3 stitches, dec] 6 times. (24)

Round 19: [Sc in next 2 stitches, dec] 6 times. (18)

Stuff the head firmly now, working the fiberfill out toward the sides instead of pushing one hard lump into the middle. You want a full, rounded pumpkin, but don't pack it so tightly that you can't pull in the ribs.

Round 20: [Sc in next stitch, dec] 6 times. (12)

Add a little more stuffing if needed.

Round 21: Dec around. (6)

FO, leaving a long tail. Thread the tail through the remaining 6 stitches, pull the opening closed and secure it. Bury the tail inside the head.

Make the six pumpkin ribs:

Cut about 3 yards of the same pumpkin orange yarn and thread it onto your yarn needle. Anchor it securely at the center bottom of the head. That gives you enough yarn to travel through the stuffed head and down the outside six times without having to join another strand halfway through the shaping.

Bring the needle up through the middle of the stuffed head and out at the top center beside the magic ring. Take the yarn down the outside of the pumpkin, lining it up with the first marker on Round 11, and bring the needle back into the bottom center.

Pull gently until that section sinks in enough to make a visible rib. Don't yank it tight. We want a soft pumpkin section, not a deep groove that pinches the head in half.

Bring the needle back through the middle to the top and repeat at the next marker. Continue until you've made six evenly spaced grooves around the head.

Check the shape from the front and sides before tying off. All six sections should look similar in width. If one groove is much deeper than the others, loosen that strand slightly before you secure the yarn.

Remove the six markers and bury the yarn end inside the head.

Make the Wide Floppy Body

Switch to the cinnamon or rust yarn.

This body is deliberately wider than the skinny tube you see on some snugglers. The pumpkin head is large, so it needs enough body underneath it to look balanced. We're still keeping the torso completely unstuffed.

Ch 12. Join with a sl st in the first chain, being careful not to twist the chain.

Round 1: Sc in each chain around. (12)

Round 2: [Sc in next stitch, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (18)

Round 3: [Sc in next 2 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (24)

Round 4: [Sc in next 3 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (30)

Round 5: [Sc in next 4 stitches, inc in next stitch] 6 times. (36)

Rounds 6 to 16: Sc in each stitch around. (36)

Round 17: [Sc in next 4 stitches, dec] 6 times. (30)

Rounds 18 and 19: Sc in each stitch around. (30)

Do not stuff the body.

After Round 19, leave the round marker in place and flatten the body with the marked beginning of the round at one side edge. The working loop will be beside that marker. Smooth the body so the neck opening is centered at the top and the opposite fold forms the second side edge.

Sc through both layers across the bottom opening, pairing one front stitch with one back stitch as you go. Work exactly 15 sc across the flattened edge.

FO and weave in the end.

Give the body a little shake when you're finished. It should fold over on itself easily. If it stands up like a stuffed cylinder, something went wrong because there shouldn't be any fiberfill in here at all.

Crochet the Long Floppy Arms

Make 2 with cinnamon or rust yarn.

The hands are only a little wider than the arms. I don't want big round balls hanging off the ends. A small rounded hand gives us a cleaner, softer silhouette.

Round 1: Make 5 sc in a MR. (5)

Round 2: Inc in each stitch around. (10)

Round 3: Sc in each stitch around. (10)

If you want a little shape in the hand, add a tiny pinch of fiberfill now. Keep it loose.

Round 4: [Sc in next 3 stitches, dec] 2 times. (8)

Rounds 5 to 19: Sc in each stitch around. (8)

Do not stuff the arm.

Flatten the top opening. FO, leaving about an 18 inch tail for sewing.

Make the second arm the same way.

Crochet the Long Floppy Legs and Rounded Feet

Make 2 with cinnamon or rust yarn.

The legs are a little longer than the arms. The feet stay short, softly rounded and only slightly wider than the leg itself. That's important. Long pointed feet would change the whole character.

Round 1: Make 5 sc in a MR. (5)

Round 2: Inc in each stitch around. (10)

Rounds 3 and 4: Sc in each stitch around. (10)

Add a small pinch of fiberfill to the foot if you want a little shape. Don't pack it. The foot should still flatten when you press it between your fingers.

Round 5: [Sc in next 3 stitches, dec] 2 times. (8)

Rounds 6 to 22: Sc in each stitch around. (8)

Do not stuff the leg.

Flatten the top opening. FO, leaving about an 18 inch tail for sewing.

Make the second leg the same way.

Before assembly, check all four limbs. Shape the hands and feet gently with your fingers so the ends look softly rounded rather than like firm balls. The little bit of stuffing should stay in the ends and shouldn't travel up into the arms or legs. If a hand or foot looks too round, remove some stuffing now while the top of the limb is still open.

Crochet the Brown Stem and Olive Green Leaf

Stem

With brown yarn:

Round 1: Make 6 sc in a MR. (6)

Rounds 2 to 4: Sc in each stitch around. (6)

FO, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Don't stuff the stem. Flatten the bottom slightly and set the stem aside with its long sewing tail. You'll attach it to the pumpkin during final assembly.

Leaf

With muted olive or sage green yarn, ch 7.

Starting in the second chain from the hook, work:

Sl st in next chain, sc in next chain, hdc in next chain, dc in next chain, hdc in next chain, 3 sc in the last chain.

Now work back along the opposite side of the foundation chain:

Hdc in next chain, dc in next chain, hdc in next chain, sc in next chain, sl st in the last chain.

FO, leaving a long tail.

The leaf should lie fairly flat and finish with a pointed end. Set it aside with its long sewing tail. During final assembly, you'll sew only the base of the leaf beside the stem so the rest can sit naturally against the pumpkin.

Embroider the Pumpkin Snuggler Face

Do the face after you've sculpted the pumpkin ribs. That way you can choose the nicest section for the front instead of finding out later that one of your rib lines runs straight through an eye.

Choose one sculpted groove as the center front of the pumpkin. The two pumpkin sections immediately to the left and right of that groove become the face sections.

Using black embroidery floss, make one small vertical satin stitch eye on each of those two sections. Place the eye centers about 1 1/4 inches apart and keep them level with each other.

Each eye should be about 3/8 inch tall. Use several neat satin stitches so the black shows clearly against the chenille yarn without making the eyes oversized.

Add one short curved black backstitch above the outer half of each eye to match the simple embroidered eye detail shown in the example.

Center the mouth across the front groove about 1/2 inch below the eyes.

Make a small shallow smile about 3/4 to 1 inch wide. A few backstitches are enough. Keep the expression simple.

I wouldn't add cheeks, buttons or any other hard facial pieces here. The embroidered eyes and smile, ribbed head, brown stem and green leaf are enough.

Secure every embroidery end inside the stuffed head.

Assemble and Finish the Pumpkin Snuggler Lovey

Lay all of the pieces out before you start sewing. The finished character should have the large pumpkin head, wide flat torso and very long limbs shown in the example. Don't pull the arms and legs inward trying to make the body look narrower.

1. Attach the arms.

Lay the unstuffed body flat.

Flatten each 8 stitch arm opening so it is 4 stitches wide.

Place one arm along each side edge of the body with those 4 top stitches spanning Body Rounds 4 through 7. This keeps the arms high on the shoulders, just below the pumpkin head, as shown in the example.

Using the long yarn tail, sew the 4 flattened arm stitches securely to the side edge at Body Rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7. Sew through the outer edge without pulling the front and back of the unstuffed torso together.

Repeat on the other side and check that both arms begin at the same height.

2. Attach the legs.

The closed lower body edge has 15 stitches across it.

Flatten each leg opening so it is about 4 stitches wide.

Position the first leg across bottom stitches 4 through 7. Position the second leg across stitches 9 through 12.

That leaves stitch 8 between the legs and three bottom stitches outside each leg. The legs stay centered and close together while the lower body remains wide and floppy.

Sew each leg securely to the bottom edge using the long yarn tail.

Let the legs hang naturally before you tighten the final stitches. They should point mostly downward instead of sticking out toward the sides.

3. Sew the head to the body.

Center the 12 stitch neck opening against the underside of the stuffed pumpkin head.

The neck ring should sit around the closed bottom center of the head rather than covering a large section of it. That's how we keep that little neck without making the head look as though it's balancing on a long stalk.

Pin the head in place and check the front view before sewing.

Using cinnamon yarn, sew around all 12 neck stitches and into the underside of the pumpkin head. Go around the neck a second time if needed for a firm attachment.

The head is the only heavily stuffed part of the snuggler, so don't skimp on this seam.

4. Attach the stem and leaf.

Sew the brown stem upright over the top center of the pumpkin, covering the original magic ring.

For the slight crooked look shown in the example, take one small tack stitch from the upper side of the stem down into the pumpkin about 1/2 inch away from its base. Pull just enough to tip the stem gently to one side.

Add the olive green leaf beside the stem and sew only the base of the leaf firmly in place.

5. Check the finished proportions.

Lay the snuggler flat and straighten everything gently.

The body should look broad enough to balance the head, but it should collapse when you lift it. The arms should be long and thin. The legs should be a little longer still, with short rounded feet at the ends.

Weave in every remaining yarn end. Remove every straight pin, stitch marker and temporary yarn marker. Check the stem, leaf, limbs, embroidered face and head attachment carefully before the snuggler is used as a toy.

If you like the pumpkin head but would rather make a traditional blanket style lovey, try the free crochet pumpkin lovey pattern. It keeps the pumpkin character but uses a blanket body instead of these long dangling limbs.

Or keep going with the crochet baby snuggler patterns if the floppy body is the part you like best.