Velvet Pumpkin Mania???

These beautiful velvet pumpkins are amazingly affordable and easy to make. Thank you to my friend Maria L for letting me share her photos and directions for this great project. Velvet pumpkins will be on my Thanksgiving table, how about yours? Post your photos and share. Supplies: Silk velvet - I found two sources on ebay: 1.  material_girl, seller #17277, for what she calls a "fat quarter" piece of fabric that is 18 x 22 & silk fabric,  2.  seller #8213 that sells by the yard). 1 yard will yield 9 pumpkins in assorted sizes. Start with the largest size & work down. The 18 x 22 inch fabric will yield 1 large or 1 medium & 2 smaller ones. Upholstery needle, 2 inches long with a large eye. Upholstery thread, Coats & Clark, extra strong, color #8630 (tan) Dried split peas or whatever dried bean is the cheapest in bulk. Polyfill Stems, wherever you can find them. I made friends with the produce guy at Trader Joe's & he saves the butternut squash stems & any broken off pumpkin stems for me. Patterns: I used my stainless steel bowl set for my patterns. 7 bowls : 22", 16", 13 1/4", 11 1/4", 9 1/2", 7 3/4", 6 1/4" How to: Cut 60" of thread & double it.  Turn the raw edge of the velvet in 1/4 inch & pull the needle through, leaving a long strand on the outside.  Using large stitches (about 1") gather the circle into a pouch, placing the final strand next to the starting strand.  Draw the velvet in half way & fill with peas, 1/2 to 3/4"'s full.  Draw the velvet as closed as possible, leaving a very small opening to push in the Polyfill.  Push in the Polyfill.  Stitch the opening closed.  Hot glue the stem. Voila, pumpkins!