There’s something about the first hint of autumn that makes me want to get my crochet hook out.
Actually, who am I kidding? I don’t even wait for the first hint of autumn. I’m quite happy crocheting pumpkins in August while wearing flip flops and complaining that it’s too hot!
Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to start making your autumn decorations when October arrives. You want them finished. You want that first properly chilly morning to arrive and be able to get your pumpkins out, pop them on the mantelpiece, light a candle and immediately decide that summer is officially over.
And handmade autumn decorations are even better because you get two lots of enjoyment from them…the lovely few hours spent actually making them and then getting them back out year after year.
So if you’re looking for an autumn crochet project that isn’t going to take you until Christmas to finish, here are three of my favourites.
But first…are these autumn crochet projects actually easy?
I know I’m biased, but yes!
And I think this bit is important because sometimes we look at a finished crochet project and immediately decide that it looks far too complicated for us.
Please don’t do that.
I design my crochet patterns for normal crocheters. The ones who lose count, forget what an abbreviation means, put their crochet down halfway through a row to make a cup of tea and then can’t remember what on earth they were doing when they come back.
My patterns are written a bit more like recipes. I take you through the project step by step, there are plenty of photographs so you can check that yours looks vaguely like mine, and my kits include links to video tutorials too.
You don’t have to be able to read a traditional crochet pattern brilliantly. You don’t have to memorise a load of crochet jargon. And your stitches certainly don’t have to be perfect.
You just need to know the crochet basics, be willing to have a go and accept that the occasional wonky stitch is really not going to matter.
1. Crochet some chunky autumn pumpkins
If you’re going to crochet one thing for autumn, surely it has to be a pumpkin?
My Chunky Crochet Pumpkins are one of my most beginner-friendly projects and they’re also ridiculously addictive to make. The pattern is much easier than the finished pumpkins make it look, which is exactly the sort of crochet project I like.
They’re quick enough that you get that lovely satisfaction of actually finishing something, rather than adding yet another half-done project to the pile. Before you know it, you’ve made another one…and another one…and suddenly there are crocheted pumpkins all over the house.
The kit gives you enough materials to make at least four full-sized pumpkins, although depending on your tension you may squeeze out a few more. You get four autumnal shades of chunky yarn (including orange, obviously), the stuffing and even real cinnamon sticks for the stalks. The full pattern includes step-by-step written instructions, photographs and links to the video tutorials. You’ll just need your crochet hook and usual crochet tools.
But what you’re really making is that little collection of pumpkins that comes back out every September and tells everyone in your house that AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED, regardless of what the weather is doing outside.
2. Make an acorn or toadstool crochet basket
These are one of those projects that look far more impressive than the amount of effort required to make them. My favourite kind.
You can make A Corny Little Basket, an acorn-inspired basket in gorgeous warm autumn colours with a twisted stalk and wooden oak leaf tag, or A Fungi Little Basket, the red and white toadstool version complete with its little wooden fairy-door tag. Or, of course, you can make both.
And I have evidence for the achievable bit! Customers who’ve made these have described the pattern as easy to follow and clear, with several saying they finished a basket in an afternoon or around two hours.
That’s exactly what I want from a crochet kit. A few hours where you can switch everything else off, sit down with your hook and yarn and make something.
Each kit contains the Bobbiny cord you need, the special laser-cut wooden detail and the printed pattern, with the option of choosing either basket or both. You’ll just need the appropriate crochet hook and your usual crochet bits and pieces.
Fill yours with crochet bits, use it as part of your autumn decorations or just put it somewhere prominent so everyone who comes into your house is forced to admire it.
3. Crochet an autumn wreath
Now, this one might be the project that makes you think:
‘That looks complicated.‘ It isn’t.
There are pumpkins. There are leaves. There are flowers. There are different colours. And when they’re all put together on the finished wreath, it looks like you’ve been terribly clever.
But you don’t make an entire wreath in one go.
You make one little thing at a time.
One leaf. One flower. One pumpkin.
And that is exactly why projects like this are much more achievable than they first appear. You follow the instructions for the bit you’re making, use the photographs to check you’re on the right track and watch the video if you need to actually see me doing it.
Eventually all those little pieces come together and suddenly you’ve made a whole autumn wreath.
And that’s the moment I want you to have: hanging something on your door that you genuinely made yourself and feeling ridiculously pleased every time you walk past it.
The Autumn Leaves & Pumpkins Please Wreath Kit contains the materials you need for the project, so there’s no wandering around trying to find the right colours or wondering what you need to buy before you can start.
You don’t need to be a brilliant crocheter
I think this is probably the most important bit.
You don’t need perfect tension. You don’t need years of experience. And you definitely don’t need every stitch to look exactly like mine.
If you know the crochet basics, these projects are about enjoying what you can do rather than worrying about all the things you haven’t learnt yet.
Follow one instruction. Look at the picture. Watch the video if you get stuck. Make the next bit.
That’s it.
And somewhere along the way, while you’re busy concentrating on the next stitch, you’ll have made something rather lovely.
So yes, I know it’s still summer.
But crocheters like to be organised.
Because you don’t want to be frantically crocheting pumpkins in October. You want them sitting on the mantelpiece already, ready for the first chilly day when you can put your big jumper on, light a candle and announce that it is officially autumn.
Even if it’s 22 degrees outside.