Schiz-O'-Lantern!!

Pumpkins! How do you have Halloween or a Halloween project without pumpkins being represented? Not just any pumpkin either, but one that’s been personalized with your own choice of leering, smiling or growling face. For my pillow, I decided it would be neat to make a face on both sides since it wasn’t going to be a scene really and there wasn’t much to the general concept. However I figured if I’m going to put a face on both sides, I might as well have tons of fun with it and use two different faces. What better way to celebrate the Halloween season than creating a pumpkin pillow with a split personality!!

I’m really kind of surprised I didn’t do this one first since, when you break it down, it’s probably one of the easiest pillows to do. In fact, I think it might have been one of the quickest ones too. I didn’t spend as much time on this one perfecting or messing around with the different elements. I had my idea down and the two faces sketched. I showed them to Shawn to see if he wanted to give me some input, and thankfully he did because he suggested I make the mouth on the scary side even bigger and wider. He drew what he had in mind, and I liked his version a lot better than my tame one (he’s a lot more demented and horror-minded than I am!). So when I sat down to actually draw the patterns for each part, it took me no time at all. I actually liked the idea of essentially going with the first thing that I sketched since it had that feel of when I was young. We would sit in the middle of the kitchen floor, newspapers spread around us, pumpkin in our lap and pen in hand. We’d draw a face onto its surface and never doubt that it was exactly what we wanted.


Once I had all my patterns, another thought came to me. Do I render the pumpkin with curved lines from top to bottom to give it that pumpkiny feel? If I do, what would be the best way? If I cut the pumpkin shape I had into three sections, then I could work with each to stitch it together and create those grooves. However, I didn’t think it would make those lines look indented enough. Shawn to the rescue again! He suggested I sew the sections inside out since that usually does make that effect, so that’s what I did. I drew my pumpkin shape a second time and cut that into the pieces in case it didn’t work or I didn’t like the results. However, once I was finished with it I absolutely loved the way it looked!! It evoked the image of a pumpkin so well.

After that, it was a pretty straightforward piece of sewing. I ended up screwing up when I did the stem though. I planned to sew the stem on the inside because I thought it looked a bit better than doing it on the outside. I think I was thrown by the idea of how I was going to stuff the stem because I failed to sew the bottom of each side of the stem to the pumpkin. I was close to completing the pillow so I could turn it inside out when I noticed this problem. Now, I had to either take apart some of my stitching or try to sew the rest of the stem through a smallish hole. This time, I opted for powering through and sewing through that hole. I didn’t want to have to undo what I had done for something that wasn’t very big. After I finished, I also ended up with a bit of orange fleece around the stem that didn’t quite look right so I cut that off.

I’m not exactly happy with the stem. …..I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it looks too skinny at the top or it’s too long or what exactly. I always cut the fabric or felt a little bigger than the pattern to allow for my stitches, but I think I might need to do a bit more. Of course, maybe it’s a case by case basis. Who knows!! I sure don’t. : )

All in all though, I’m really happy with my Schiz-O’-Lantern pillow! Right after I finished, I wasn’t so sure because of the stem and it didn’t seem to look as awesome as when I was creating it. However, the idea is a fantastic and creepy one so I’m extremely pleased with that. Plus, for some reason the color combination of orange and gold seems to strike a chord with me. It attracts me and makes me feel satisfied and content in some way. So, I think this is a great pillow and I hope you do as well!