Fall is almost here, and you know what that means: pumpkin-themed everything. If you aren’t decorating with pumpkins during the fall, you might as well not decorate.
Elizabeth Thompson feels the same sentiment when it comes to fall, which is why she came up with a tutorial on how to make pumpkins out of recycled sweaters.
I made a ton of these and ended up loving them! Wanna make your own? Here’s how. First, you’ll need to gather your supplies.
- sweaters
- filler
- hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
- scissors
- embroidery needle
- felt
- embroidery floss
- jute cording, yarn, or something similar
- ruler (if you aren’t using a cutting mat)
- cutting mat (not 100% needed, but makes it way easier)
The length that you cut your sweater sleeve and the width of the sleeve will determine how large your pumpkin ends up being. Elizabeth says the smallest you should go is 5 1/2″ long.
Elizabeth finds that 6″ and up works a lot better. If you’re making a tower, you’ll want to vary the sizes of the pumpkins. Cut the sleeve to size and turn it inside out.
Now, using your embroidery floss, weave your needle in and out of the sleeve, about 1/4″ between each stitch, creating a cinch in the center. Tie it off and flip it right side out.
Stuff the pumpkin on the other end. Push the filling in as you go to create a nice round shape. Sew and cinch up the top, leaving room for the stem.
Make the stem out of rolled felt with hot glue, just like Elizabeth shows in her video. Cut the stem length and set it aside.
Use your yarn to create the pumpkin sections as shown in the video. Elizabeth makes 5-6 sections, but suggests doing an odd number of sections.
Insert and wrap your stem with the yarn as shown in the video below. Tie it off and tighten it and you have your sweater pumpkin! Bend the stem for a more natural look.
For a tower, just make a stem for the top pumpkin and run a string through the bottom pumpkin up through the top. Easy!
Watch the video below to see more on how this is done, then give it a try yourself. Happy fall!
