Handmade Fall Drop Cloth Pumpkins

With so many fall festivals, vintage markets and craft shows coming up  I've been busy making fall decor pieces.   I wanted to share these cute drop cloth pumpkins and how I made them.  

 

 

I started out by cutting a pattern out of a manilla folder.

The pattern is shaped kindof like a leaf or football.

 

The largest pumpkin pattern is 7" by 3"

The medium pumpkin pattern is 6" by 2.5"

and the smallest pumpkin pattern is 5" by 2"

 

Using the pattern, I cut 6 pieces of drop cloth for each pumpkin.

 

Next, I made three sets of pairs and stitched the edge of each pair together
 and repeated that on the other 2 pairs.
 

This makes three pieces to the pumpkin now.

 

 

Then I stitched the edge from one pair to the edge from another pair

and repeated this until all of the pieces were connected.

 

Remember to leave a little section open on one end so that you can stuff the pumpkin.

You want the opening to be big enough to put stuffing in the pumpkin,

but not so big that you'll have to hand stitch it closed later.

I made my openings just bigger than my finger,

so that I could stuff small pieces of polyfil into the pumpkin with one finger.

 

 

 

You can turn the pumpkin inside out if you do not want the frayed edges showing.

 

I like the frayed edges, so I left them on the outside.

I stuffed the pumpkin with polyfil through the small opening I left on the top.

 

 

Then I used a large needle and jute twine to create the sections on the pumpkin.

I made a large knot in the end of the twine and pulled the needle from the bottom through the top. (The knot should not be able to be pulled through the bototm.)

 

I looped the twine over one section and pulled the needle from the bottom through the top again

and repeated this in each section.

 

 

 

I left a long tail of twine coming out of the top of the pumpkin.

I used this to create the curly-Q.

 

 

I stuck a pencil in the opening in the top of the pumpkin where the twine is coming out.

Then I wrapped the twine around the pencil and taped the top edge of it to hold it onto the pencil.

Then I applied a light coat of Mod Podge over the twine with a foam brush and let it dry.

The next day, I removed the tape and carefully loosened the twine from the pencil by twisting the pencil and then carefully pulling the pencil out of the curl.

(do not unwind it, you'll lose some of the curl)

 

 

 

Lastly, I used my hot glue gun to glue a cinnamon stick into the opening

and I also glued a faux pumpkin leaf onto the largest pumpkin.



 

 

You will probably need to trim the excess twine off of the knot on the bottom of the pumpkin and also trim up your curly-Q some.

 

The hot glue and decorations should fill in the opening on the top that you used to stuff the pumpkin.

If not, you may want to hand stitch a couple stitches to close the opening.



 

    That's it. It probably sounds more involved than it is.  It took about an hour to create all three pumpkins. (not including drying time for the Mod Podge)  

 

    I like the neutral, rustic look of the drop cloth and twine, but there are a lot of options with these.   - make the pattern longer and wider to make a taller, bigger pumpkin - use a piece of branch instead of a cinnamon stick as the stem - add moss or raffia instead of the curly-Q - use different fabric   I also thought they would make sentimental memories by making them out of fabric from a piece of clothing that your child has outgrown or from clothing from a loved one.    

 

I do plan to make a few variations of these myself.

What about you, what would you do differently if you were making them?

 

 

'til next time, 

      Linking to: Inspire Monday Monday Funday Vintage Inspiration Party The Best of DIY  Moonlight & Mason Jars Pin Junkie The Scoop