The Easiest Fabric Pumpkins Ever

Decorating is just one of those things that tends to come to me.  I generally don't start out with much of a plan, but as I start playing with things, I get little epiphanies and ah-ha moments and eventually the whole thing just clicks.  Take my fall mantle for example.  I told you yesterday that I just couldn't get it right: too bold, too white, too sparkly, etc.  And then I had an epiphany: I needed some fabric pumpkins in there that would both tone it down some and add some excitement!  

Naturally, I turned to Pinterest for a quick tutorial on how to make them.  But as I read through each of them, I kept thinking they seemed way harder than necessary.  So I decided to just wing it!  And about 3 seconds later per pumpkin, it had all worked out!

  These are so unbelievably easy, and while I stuck to fabric I already had on hand for budgeting reasons, I'm already dreaming of creating some more of these next year with better prints and patterns!  

Wanna make some of your own?  All you need is:

• scissors
• Fabric...cut to square-ish size of your choice (I went with about 18x18 for the bigger one)
• rubber bands...two per pumpkin
• poly-fil (although you could also use beans to weight them a bit more)
• glue gun optional
• yarn optional

To make them, cut out your square of fabric.  Twist up the middle of the square and use a rubber band to secure it.

Stuff as much poly-fill in there as you want and then start gathering the fabric towards the top.  Try to overlap the fabric slightly to create the vein look of pumpkin.  Secure with a rubber band at the top.

Cut off some of the extra fabric at the top to leave a nice, short stump of a stem.  

Of course, if you have any fly away pieces, you can always use a dot of hot glue to secure them down.  

Now, my pumpkins were going to be kept on the mantle and never rally viewed up close, so I got real lazy and stopped there.  But if you wanted to hide the unsightly rubber band, you could very easily just wrap the stem in yarn.  And while you're at it, you could also use the yarn to accentuate the veins!  

So there you have it.  Seriously, this is about the easiest craft project you could do!