I recently added a few fabric fat quarters to my crafting arsenal. I have had a lot of fun creating with fabric. This doesn’t always involve sewing! Today’s project is completely no-sew. These fun patchwork DIY fabric pumpkins were pretty easy to put together, and add a fun pop of color to my transitioning-into-autumn home decor.
Supplies needed to make your own DIY fabric pumpkins:
- Fat Quarters (your choice of color and patterns, you will need four (4) different fats)
- 4 inch Foam Balls
- 3 inch Foam Balls
- Wood Doll Pins
- Green Cloth Covered Floral Wire
- Mod Podge Matte
- 10 inch Bamboo Skewers
- Tim Holtz Spray Stain
- Butter Knife
Prepare your Styrofoam balls by flattening them on the bottom. I just pushed mine against a hard surface.
You will want the balls to be able to stand alone.
Stain a wooden doll pin to use as your pumpkin “stem.”
When the stain is dry, insert the wooden pin into the top of your Styrofoam ball.
Remove the pin. Using a wooden skewer, cross over the center of the hole in the top of the Styrofoam ball to begin creating sections in the pumpkin.
Firmly press the skewer into the styrofoam. Continue bisecting the Styrofoam ball into even sections by rolling the skewer downward.
I chose to make eight (8) sections. This leaves you with an even amount of fat quarter patterns on the finished pumpkins.
Measure the sections of your pumpkin.
You will want to have a 1/4″ fabric excess on both sides of the measured section. For instance, my section measured 2″ so I cut my fabric strips 2 1/2″.
Using scissors make a notch in the fabric at the desired measurement.
Then tear the fabric at the notch. The raw edges are going to be hidden.
Lay the fabric strip over the Styrofoam ball, and trim it according to length.
Secure the fabric strips to the ball using pins to hold it temporarily in place.
Trim the top and bottom of the fabric strips where it is bulky.
Using the flat side of a butter knife, begin pushing the fabric strips down into the Styrofoam at the skewer lines.
Work side to side. The fabric strips will shift a little, so make sure you work both sides at the same time.
Repeat with all of your fabric fat patterned strips.
Alternate patterns and colors. If there is a wide “gutter” between fabric strips, gently push the Styrofoam on both sides towards the gap to fill it in.
Continue until all the sections are covered.
Coat the entire pumpkin with a generous layer of Mod Podge. This will seal the fabric and make it more durable. Take care to get into the gutters of the seams where the fabric has a tendency to pull out and fray.
When the Mod Podge is cured, re-insert the doll pin “stem.”
Attach a floral stem wire to the doll pin stem.
Bend the floral wire around a pencil to create pumpkin “tendrils.”
Repeat for as many pumpkins as you want!
You can experiment with different colors and patterns. A fat quarter will go a long way.
I hope you are inspired to make your own patchwork DIY fabric pumpkins.
About Shaunte
Shaunte is a 30-something, chocolate-loving, SAHM from Utah. She has been scrapbooking since 1997, the dreaded era of photos cropped with deco scissors. Since then, her work has evolved into a clean, linear, photo-focused style. Her favorite subjects to scrap are her husband and five kids (never a lack for subject material there).
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