Drop Cloth Pumpkin

I've been drooling over all the gorgeous fabric pumpkins seen everywhere you look. Sadly I was not the proud owner of one...until now! Had I known how amazingly easy and fast it is to make one of these, my house would probably be overrun with them! It literally took me about 30 minutes to make this. The photography session should be so short!

I do think I will make at least one more in a different size...but which will it be, bigger or smaller? Well that's a no brainer...everyone knows things are best in sets of three. Looks like I need two more pumpkins.

Do you see those pretty crystals? My dear friend Debbie from The Lakehouse, had them wrapped around the handle of a gift bag of goodies she gave me when we met recently for a fun shopping trip and lunch. More about that trip to come. I just love them with my pumpkin. Kind of classes it up don't you think? Debbie is very classy like that...in a completely humble way.

Want to know how to make these? Stick around and I'll give you the quick and easy tutorial of how I made mine, but be sure to check out this post by Patti, at Old Things New. I referred to her tutorial with a couple tweaks of my own. She used real pumpkin stems and a different gluing method on hers.
First you need a round plate, bowl, platter etc. to trace around. I used a large round platter. As you can see it measures about 15 inches in diameter. I used a disappearing fabric pen to trace, but you could use any pen and cut just inside your pen lines.

You will need some heavy duty thread and a long needle.

I used a doll making needle which was perfect for making a quick gathering around the circumference of the circle. My spacing was about 1/2 inch.You can just quickly run your needle in and out without worrying about spacing too much; it won't matter when you gather it. Don't cut your thread yet.

At this point it looks a lot like a shower cap! I don't recommend that. Next you will need some dry rice. Like you would use cooked rice :P Really don't recommend that either.

Pour some into the bottom of your pumpkin. I used about a cup for this size. You also need some batting. I couldn't find mine (I hide things too well), so I used some pieces of quilt batting and just pulled off a couple handfuls. It doesn't take much. You don't want to overstuff it. Loosen up your gathering if needed to stuff the pumpkin.

Now you can tighten up your gathering stitch. Pull your original knot out away from the pumpkin so you can tie off your threads by tying them together. I found this the easiest as the pumpkin kept wanting spring open.

If needed, sew the opening closed by running your needle through the top a few times and knotting off.

As you can see, my pumpkin ended up being about 6 inches across. For a really big pumpkin you would need a really, really big circle!

Now you can leave it as is, or you can sew through the middle of your pumpkin, top to bottom, creating deep ridges. I passed my needle through the pumpkin six times, then knotted it off on top. This is where the long doll needle really came in handy!

Here's what it looks like from the bottom. Adjust your thread as you go to get fairly even ridges.

Almost done! I didn't have any real pumpkin stems at the time, so I sawed a small branch off a piece of aged firewood. I kinda like the effect. I used hot glue to attach it and worked it down into the pumpkin about 1/2 inch or so. To hide the stitches I used some spanish moss and just wrapped it around the stem. I didn't glue it down in case I wanted to change the look, but you could certainly use a little hot glue to secure it.

And now you have your very own fabric pumpkin. If you don't like to craft, are afraid of hot glue guns, or just really like to buy things, you will find a few of these available in my Etsy shop. I will brave the glue gun for you ;)

I've linked to these awesome parties:
Project Inspired at An Extraordinary Day
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
Whatever goes Wednesdays at Someday Crafts
Share Your Cup Thursday at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Vintage Inspiration at Beyond the Picket Fence
What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Simple and Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme
Be Inspired at Elizabeth and Co.
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes
That DIY Party at DIY Showoff