How to Make a Sweater Pumpkin for Your Fall Decor!

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Turn those thrift store sweaters, or even sweater vests that you see above, into amazing pumpkins for your fall home decor with this step-by-step tutorial : How to Make a Sweater Pumpkin! Make sure to check out our other Fall Diys while you’re here!

Supplies needed for this DIY:

Ribbed sweater
Darning needle
Crochet thread (optional)
Jute twine
Pillow stuffing
Hot glue
Embellishments

1. Cut the Sweater Up!

First thing, cut the sweater right at the underarm and all the way across. Make sure to keep the seams intact that run perpendicular to where you are cutting. You are basically cutting a tube shape. It will be a large tube shape. Another comparison would be an infinity scarf.

scissors laying on the top of a burgundy sweater vest that has been cut across the chest part

2. Turn the sweater tube inside out.

a close up of a burgundy sweater showing the inside seam of the sweater

3. Gather the bottom open edge

You can do this with a running stitch to make sure you get all of the open edge inside the bundle, but it’s optional. Once you have it bundled together, tie it closed with some strong string like jute twine.

the bottom edge of a sweater that has been gathered and tied together.

4.Turn the sweater right side out

After you tie the bottom open edge closed, turn the sweater right side out. The bottom should look like this from the outside.

a hand holding the bottom of a sweater pumpkin in the works

5.Run a straight stitch around the top

Now, you want to start the process of closing up the top open edge. You can just gather it with your hands again, or you can use the running stitch. I have shown below what a running stitch looks like. If you use a large enough darning needle, you will be able to use the thinnest jute twine for this step.

someone holding up a sweater that has a running stitch going through it

6. Find some stuffing

I used stuffing from an old pillow that was no longer being used. Don’t worry, I have a plan for that fabric and that fringe. Ha!

a pillow that has been cut open and the stuffing is being shown

7. Stuff your pumpkin

Use that pillow stuffing or whatever stuffing you have and stuff it as full as you want it. I used half the stuffing from that pillow, because I wanted a low profile for my pumpkin.

a sweater pumpkin in progress with stuffing being added to the inside before it gets closed up

8. Pull the straight stitch closed

After you get the pumpkin stuffed as full as you like, now you will pull both ends of the jute twine to close up the top of the pumpkin.

a closeup of the top of a sweater pumpkin still in progress to show how to gather it

9. Start to make the stem

After you tie the top closed, pull the middle up into a bundle like you did the bottom.

a hand holding together the gathered edge of a sweater that will eventually be a pumpkin

10. Wrap jute around the top bundle

Start wrapping twine around the bundled top, starting at the base and working your way up. Use hot glue to secure it every so often.

a closeup of someone wrapping jute around the top of a sweater pumpkin in progress

11. Finish wrapping the stem

Once you get almost to the top of the stem, go ahead and cut the jute and glue the end of it down. Any extra sweater that is still sticking out of the stem, just cut it off. Then you will start wrapping the very top by swirling it starting in the middle of the top until you meet the sides of the stem.

someone adding jute to the very top of a handmade stem of a sweater pumpkin that is being made

Once you have completed the stem, you want to wrap the jute around the pumpkin to make the ridges. Check out the live video tutorial for this diy to see how this is done. The last thing to do is to add any embellishments you’d like to make the sweater pumpkin your own! You can see the embellishments that I added to mine below. I hope you enjoyed this project and it inspires you to make something similar for your home! Make sure to join our email family to keep up with us anytime!