Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins

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Our easy yarn pumpkins are a cinch to make with inexpensive foam pumpkins and yarn from the Dollar Store and Walmart, but they look like a million bucks!

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

Sometimes my babes just nails it with an idea.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Yarn pumpkins? She didn’t think of yarn pumpkins! I’ve seen so many people do them!”

And no one is disputing your claim, madam.

But what Handan did is make them easy. She’s an engineer. It’s what she does!

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

Anyway, she’d been hoarding foam pumpkins for over a month, buying a handful here from Dollar Tree and an armload there from Walmart (which actually sells them cheaper than Dollar Tree) and even splurging occasionally at Kroger, Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

As usual when she starts laying in vast quantities of a particular craft supply or decor item, I know something is brewing in that squirrel brain of hers – a mighty tempest that will manifest in yet another craft for Your Long-Suffering Author to make, photograph and write about.

So it was with the foam pumpkins.

And here I am writing about it.

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

You may recall last year, we made some Mambo Yarn Trees and Faux Fur Trees.

DIY Faux Fur Trees in a Christmas Display

We also used a few other types of yarn to make those trees. The point is, the same thing happened last year as happened this past month – only with yarn instead of pumpkins. Those two projects turned out great.

I think this one is even better!

So, as I said, we were well provisioned with pumpkins. We also had a boatload of thick yarn and a whole bunch of faux fur yarn left over from those previous projects.

Handan’s idea was to make yarn pumpkins (been done before), but do it differently (new and exciting!) We watched videos of women (Always women. Where my dudes at?) using yarn needles (is that what they’re called?) or hot glue. Gah! What a mess! And Handan saw that they all suffered from the same fatal flow that not only made their project harder, but it made the final yarn pumpkin not look as good as it should.

The secret, you see, is in the hole…

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

You’d never guess that these easy DIY yarn pumpkins came from such humble beginnings! And we also found some interesting yarn at Dollar Tree, so this can truly be a Dollar Store project should you wish. The yarn pumpkins I made for this written tutorial and for the YouTube video use the Dollar Tree yarn and Walmart foam pumpkins.

Okay enough of my yapping, let’s make some simple stupid yarn pumpkins.

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

SUPPLIES LIST

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yarn pumpkin supplies

DIY Yarn Pumpkin Video Tutorial

Watch Our Tutorial On YouTube
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

DIY Yarn Pumpkin Written Tutorial

Okay, you’ve got your pumpkins. Good for you! You’ve taken the first step towards greatness!

making a yarn pumpkin

Plastic stems are for the birds. Well, not literally, of course! But pull that sucker out of there and throw it in the trash.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Place a quarter over the stem hole – it’s the size of the hole you’ll want for the Red Heart Rigoletto yarn. Other, thicker yarns and faux fur yarns will require a bigger hole. More on that later.

making a yarn pumpkin

Stab around the circumference of the quarter to mark your hole.

making a yarn pumpkin

Dig a circumference down about halfway or more.

making a yarn pumpkin

Then flip the pumpkin and dig from the other side. No need for the quarter – just eyeball it.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

If your foam starts breaking up while you’re digging, just pull it out. This isn’t brain surgery, madam! No need for a delicate touch!

making a yarn pumpkin

When you’ve broken through, simply push the rest of the styrofoam out with a finger until you have a clean hole through your pumpkin.

making a yarn pumpkin

Time for the yarn. Measure and cut about 3-4 feet of the Red Heart Rigoletto yarn. If you’re using other thicker yarns or faux fur yarns, then make that cut at about 6-8 feet just to be on the safe side. Grab an end, tie a knot and shove it through the hole. The knot on the end makes it easier to push the yarn through and to pull it out from the other side.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Grab the end and pull the yarn through the hole.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Once you have about half the yarn pulled though, feed  it back through the hole: push the knot in, pull the knot out from other end and wrap.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Push the knot in, pull the knot out, and wrap.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Push, Pull and Wrap. Couldn’t be easier!

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

It’s a lot like making a loop yarn wreath, but you don’t need to pin anything on the pumpkin.

Once you reach the end of the yarn, just let the piece dangle and go to work on the other end.

making a yarn pumpkin

Flip the pumpkin over, and tie a knot in the other end of the yarn

making a yarn pumpkin

Repeat what you were doing before: Push, Pull and Wrap!

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

When you’ve covered the entire pumpkin, set aside the piece you were working on for a moment.

making a yarn pumpkin

Trim the first end and tuck it into the hole.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

For the last wrap, look for any places that have a thinner cover or any pumpkin showing through, and bring the yarn up to cover that spot.

making a yarn pumpkin

Trim most of the excess.

making a yarn pumpkin

Then push the end into the hole.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

Grab your stick piece and push it in.

making a yarn pumpkin
making a yarn pumpkin

I told you it was easy! Time from start to finish: about 5 minutes.

yarn pumpkin

Now go crazy with some other yarns! We used all sorts to make ours. Note that the faux fur yarn shown below is pretty thin. To make wrapping faster, we doubled it over and tied a knot at the fold. But Lion Brand also has other faux fur yarn named “Go for Faux, Thick & Quick” which we used for our DIY Faux Yarn Christmas Trees and some with our pumpkins. If you’re using Thick & Quick, you don’t need to double it over.

faux fur yarn

For the thicker yarns, you’ll need a wider hole. Don’t worry – it may look enormous at first, but the thick yarn will fill it up by the end.

foam pumpkin with hole

That’s that! Super simple (and cheap!) DIY Yarn Pumpkins that look like something Hobby Lobby would sell for $9.99!

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

We love to see our craft projects out in the wild! If you try this seasonal craft project, take a picture and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag us @TheNavagePatch!

Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com

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Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com
Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins - TheNavagePatch.com




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33 Comments

  1. This is one of those why-didn’t someone think of this before ” ideas!

    Question-Some of the pumpkins look like yarn was braided. Is that just due to folding the yarn over?

  2. Great project! Watching the video, I was wondering how long it would take you to run the yarn through your fingers to keep the twists out, but you got it towards the end. I wanted to reach through the screen and show you how! Love how you wound it from both ends; I firmly believe in energy conservation–especially when it is MY energy! Gotta go check my yarn stash and see if I already have some yarn that work for this one!

  3. OMG!! Are these pumpkins cute or what? I can’t wait to go to the $ store tomorrow. Hope they have their shipment of pumpkins. And the white Loopy Yarn wreath, I’m making those, too. If you lived next door, I’d be over to steal what was left of the baby blue yarn. I want a pumpkin just like yours I can taste it. Thank you, thank you. Stay safe!

  4. I saved this post before I even watched the video. I knew this was going to be an awesome tutorial. Can’t wait to make over my dollar tree pumpkins! Thanks for sharing! So glad I found your blog!

  5. I can’t wait to make these next year. Plus, I just saw DIY yarn Christmas trees at Joanne’s this year, so I’m glad you have that project too. They are both great.

  6. Can you tell me what brand(s) of yarn you used? Particularly the cream-colored pumpkin in the middle and the multi-colored pumpkin next to it? I can’t find anything online or in stores that looks like it. Thanks so much!

  7. Not only are these absolutely gorgeous, but it was fun to read through your tutorial as well. I lost this page, but found it again and this is how I will be spending my day today. Thank you for the inspiration. Can’t wait to get started.

  8. Ummmm why in the heck didn’t I think of this?!?! BRILLIANT! I bought a bunch of pumpkins last year and spent forever trying to paint them only for them to look like trash. So I gave up. Luckily I hoard craft supplies like glitter and glue sticks will save me in the zombie apocalypse so I still have the half painted pumpkins!! This is perfect to do while watching a bit of tv. My kind of craft! Thank you!!

  9. A little tip: I found that I saved a lot of yarn–and searching for my needle from the middle of a yarn-dense pumpkin–by catching the yarn at the top then again at the bottom–back and forth, back and forth–versus always going through the pumpkin. Thanks for the idea!

  10. I love your yarn pumpkins! They are exquisite! I have gathered materials and I am planning to craft them with my teen granddaughters when they are here next weekend, I love your yarn colors and styles in particular and I have found suitable yarn matches for our project, but I cannot find the soft variegated yarn used on the pumpkin shown right above the supplies list. It is ivory, brown, gray… Would you please tell me the manufacturer, type, and color name? Thank you so much!

      1. Thank you for the link to the yarn. I ended up crafting these yarn pumpkins with my teen granddaughters this weekend! We used your beautiful color scheme inspiration and made almost three dozen pumpkins for two baskets! We found our foam pumpkins on clearance at Hobby Lobby and also got some from Amazon. We used pumpkins in a variety of sizes and about a dozen different kinds and colors of yarn.
        We developed our own technique though where we would fold a long length of yarn in half, insert the loop formed at the half way point into the top of the pumpkin and out the bottom, then put the two ends through that loop and pull tight. Then we went over and over with our loose ends of yarn two at a time through the top hole of each pumpkin and out the bottom until finally two shorter tails were left hanging out the bottom, pulling tight each time. If we needed more yarn to finish a pumpkin, we just cut another length and repeated the process until the pumpkin was completely covered and all the tails were out the bottom. We found that yarn in shorter lengths of 4 to 6 yards or shorter were more manageable. Then we inserted a stem into the top and cut off the pieces of yarn sticking out of the bottom hole. We used some vine wrapped wire circled around a pencil and put the curled “vine” under the stem before pushing it into some of the large pumpkins. Our stems were cut from branches from a trimmed tree from our yard.
        Our finished yarn pumpkins are gorgeous and definitely look expensive… like they were purchased from a boutique… And we had a great time crafting together! Thank you so much for your idea, your inspiration, and your help!

          1. I love these! I made a bunch to coordinate with my upcycled sweater pumpkins that I also make. I found that if the original pumpkin is a really different color than the yarn I’m using, I just brush on a quick coat of craft paint (similar color to the yarn) before wrapping and it helps hide any areas that want to peek through, especially when using yarn that is not quite as chunky.
            /Users/jaymie/Desktop/Business stuff/Products/Pumpkins/Yarn Pumpkins/IMG_5679.jpeg

  11. I have a confession to make. I have never watched a video of you before today. I saved everything for when I get the supplies. Today I watched and it was so much fun reading what the other pumpkin had to say about you. Which is why I follow you two, You make me laugh and after I feel good all day long. So thank you for the great craft ideas and for the laughter. Love you guys.

    1. Thank you so much for writing this comment, Judy! Your uplifting words have made me feel so much better and ready to tackle another day! 🙂