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    Home » Crafts » DIY Recycled Sweater Pumpkins With Wine Cork Stems

    DIY Recycled Sweater Pumpkins With Wine Cork Stems

    This post may contain affiliate links

    To make these recycled sweater pumpkins I covered foam pumpkins with thrift store sweaters. I have to say they are much prettier than the plush pumpkins I  spotted at Anthropologie for $42. Would you pay $42 for one smallish plush pumpkin? Not me. I made 3 sweater covered pumpkins for less than $8.

    pumpkins for diy project using recycled sweaters

    Today is Thrift Store Decor Tour Day and the links to all of the fun makeovers are at the bottom of the post. Before you head out on the tour let me tell you how I made my recycled sweater pumpkins. I started the project with three foam pumpkins I found packed away with my Fall decorations.

    Anthropologie plush pumpkin

    Anthropologie plush pumpkin cost $42.00

    The $42  plush pumpkin in the photo above was my inspiration for this project. You can see it on the Anthropologie website here.

    thrift store sweaters to make a soft plush pumpkin

    I shopped the thrift store clothing racks looking for soft sweaters to make recycled sweater pumpkins similar to the expensive plush pumpkins. I found two pretty sweaters in great Fall colors. The multicolor piece in the photo is a scarf I thought I would use to decorate the pumpkins but in the end I decided not to use the scarf.

    cut the sweater to fit the pumpkin (2)

    The first thing I did was kind of wrap the sweater around the largest pumpkin to get an idea of how big to cut the fabric. You guys know I am not into preciseness! My only concern was cutting the fabric piece too small.....and I almost did.

    use a hot glue gun to glue sweater to pumpkins (2)

    Next I applied hot glue to the top of the pumpkin and glued the fabric to the top. The fabric is doubled and bunched in places but that's okay. It gives the pumpkin dimension and well......makes it look like a pumpkin.

    hot glue a recycled sweater to a foam pumpkin for a fun pumpkin decor

    Then I did the same thing to the bottom of the pumpkin with the hot glue.

    blister from hot glue

    I have a love hate relationship with my glue gun. I love the ease but I hate it when I burn my fingers. That blister popped right up after I accidentally came in contact with the hot glue.

    how not to burn your fingers with hot glue

    how not to burn your fingers with hot glue

    When I started working on the second pumpkin I found a wood clothespin to hold the material in place instead of my fingers while the glue dried.

    how to make a soft pumpkin using recycled sweaters

    I planned to paint the faux wood stem but then decided just to clip it off and add a wine cork stem adhering it with hot glue also.

    a wine cork makes a great diy pumpkin stem

    I like using wine corks in my diy projects. We have an occasional glass of wine and I save the wine corks. If you aren't a wine drinker you can usually find corks at the thrift store.

    how to make soft plush pumpkins

    how to make soft plush pumpkins

    I covered two more foam pumpkins using the same technique then I spruced them up a bit with ribbon and faux foliage.

    how to cover artificial pumpkins with recycled sweaters

    I really have a thing about this blue ribbon with the floral print. It came from Hobby Lobby, on sale of course! I've used it in multiple projects.

    diy soft pumpkins

    The shiny metallic faux Fall leaves were perfect for the yellowish pumpkin. As I mentioned earlier I found a fun scarf at the thrift store and I thought of using it to decorate the pumpkins but the ribbons and leaves looked much better and added different textural elements.

    make Fall decor using recycled materials

    I've already set the sweater pumpkins on my fireplace mantel in anticipation of Fall decorating. Don't know yet when that is going to happen.

    wine cork pumpkin stems

    I like my pumpkins much better than the Anthropologie plush pumpkins. So, what do you guys think? Anthropologie pumpkins or Petticoat Junktion Pumpkins? For more pumpkin fun you can see my quilt and wood pumpkins here......Make These Dreamy DIY Pumpkins Using A Recycled Quilt And Pom Pom Fringe     Leave a quick note if you have time before taking off on the tour or email me at [email protected]

    sweater pumpkins with wine cork stems

     

    To take the Thrift Store Decor Tour just click the text links below the "before" makeovers photo collage......

    thrift store decor team photo september 2022

    The Thrift Store Decor Tour....
    Desktop Hanging Clock Makeover - Domestically Speaking
    Rose Back Chair Makeover - My Repurposed Life
    Framed Wedding Seating Chart - Our Southern Home
    Recycled Sweater Pumpkins - Petticoat Junktion (you are here)
    Modern Fall Decor For The Fireplace - Sadie Seasongoods
    Large Thrifted Wooden Tray Makeover - Organized Clutter
    Transfer A Recipe To A Cutting Board - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
    Window Art With Glass Plates - House Of Hawthornes
    Vintage Trash Can Upcycle - Shop At Blu

    As always thanks for being here, Kathy

    Similar Posts For You....

    • DIY Cork Covered Vases And Spray Painted Vases
    • Hanging Necklace Holder | Upcycled Project
    • Inside The House Projects For When The Weather Is Frightful
    • Upcycle This! The Best Repurpose Projects From The Thrift Team 2022

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. gail

      September 16, 2022 at 7:01 pm

      ouch! I'm glad you found the fingertip covers for hot gluing. I guess you're not a true crafter if you haven't burned off a few fingerprints.
      I love your recycled sweater pumpkins Kathy. The plushiness and the colors are perfect for those cheap foam pumpkins.

      pinned

      gail

      Reply
    2. Pam

      September 16, 2022 at 9:56 am

      I wouldn't pay $42 for a trunkload of real pumpkins 🙂 I love the idea of the wine corks as stems. I was just getting ready to donate some olf corks to Goodwill and I think I'll take them out of the donate bag and put them back in my crafting hoard!

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        September 16, 2022 at 2:50 pm

        Yes, $42 is crazy. It wasn't even a cute pumpkin.

    3. Laura Jo

      September 15, 2022 at 12:46 am

      Kathy, Your pumpkins are darling and who wouldn't love a chenille pumpkin! I wonder if you could cut the shape of leaves from that cute blue ribbon and attach to the pumpkins? I'm not sure why we keep burning our fingers with our glue guns. I bought those little rubber finger protectors but forget to put them on. When your in the creative zone, your there. Lol

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        September 15, 2022 at 8:11 pm

        I have those little rubber fingertips too and I found them when trying to clean the workshop yesterday. I forgot I had them.

    4. Naomi Shelton

      September 14, 2022 at 7:17 pm

      Kathy, you lucked out finding those sweaters in just the perfect colors to make the pumpkins and they turned out great. Sorry you burned your finger, though! Maybe you could wear rubber gloves next time! Just teasing--using the pins like Mary suggested is probably a better suggestion. The rubber gloves might get permanently adhered to the pumpkin. Then, what??

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        September 14, 2022 at 8:37 pm

        hahahaha

    5. Mary C.

      September 14, 2022 at 6:22 pm

      Love how the pumpkins turned out. I use small greenery pins (the u-shaped ones) to hold the sweaters in place when I'm making sweater pumpkins. They stick right into the foam. I'm a klutz with hot glue so I try to stay away from it.

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        September 14, 2022 at 6:43 pm

        Oh wow, thanks for the tip Mary. I need to use something to save my fingertips.

    6. Maryann

      September 14, 2022 at 5:07 pm

      Your pumpkins turned out so cute! LOVE them!

      Reply
    7. Barb

      September 14, 2022 at 3:25 pm

      Love your pumpkins. Try using real pumpkin stems. Find them anywhere they sell real pumpkins, on the ground and in or on the display area. Happy Fall!

      Reply
    8. Carlene @ Organized Clutter

      September 14, 2022 at 12:54 pm

      Super cute! Love the pumpkins!

      Reply
    9. Kristin salazar

      September 14, 2022 at 12:49 pm

      These turned out so cute! I can't believe they are that much at anthro, crazy! I have a love-hate relationship with my hot glue gun as well, got a few burns yesterday

      Reply
    10. Cheryl Atkinson

      September 14, 2022 at 8:02 am

      Hi. Kathy! They look fabulous!!

      Reply
    11. Dale Degraffenreid

      September 14, 2022 at 7:50 am

      Very cute.

      Reply

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