How to Make a DIY Felted Pumpkin

I literally had to force myself to wait until after Labor Day weekend to start sharing fall crafts with you. I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I want to bury myself in all things wool and cozy and pumpkin. Even when it’s 90 degrees outside. I hope that this simple needle felting project will inspire you to get a head start on your fall and holiday crafting!

-Lisa Rios

What to get:

-Wool roving

-Wool worsted weight yarn

-Felting needle

-Felting foam

-Scissors

What to do:

1. Remove a small portion of wool roving about 2.5 inches wide by 8 -10 inches long and roll the long end into a ball. It should kind of resemble a cinnamon roll 🙂

2. Place roving on to a foam pad and start stabbing gently with your felting needle. You’ll want to use quick, shallow pokes and lightly felt all over (about 2-3 minutes). Stop felting while your roving still feels loose and spongy.

3. Tear off another portion of roving (same size as in the first step) and wrap around the pumpkin with the fibers perpendicular to your first layer. Lightly felt all over, as in the step above.

4. Cut off a 14” length of wool yarn in a contrasting color. Tie around your ball of roving like you’re starting to wrap ribbon around a gift. Using your long yarn tails, continue wrapping  until you have 6 individual strands evenly spaced around your roving and tie off.

5. Finish shaping your pumpkin with your needle. You can also secure the wool yarn to the top and bottom of your pumpkin by felting it to the white roving.

6. Cut off a small length of yarn (4-6”), fold in thirds and felt a little stem

7. Attach the stem to the pumpkin by felting around the base of the stamp

Don’t these look super cute in a small grouping? I’m already thinking of dozens of ways to incorporate them into other projects, like attached to a cute headband or to use as place settings around the dinner table.

About Lisa Rios:

“If you had asked my 12-year-old self what I wanted to be when I grow up, I probably would have had a perfectly sensible answer. Like a circus trapeze artist or an outer space explorer. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would craft for a living. But fast-forward 20 years and I’m the owner of The Makery, a walk-in craft studio located in Anaheim.  In addition to teaching and organizing local creative workshops, planning craft parties and designing handmade craft kits, I also design for Whimsy and Ink, the handmade biz I share with my rad hubby. My work has been featured in Real Simple, Brides Magazine, Bust, The Huffington Post, Orange Coast Magazine, Sunset Magazine, in Etsy’s Featured Sellers series, and in my mom’s emails to Grandma.”