Easiest Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins to Make this Fall

Making yarn wrapped pumpkins is a great way to celebrate one of my favorite seasons of the year, Fall. And what else happens in Fall that is related to pumpkins? Halloween!

Who doesn’t love DIY pumpkins in their house?

Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins - A Life of Balance dot com

Once you have made these adorable yarn wrapped pumpkins, I’m sure you are going to make more. This is one of those craft ideas that goes really well with my hello fall tiered tray DIY kit.

You can display them anywhere, but they do look great in an entrance hall, on the mantle, as table decor, and of course, on the porch! Yarn pumpkins are a great project and are easy to make. They’re the kind of craft that is an easy craft for beginners, and even children can have fun making a few of their own.

In my yarn wrapped pumpkin tutorial below, I will show you exactly how to make a yarn wrapped pumpkin. Gather your materials, sit together around the kitchen table, and start getting crafty!

If you do prefer to watch the video, please click here for my online tutorial.

Supplies for Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins

Pop along to your local Dollar Store or local craft store if you’re needing any of the craft supplies. You’ll probably find you have most at home already.

Top Tips for Making Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins

  • You can get any size of styrofoam balls for your pumpkins. Or, buy a variety to make an interesting collection aka your indoor pumpkin patch. The size of the selected foam balls will ultimately be the size of the body of the pumpkin.
  • You do not have to buy orange yarn for this project, although a variety of shades would look quite classic together.
  • Thicker yarns will require a larger hole in your styrofoam ball. These yarns would be better for large pumpkins.
  • Burlap leaves are great and add an interesting texture to your pumpkin. You can cut out your own using these leaf templates (link). If you have a Cricut machine it’s even more fun as you can make anything your heart desires!
  • I taught my tribe how to make tendrils when I created the chunky yarn pumpkins, and you can find out exactly how to do that right here in this video.
  • For the pumpkin stem, you can use anything: a smaller cork, a thin piece of dowel, or even brown or green pipe cleaner. It depends on the size of the pumpkin you are going to make.
  • If you don’t have a needlepoint needle you can do anything that will enable you to wrap the yarn around the ball. You can even use your fingers, but it will get more tricky as you come closer to the end of the project.
  • For this craft, I used a spade bit from my husband’s drill kit, but Styrofoam isn’t too hard so you could use a knitting needle or a craft knife.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins

Step 1

Cut one side off the ball so that it can stand flat.

Drill a hole right through the center of your styrofoam ball. If you can’t have a drill, you can use a drill bit and do it by hand. Think of this as coring an apple. If you’ve ever made a pom-pom, it’s the same concept. You are going to remove at least 90% of your Styrofoam ball.

Decide which end will be the top of the pumpkin, and which will be the bottom.

In the image below, the Styrofoam ball on the right with the large hole is the correct size you are aiming for; the foam ball on the left is too small.

Styrofoam balls for yarn wrapped pumpkins

Step 2

Now, to cut pieces of yarn. 3-foot lengths are manageable and you can still pull them through the center of your ball. You can work with shorter lengths and then you’ll just be gluing down the ends inside the ball more often.

Trim the fluff off the end of the yarn so that it’s nice and stiff. This is the easiest way to thread through the eye of your needlepoint needle.

Take the other end of the yarn, add a dot of hot glue to the one point on the inside of the Styrofoam ball, and then glue the loose end of the yarn to the inside of the ball. Give it a second to dry and ensure it is stuck down. Snip off any excess yarn.

Step 3

Start wrapping!

Pull the needle through the hole from the bottom of the pumpkin. Pull the entire length of yarn through.

Start threading the yarn for yarn wrapped pumpkins

Pull the yarn neatly next to the original strand that has been wrapped around the ball, and then pull the needle through from the bottom again. Repeat this around the ball.

If you run out of thread before you’re finished wrapping your styrofoam ball, grab your glue gun, add another drop of glue to the inside of the hole and attach the end of the yarn to this new glue dot. Use the needle to pull the yarn through the hole tightly. Cut it to make sure it fits and that there are no bits of yarn hanging out from the hole.

Step 4

Repeat the process. Thread the needle, dab another glue dot to the inside of the hole next to the previous end that you’ve glued down, and keep wrapping.

Continue going round and round, making a second layer, until all of the gaps are filled or the hole is too full and you can no longer thread the needle through.

Once you’ve finished winding your last strand, you will need to secure the end of the yarn with a final dab of hot glue, and stick the yarn down to the bottom side of your pumpkin. Hold it in place until it’s secure.

To try and get a more pumpkin shape, gently press the wool a little deeper into the hole at the top and bottom of the hole.

Hot glue the beginning and ending of each strand of yarn for yarn wrapped pumpkins

Step 5

Embellishment time!

It’s time to add the finishing touches to your yarn wrapped pumpkin. Grab your leaves, tendrils, and stem, and figure out where you want them to go. It’s a great idea to do this before you glue them down so you can make sure you’re happy with the finished look.

If your pumpkin stem is too thin you can wrap twine around it to make it thicker. If you are using a pipe cleaner, it is easy to poke the end of the pipe cleaner into the middle of the pumpkin, and into the Styrofoam ball for added sturdiness.

Once everything has its place, it’s time to grab your glue gun again and hot glue the leaves, tendrils, and the base of the stem and secure them into place.

Completed yarn wrapped pumpkins - A Life of Balance

If you want to watch how I make these yarn wrapped pumpkins, please pop over to my YouTube channel and check out my online tutorial.

When you are finished, not only can you strategically place these adorable yarn pumpkins throughout your house, but you can also use them to make a DIY yarn pumpkin garland to hang on your door.

What a welcome for your guests!

Next time you’re feeling crafty, you might want to try out one of the following fall craft projects:

Next time you’re feeling crafty, you might want to try out one of the following fall craft projects:

You can check out all of my Fall crafts and diy here.

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