Rustic Pumpkin Table Decor

Attention: Possible yarn stash-busting craft project ahead! No really, you can make these rustic pumpkin table decor centerpieces from more than just orange yarn… Think teal for food allergies or blue for autism awareness, or even just other fall pumpkin colors like white, green, or yellow! I’m honestly so addicted to making these because they’re SO easy!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Knife with a serrated blade
• Butter knife or another utensil with a hard handle
• Styrofoam balls, 3-4″ each
• Yarn in the color of your choice (pumpkin orange is what I used here)
• Green and brown chenille stems

Yes, that’s it! No glue gun burns for this girl!

Rustic Pumpkin Table Decor

Your Basic Pumpkin Shape

Your first step in creating these rustic pumpkin pieces is to take a styrofoam ball and cut off a ‘bottom’ to help it sit flat. I made a couple where I cut just a tiny bit off, and others where I cut almost half of it. Try different cuts if you’re making more than one for a nice variety. You could even cut the top too, to make a squatty pumpkin!

Indenting The Flat Spot

Next, you’ll use the handle of a spoon or butter knife to sort of bash in the center of that flat spot you just made, so that when the yarn overlaps on the bottom, it won’t make your pumpkin too wobbly. Just dent it in about an inch deep and an inch or so across.

Making the Stem

Take your brown chenille stem and cut it in half. Then fold one piece in half and twist it on itself tightly. Insert the sharp ends into the top of your pumpkin (the side opposite the dent you just made). We’ll pretty this up later, but for now, it’s going to be a guide to help keep your yarn from falling off.

Now, holding the end of your yarn in that dent you made, start slowly wrapping the foam ball with yarn. Be careful to keep it against that brown stem at the top. Every once in a while, you’ll want to wrap the yarn piece around that stem and go in a different direction. Come across the bottom, having the yarn overlap over the top of that dent, and then back up touching that stem in the middle again.

Repeat this process slowly and carefully to be sure all of the ball is covered and you can’t see any more white. Make just one or do more layers, depending on how fat you want your pumpkin to be. For me, there’s really little reason to waste the yarn once you’ve got the whole thing covered.

Tuck In The End

When you’re finished, use a pencil to shove the end of your yarn into the base of your pumpkin. You can go a step further and hot glue the end in place, but I love how it just disappeared into the bottom without using any glue at all!

Make A Proper Stem

Make a coil by wrapping the other half of the brown piece tightly around a marker or pen. Slip this over the existing brown stem of the pumpkin to make it appear thicker. Adjust your original stem by folding it down if you need to make it shorter. Take the coil off for the next part.

Make The Green Vine

Make a similar coil with the green chenille stem, only try using something smaller like a skewer. I only had a size G crochet hook available. Stretch this coil out a bit and bend it slightly in the middle to look more natural. Wrap the end of your green coil around your original brown stem, twisting twice. Then replace the brown coil over the top to hide the join.

And there you have it… your own handmade rustic pumpkin table decor! This was a really fun project to do with my mom and my daughter. I definitely see making more in our future!

You might also enjoy these Thanksgiving Finger Puppets to help you use up your chenille stems, too!