By: Molly Cunningham
These yarn pumpkins are such a gorgeous little fall craft project – great for a table centerpiece or even a fall mantle. They’re beautiful on their own, or in a group.
Materials:
· Balloon
· Orange yarn
· White glue
· Pipe cleaners (brown and green)
Equipment:
· Tape measure
· Scissors
· Plastic fork
Step 1: Find what you need.
Gather your materials.
Step 2: Prepare balloon and glue.
Blow up 12” balloons about half full. The bigger you blow the balloons, the more you’ll need. But the smaller you blow them, the more egg-like the shape will be. It’s a balance. Cut out about 21 pieces of yarn about 36 inches long. If you make your prices longer than that, they’ll get tangled when you soak them in glue. Pour the glue into a small bowl. It takes about one full 2-ounce bottle of glue per yarn pumpkin. Tie one end of yarn to the end of the balloon. Open one of your kitchen cabinets and hang the balloon from the handle. It’s way easier and cleaner than trying to manipulate the balloon when it’s lying on a flat surface.
Step 3: Dip yarn and wind around balloon.
Dunk one of these pieces of yarn into the bowl of glue and swirl it around gently with a plastic fork to get it completely covered with glue. Hold the end of the piece of yarn with your fingers, then gently run it between the tines of a fork to remove the excess glue. Take the glue covered yarn strand and press the end down somewhere and wind it around the balloon, making sure to press down the ends of the yarn to secure them when they’re in place. Repeat with the remaining pieces of yarn.
Step 4: Allow it to dry.
When you’re done, find somewhere to hand the yarn covered balloons to dry. They do drip a few drops of glue while drying, so make sure you put down an old towel, tarp, or tablecloth. It takes 24 hours for them to dry.
Step 5: Remove the balloon.
This is critical. You need to make sure you press your fingers down under the yarn to detach the glue from the balloon. It’s a little tedious, but if you don’t do it, the balloon will pull the yarn to the inside as it deflates. Make a very small hole in the balloon close to where the knot is. You want the air to leak slowly so you can detach any yarn that you might have missed as it shrinks. Then pull the deflated balloon out through one of the openings in the yarn.
Step 6: Add the pipe cleaner stem and tendrils.
Make the pipe cleaner stem and vine by wrapping the pipe cleaners around your baby finger. The stem is just a spiral, so you can tuck it in, and it will stay in place.
Your yarn pumpkin is complete!
Craft credit to Debbie Chapman
