A pumpkin made out of a cable-knit sweater is almost unfairly cute. It has the little ridges. It has a twig stem. It looks like fall finally put on something comfortable.
And the starting point is a sleeve from a sweater you’re done wearing. The tube is already there, so you can make the pumpkin with hand stitching instead of sewing a whole shape from scratch.
Heather Handmade’s sweater pumpkin tutorial explains the sleeve and embroidery-floss method. Ellen at Bellewood Cottage also walks through gathering the ends and adding the grooves. Their photos are helpful for seeing the stitches up close.
The sleeve does some of the work for you
Gather a sweater, scissors, polyester stuffing, a long hand-sewing needle, embroidery floss, and a short twig for the stem. Choose a needle with an eye that fits your thread.
Chunky knits show off their texture, but Heather notes that thick fabric can be harder to gather closed. If you’re deciding between two sweaters, check how easily the fabric bunches before cutting.
The cream-and-rust pair is a good excuse to mix textures. You can also keep both pumpkins the same color and let a cable knit sit next to a simpler ribbed sleeve.
From sleeve to little pumpkin
- Cut a short tube. Lay the sleeve flat and cut a section roughly as tall as it is wide. Keep its sides joined. A wider sleeve gives you a bigger starting shape.
- Close the bottom. Sew running stitches around one opening. Pull the thread to gather it, tuck the cut edge inward, then secure with stitches and a knot. Close any remaining gap.
- Fill and close. Add stuffing, leaving room to gather the top. Repeat the gathering and secure it.
- Make the sections. Anchor a fresh length of floss at the bottom. Pass the needle up through the center, take the thread down around the outside, then pass up through the center again. Tighten enough to make a groove. Repeat in new positions around the pumpkin, then knot securely.
- Add the stem. Tuck a short twig into the gathered top. A little hot glue can hold it if needed; let it cool before handling.
The dashed line in the drawing shows the path through the middle. The solid line shows the thread outside. Those outside loops are what turn the stuffed shape into pumpkin sections.
These are decorations, so keep the loose stems and long needles away from small children. If your next closet rescue is a tee, try our braided T-shirt headband or no-sew tote.
Your sweater’s sleeves have officially retired to the mantel.
