Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fall Pumpkin and Leaf Garland

1 Fall Pumpkin Garland

When I think of Fall, I think of oranges, yellows and reds. I think of leaves changing color and falling in piles on the ground. It has been 30 years since I lived on the East Coast but I have never let go of that ideal. I think of jumping in huge piles of colorful leaves and pumpkin picking. These are my inspirations for this garland.

Bow with sun flower

I made a bow for each end with a silk sun flower hot glued to the center.

pumpkins and leaves up close

My leaves are falling with the help of fishing line.

Fall Pumpkin and leaf garland

I couldn’t be more thrilled with the result. I can hardly wait for this post to go out! When the fan is on the leaves spin and flutter in the breeze. I just LOVE IT!!

If you would like to see more on how I made the pumpkins, I have a tutorial below.

T 1 fold fabric

1. You can cut 3 pumpkins out at once. Fold your fabric in half and then again in thirds.

T 2 Pin pattern and cut

2. I like to cut a section off the fabric to make it easier to cut around the curves.

T 3 Voila 3 pumpkins

3. Once you have cut out your pumpkin shapes and un-pinned the pattern, remove the top fabric piece and place it on the bottom of the pile. You now have 3 sets of right sides together pumpkins.

T 4 sew fabric and batting

4. Sew two pumpkin pieces on top of two layers of batting. Leave an opening at the top so you can turn it right side out. I choose to leave my opening at the top where the stem will help to hide the hand sewn seam. I did all of my pumpkins assembly line style.

T 5 trim batting

5. After you have sewn the batting onto the fabric, trim around the edges. Then turn your pumpkin right side out and hand stitch the opening closed.

Once you have it right side out and closed. Stitch in your lines to give your pumpkin added detail. I suggest you start at the bottom and stitch towards the top. This way any puckering or shifting of the fabric will happen where the step and leaves will cover it up. Though, I didn’t have much trouble with puckering happening.

I varied the number and angle of the lines to give each pumpkin it’s own personality.

T 6 making the stems

6. I made my stem shapes by folding my felt over and placing my template on top (leaving the fold at the top of the stem un-cut). Then I stitched along the narrow part of the stem to give it added strength and a finished look.

T 7 pin the stem

7. Since I will be sewing through both sides at once, I was careful to match up both sides of the stem while pinning it down. I started with one corner and then flipped the pumpkin over to match as closely as possible the same corner on the opposite side. When I put the pin back up through the back layer, I made sure that the pin came out as approximately the same spot on the front. Stitch a straight stitch matching up with the stitch you did on the narrow portion all the way around.

T 9 Stem Detail

8. I added some ribbing detail to the stems to mimic the ribs on real pumpkins. This also ensures that both sides are secure if you missed an edge on the backside.

T 8 pin and stitch leaf

9. My pumpkins are two sided since you can see this from the hallway. I used the same technique for the leaves as I did with the stem. I matched up two similar sized silk leaves and pinned down the center vein line. Carefully stitch along that line to hide your stitches.

(You can find these leaves in bags at Walmart for about $1.00 or buy a silk branch of fall leaves and carefully remove the leaves). I have had my leaves for a few years and I got them off a silk branch.

String your pumpkins on ribbon. For an added touch thread a pipe cleaner through the stem and wind the ends around your fingers.

For the hanging fall leaves I threaded fishing line through them and placed a knot between each. I simply threaded the end through the ribbon and tied it off.

I made my own bows and hot glued the flowers in the middle for an added touch.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this hanging in my archway! My pumpkins sparkle with gold glitter and the leaves float and “fall” in the breeze.

Katrina

Because you asked for it……and because I am loving the comments (keep them coming)! ;)

pumpkin and stem templates

Here are the templates for my pumpkins and stems. Alas my scanner is broken. :( So I have taken a picture of my templates for you. You can right click this image and save it. Please use it for your personal use only. Our crafts are intended for you to enjoy or even to give as gifts but not to make money off of.

When you print out this template be sure that the image size is 7.25 inches wide by 8.6 inches tall. My finished pumpkins measure roughly 6 1/4 inch due to 1/4 inch seams and the batting. Feel free to resize your pumpkins to suit your liking. The trick is to remember that your final product will be about 1 inch smaller than your template.

Katrina


Falling for Fall

11 comments:

Beansieleigh said...

LOVE this!! Thank you for the tutorial! And I had to smile about the fishing line.. Fishing line is one of my BEST FRIENDS when decorating for ANY season/holiday! I bought a big spool of it YEARS ago, and I feel like it's magic! It just NEVER RUNS OUT! I love it! ~tina

southerninspiration said...

you should be proud of this; it's cute!!!

suzanne

MammaDucky said...

I am just about to fall down right now. I was totally working on a pumpkin garland after being inspired by the apple garland! Awesome!!!

Beth said...

LOVE it! I've gotta get going on my own fall decor. I've been in denial!!

Alison said...

What an adorable garland!!!

Char said...

Where are the templates please?

Anonymous said...

I love this it is so beautiful I will be making this shortly

Sandra said...

This is beautiful, thank you for the tutorial. Very well done!

H.H. Addict said...

This is such and ADORABLE idea!! I love your blog and am now a follower! I linked to this tutorial from my blog. Hope that is ok!!! HUGS!

Donna said...

Your pumpkins are beautiful! Great job! I've been looking for an idea for my November banner, and I think I just found my "banner of the month!"

I've made banners for September and October and plan to do one for each month. The kids LOVE taking down the old banner and helping to hang the new one on the mantle. It's becoming a tradition! I'm a bit late this month, but still determined to do it!

Thanks for the great tutorial!

Lisahof5 said...

So adorable! I LOVE the pumkin garland. My only regret is that T-Day is already a week away & I didn't see this sooner. Thank you for sharing the lovely ideas!