New 'Sweet Sweater Pumpkin' Tutorial

'Sweet  sweater pumpkins ' TM

A How-To Tutorial

create your own version of Deb Kennedy’s original design, 
created and first shared here on Hummadeedledee in 2007!

 Supplies:

old long-sleeved sweaters (adult size)

twine or string

sharp scissors

LOTS of heavy rubber bands (2 per pumpkin)

Cotton wool or polyfill stuffing

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Cut the arms off of the sweaters, then cut the arms in half across the middle. (If you leave them whole, you'll have larger, more elongated pumpkin/squash shapes.) Turn all of the cut pieces inside out, and set aside.

Take the twine or yarn, and wrap it eight times around your elbow & thumb to make big loops. When done, cut it in half at your thumb so that you have one big long hank. It should be approximately 18 to 20 inches long.

Place one hank of twine inside of one cut sweater piece. Let about an inch poke out on the LARGE end of the sweater arm - the rest of the twine will hang out the narrow end.

Fold that inch of twine over the edge of the sweater, 

then gather the end up and fasten it tightly with a rubber band.

  Flip the whole thing right-side out, using the hank of twine to help.

 Stuff the open end with cotton wool at the base, then with polyfill. Remember that lots of stuffing will make your pumpkin rounder, and less stuffing will result in a flatter, 'squashed' look. Leave about an inch - or more if you prefer - of sweater 'cuff' unfilled at the top, to create the stem later.

 Separate the hank of twine into eight single strands. Spread these out equidistantly around the rounded top. Evenly distribute the strands as you stretch them to the other end of the form. 

Grasp the strands and the sweater 'cuff', twist them together, and wrap a rubber band around them several times - tightly.

Separate the strings into strands again, and then begin gently pulling each separate strand in a clockwise pattern. You'll have to pull each one twice or more to create enough tension to pouf out the sweater and form a pumpkin shape. 

Help it along by pulling the fabric out a bit at the top & bottom edges, so that the ridges are more defined. Once the ridges are even, tie the strands together around the top, to hold them in place.

 Roll the extra sweater fabric at the top into a 'stem'. 

Using the loose ends of the twine strands, begin wrapping around the stem to completely cover the sweater fabric with twine. By putting tension on the twine as you wrap, you can cause the stem to bend in a natural curve – this works best with long, thin stems (Use a long length of sweater arm for this). Tie it off when done. Trim the sweater fabric close to the twine for a nice neat end. 

You can also add embellishments to the stem – 

such as snippets of lace, burlap, leaves, acorns, even vintage jewelry.
Make it your OWN!

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You can also find this tutorial in my regular column, Sweet Re-Treats,

in the NEW FOLK Magazine . 2011 Fall Issue
 and as a link shared on 







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I created a cashmere sweater pumpkin especially for Rachel Ashwell last fall...

 The Queen pronounced them to be 'So dahling!' 

Product design and 'Sweet Sweater Pumpkin' name 

Copyright Deb Kennedy for Retreat, 2007 and

Images by Deb Kennedy, 2011. All Rights Reserved. 

This tutorial and my images may not be republished without permission.  

This version of the tutorial Published in FOLK Magazine Fall 2011 Issue by permission.