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It's the Great (needle felted) Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Maker Team member Maddy of @maddywilsonart is our needle felting expert and she's delivered a gourd-eous project for Fall. Her Needle Felted Pumpkin tutorial is so easy to follow and only requires a little bit of time and a few supplies. We dare you to make just one!
This needle felted pumpkin is geared toward beginner felters. It's also great for our last minute crafter who may need to make short work of a whole pumpkin patch!
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 60-90 minutes
Directions:
Pumpkin Body
1. To create inner form of the pumpkin, take about 1/2 oz of core wool and roll into a loose, thick hamburger. Form should look circular from the top and more squat from sides.
2. Use felting needle to loosely felt from all sides for about five minutes (no more) to help core wool hold its shape. Stab sides towards the center to keep pumpkin from going flat. The inner form should still be soft and squishy. The pictured example is 3 1/2" wide and 2" tall, but any size is fine.
3. Tack down one end of colored wool roving into inner form by stabbing end with felting needle.
4. Wrap wool roving around inner form once. Tear off wool after one rotation and tack down torn end. Do not cut wool! Continue wrapping in same manner from different angles until inner form is covered. A smaller pumpkin took me two rotations and a larger pumpkin required three. You should now have a loose, fully covered pumpkin body.
Pumpkin Lobes
5. There are two different ways to make the Pumpkin Lobes. Both techniques are demonstrated below.
Option 1: Embroidery Floss
a. Select a floss to match wool roving. The example uses DMC 741 to match Marigold roving.
b. Use a needle to pull floss through center of pumpkin body. Loop around outside and pull tightly to create a lobe. Go back through the center and repeat until you have made at least six lobes. Pull tight with each pass to create definition.
c. Once lobes are formed, tie off floss. Lightly felt each section with felting needle to add more depth and definition.
Option 2: Wool Roving
d. Tear off additional wisps of wool roving to match pumpkin. Roll wisps between palms to create a rope about 1/3 thickness of a pencil.
e. Tack down the end of rope in the center of pumpkin body and pull tightly. Anchor rope end on the opposite side. If your ropes are long enough, make a complete circle around the pumpkin.
f. Felt over entire rope segment to firmly secure in place.
g. Repeat to create at least six lobes.
Pumpkin Stem
6. To create the stem, tear off a 6 x 2’’ section of Evergreen roving.
7. Roll roving tightly like a sleeping bag until half way. Fold remaining roving in half and contine to roll tightly. If desired, fold over once more as you roll for a shorter and fatter stem.
8. Use felting needle to firmly felt along top and body of stem. Leave bottom unfelted.
9. Felt bottom of stem onto pumpkin body.
10. For extra flair, add a few locks of Wensleydale Curls and tack next to stem.
There you have it! Once you are comfortable with the process, these needle felted pumpkins can be easily made in under an hour.
And go wild with Benzie's vibrant selection of wool roving to coordinate these pumpkins with your holiday home!
Thanks to Maddy for designing and writing this tutorial! You can see more of her work on Instagram @maddywilsonart and on her website. Stay tuned for more tutorials from the Benzie Design Maker Team!
