project: pumpkin rings

As much as I love adding faces to things, one of the things that I love about autumn is that you can bring out pumpkins (without faces!) and have them work for like, three whole months. A bright orange squash is perfect for September when the leaves start to change, October when most pumpkins are getting carved up, all the way through Thanksgiving. Today's project is an ode to the simplicity of a pumpkin.

I set out looking to make a very basic pumpkin of some sort, and thought about making a little set of these in different sizes. I could just picture them on our mantle alongside a yummy-smelling candle. What I ended up with is just what I wanted...plus more.

Not only do these little rings make for cute pumpkin decor, but also (or maybe even better) as napkin rings! Ready to make your own? Here's how!



You will need:

Orange fabric
Wool blend felt
Fusible web
Embroidery floss
Green felt

Scissors
Iron
Needle



Start by fusing the fabric and felt together. The fusible web I used is paper-backed, and I recommend that you fuse it to the fabric side first, remove the paper, then iron it to the felt.

Cut the fused material into strips. For the ring shown (which makes a nice napkin ring) cut the strips to 2x6 inches, but you can alter the size for different sized pumpkins.



Roll the strip into a tube, then stitch it in place with running stitch.



Cut a piece of green felt to about 1 inch square.



Pinch the square of felt in the middle, then take a few stitches at the gathered point to hold it together a bit.



With the seam of the ring towards the bottom (but not directly on the bottom), stitch the green "stem" to the top of the pumpkin. A few stitches and a good (hidden!) knot will hold it.




Now you're ready to make a whole patch of pumpkin rings. And the best part is, you can use them right up until December comes! Of course, if you wanted them more for halloween, it would be really easy to add on a not-so-spooky face...



And hey! It made it to the mantle! The Harvest Welcome Yankee Candle is really, really nice, by the way. We had a coupon, and my mom sent me to "buy one, get one" in scents of my choosing. There were so many amazing new fall scents that I ended up with a total of four candles! So good!