Instead of throwing out that old sweater that has seen its better days, recycle it! They make the cutest pumpkin craft for Fall.

I was able to make four terry knit sweater pumpkins in different sizes with just one sweater. What makes these unique is that they have recycled cabinet knob pumpkin stems. So grab an old sweater and let's make some pumpkins, and I'll show you how.

Sweater Pumpkins with Cabinet Knob Stems

What I love most about these sweater pumpkins is that everything to make them is from recycled materials, even the pumpkin leaves are leftover upholstery fabric.

It's a great way to save old sweaters too worn to donate from ending up in the landfill, making them an eco-friendly fall craft idea.

Don't fret if you don't have cabinet knobs to use for the pumpkin stems. Things like small tree branches, ribbon bows, chair spindles, or dried pumpkin stems are perfect too.

What Type Of Sweaters Should I Use For Sweater Pumpkins?

1. You can make sweater pumpkins with looped cotton terry knit like I used for my pumpkins.
2. Cable knit, ribbed knit, and multi-stitch patterns are lovely too.
3. For a touch of elegance, use soft knit jersey, fine wool, angora, or even velvet.
4. Patterns or multi-colored sweaters add a playful touch.
5. Solid color sweaters in earth tone colors for fall are so pretty too.

Whether shopping your closet or shopping the thrift store aisles, look for sweaters with textures and colors that work with your home decor or fall decorating color palette.

The inexpensive sweater I'm using lost its shape after the first wash. As mentioned earlier, I was able to get four pumpkins out of this short capped sleeve sweater. With long sleeve sweaters, you can get at least four more small pumpkins from the sleeves.

What You'll Need To Make The Sweater Pumpkins

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Supply List

Sweater (recycled)
Needle and all-purpose thread
Fiberfill Batting
Twine
8-inch Upholstery Needle
Cabinet knobs (salvaged)
Awl
Fabric remnant or felt (leaves)
Pinking Shears
White School Glue or Mod Podge
Hot Glue Gun

How To Make Sweater Pumpkins

The sweater pumpkins are made much the same way as my Farmhouse Ticking Fabric Pumpkins so they can be made with fabric too.

Step 1 - Salvaging The Sweater

Cut along the seams with sharp scissors or pinking shears to eliminate fraying. Remove the sleeves and cut along the side seams.

Step 2 - Measurements For Various Pumpkin Sizes

The trick to measuring your sweater fabric for each pumpkin size is to divide the width in half to get the height.

Large Fabric Pumpkin: 20-inches wide x 10-inches tall
Medium Fabric Pumpkin: 16-inches wide x 8-inches tall
Small Fabric Pumpkin: 12-inches wide by 6-inches tall

1. Starting at the bottom of both the front and back of the sweater, measure the width.
2. Divide that measurement in half to get the height. Example; if your sweater is 20-inches wide then the height of this piece will be 10-inches.
3. Repeat that same formula moving your way up to the neckline.

Step 3 - Sweater Pumpkin Side Seam

1. Fold each piece with the short sides together inside out.
2. Sew the short sides together. If you don't have a sewing machine you could hand stitch the side seams or use fabric glue for a no-sew option.
3. Leave one end open with a raw edge.
4. Sew the other end using a tacking or basting stitch (largest stitch setting), leaving long strands of thread on either end (pictured above).

Step 4 - Sweater Pumpkin Bottom Seam

1. Gently pull on one strand of thread and gather the fabric.
2. Repeat by pulling the top strand of thread on the opposite side.
3. Tie each end to secure the gathers.
4. Turn the pumpkins right side out.

No-Sew Option

Gather the fabric in your hand and tie it off tightly with an elastic band.

Step 5 - Fill Sweater Pumpkins

Fill each pumpkin with fiberfill batting, I used what I had on hand leftover from my antique balloon back chair makeover.

Step 6 - Sweater Pumpkin Top Seam

1. With a needle and white all-purpose thread, draw the fabric together at two opposite points, and sew together.
2. Repeat by gathering the other two opposite points.
3. Continue around the pumpkin until all the points are drawn to the center and sewn together (pictured above).

Step 7 - Sweater Pumpkin Ribs

Take caution during this step or like me, you'll be sporting a bandage.

1. With a long upholstery needle, thread a long strand of twine through the eye of the needle.
2. You will want something to help push the needle through the bulk of the pumpkin as you work, like a plastic cutting board.
3. Starting from the top, pull the twine through the pumpkin and out the center of the base, leaving a long strand at the top (the first tendril).
4. Holding the tendril in place with your thumb, pull the thread over the pumpkin and insert the needle into the center and back through the base.
5. Wrap it over the opposite side of the pumpkin and pull taut to form the first two ribs and tie in a knot to hold in place.
6. Repeat 3-5 until you have eight ribs like pictured above and tie in a knot to secure.
7. There should be two long strands of twine hanging from the center of the pumpkin.

Step 8 - Sweater Pumpkin Cabinet Knob Stems

1. Poke a hole through the top and down to the bottom of the pumpkin with an Awl.
2. Squish the pumpkin as tight as you can and pull the stem of the cabinet knob through the hole and out the bottom of the pumpkin
3. Place the nut onto the stem and tighten.

Step 9 - Sweater Pumpkin Tendrils

1. Pour some white craft glue or Mod Podge into a small bowl.
2. Rub the twine with a generous amount of glue with your fingers.
3. Wrap the twine around wooden skewers or pencils.
4. Before they are completely dry slide the tendrils off and let them dry completely while still curled.

Step 10 - Sweater Pumpkin Leaves

The leaves are leftover upholstery fabric from our Queen Anne Armchair makeover.

1. Using a fabric leaf as a template and trace the leaf pattern onto the back of a fabric remnant.
2. Cut two leaves per pumpkin.
3. To give the leaves some shape, brush the back of each one with Mod Podge and let it dry overnight. You can skip this step if you prefer floppy leaves.
4. Glue the leaves under the knob stem with a hot glue gun.
5. Loosen the twine tendril curls to your liking.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by these terry knit sweater pumpkins with cabinet knob stems.

That's it, we're done. There may seem to be a lot of steps for making these sweater pumpkins but each step doesn't take long.

Once you've mastered making one set of sweater pumpkins, you'll be rummaging through your closets to make more. Like I did when I made these ticking fabric pumpkins from a recycled armchair slipcover and these retro fabric pumpkins from leftover chair fabric.

When creating fall vignettes, I like to mix my sweater pumpkins with white painted dollar store pumpkins on a coffee table tray.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this DIY sweater pumpkin idea. For more pumpkin inspiration you may like these 12 DIY pumpkin ideas that are easy on the wallet.

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