Introduction: Felted Pumpkin With Personality

About: Teacher, tutor, trainer, author, and creative person; if I can do it or make it myself, I will! Jewelry & websites at http://www.aspiring-arts.com. Oh, and I did an "instructable" on TV once, on …

Meet Myron, the adorable autumn pumpkin made entirely of hand-felted wool. Want to know how to make one of your own? Read on!

Materials and Supplies:

To make the pumpkin, you will need:

- Orange roving
- Green roving
- A little white, blue, and black roving
- Felting needle
- Felting tool (optional)
- Felting brush or mat; foam insulation can be used as well

Step 1: Make the Body

Take about a foot of roving and roll it into a ball. Secure the end with a needle.

Take another foot and wrap it perpendicularly around the barrel. Secure the end.

Use felting tool or needle to shape the squarish body into a ball shape.

Step 2: Add the Eyes and Nose

Take a couple of little pieces of white roving and shape them into almond shapes. Lightly needle them into the ball, spacing them apart for eyes.

Then needle them deeper, creating the look of eye sockets.

For the nose, roll about a 1 x 2" section of roving and needle it in between and below the eyes. For a pug nose like Myron's, poke a couple of nostrils in there.

Step 3: Define the Eyes

Needle a little blue fluff into the eyes to define eyeballs.

Take a tiny bit of black wool and create pupils. Add a tinier piece of white fluff if you'd like to create the look of highlights.

For the eyelids, roll about an inch of roving around a thin knitting needle. Take the rolled wool and needle it above the eye. Do the same for the other eye. Then do the same for the lower eyelids, shaping them so that they meet for the look of smile wrinkles.

Add a little piece of black wool, rolled up into a skinny snake, under the upper eyelids to give the look of eyelashes.

Step 4: Add the Mouth

Take a triangle of roving and needle it in below the nose to create the basic mouth. Needle it so it will be a little recessed.

Make a one-and-a-half-inch knitting needle roll, and attach it to make the lower lip. Do the same with a thinner one-inch roll for the upper lip. Shape to create a smile. Add a little wool to fill in between the upper lip and the nose.

Take a few little pieces of wool and needle them into the mouth to create teeth.

Step 5: Stem and Cheeks

To finish the face, roll a couple of one-inch-square pieces of roving and needle them to make the cheek apples. Needle the sides of the mouth so that the smile continues into them.

Add a little needling to do some final shaping to the features.

To create the stem, roll a two-inch piece of green wool diagonally and needle it together into a firm roll. Leave one end soft.

Needle that end into the top of the pumpkin and attach firmly.

Step 6: Finishing

Needle grooves in front, sides and back to finish the look of the pumpkin. Enjoy your finished cutie, and please post photos here of your finished product!

Halloween Decorations Challenge

Participated in the
Halloween Decorations Challenge

Pocket-Sized Contest

Participated in the
Pocket-Sized Contest