I love to bring Autumn decor into the home especially when it does not feel like it outside. I decided to repurpose an old Jack O' Lantern and turn it into a Fall Burlap Pumpkin Centerpiece for my dining table to give it a Harvest touch. I don't go overboard in decorating, but instead prefer to keep things simple, a wreath on the door and a centerpiece works well. I believe that it will look inviting until Thanksgiving and it cost me nothing except a little time.
So why not add a little fall flair to your home? A simple pumpkin on a table is enough to give it Fall character. This centerpiece adds color, texture and both natural and faux elements, for that Autumn style that you may keep around until Thanksgiving. Now I am aware that the orange is visible, but you may line your pumpkin underneath the burlap for extra cover. I don't mind the orange.
What inspired me to make this pumpkin was a similar centerpiece at a store which sold out and I wanted one for my dining table, so I just made my own version.
I already had everything I needed on hand. I used an old jack o’ lantern that I no longer used
and that was where I began. So for this project, you will need:
- A faux pumpkin, old or new, whatever you wish
- burlap fabric
- a piece of burlap ribbon, if you have one on hand, if not, you may use a faux or real pumpkin stem
- scissors
- hot glue gun and glue
- push pins
- roll of jute string
- faux leaves & florals
- (Optional) little pumpkins and pine cones
I started by taping off the carving on the pumpkin, the eyes, nose, and mouth with neutral craft tape.
Then I removed the wire and bulb from the inside of the pumpkin that was used to light it up.
Next, I cut strips of burlap fabric 6 inches wide. I used push pins to hold the fabric in place before gluing anything. I wanted to make sure I had enough fabric and that it sat well on the pumpkin.
You have the option of lining your pumpkin before adding the burlap so that it is well covered.
I did not do that with my pumpkin so you may see a glimpse of the orange underneath.
It is not very noticeable in person.
The pumpkin has an opening in the bottom, so I used that opening to tuck the fabric underneath and
hold the fabric in place with push pins. I cut off any excess fabric.
As I continued to cover the pumpkin with the burlap, I made sure to fold clean edges as seen below when I overlapped the fabric, but I left the other side unfolded since it will be covered by the next strip of fabric. This will serve as a guide to glue the string later on.
I continued to cover the pumpkin strip by strip and overlapped the previous strip carefully. Below you can see how the fabric was held in place on the top with push pins and the folded edges on the sides.
Don't worry about the rough edges on the top, that will be covered with the string as well.
For the last strip, I folded both sides of the fabric as seen below to give it a clean finish and held it in place with more push pins. I made sure everything was nice and tucked underneath the pumpkin.
When the fabric was as I wanted it, nice and tucked, I began to hot glue the edge of the burlap as seen below. At this point, I had not removed the push pins but kept them in place until all the side edges were glued. Once the edges were glued, I began gluing the top part of the fabric by the stem carefully. Then I hot glued the fabric underneath but kept the pushpins under the pumpkin for extra hold.
After the glue was set and dry, I grabbed by jute strings; since they were thin I had to make it thicker so I twisted four pieces of string together and tied the top into a knot to keep it in place. Before cutting my string, I measured how long the string had to be to cover the edges of the burlap fabric from top to bottom. In my case, I used about 13 inches per edge.
I hot glued the knot part of the string to the underside of the pumpkin as seen here. I made sure it was set before continuing. Then I twisted the string and glued it to the folded edges of the burlap, I worked my way up to the top of the pumpkin. When I reached the top of the pumpkin, I twisted and glued the remaining string around the top edge of the fabric around the pumpkin's stem. I repeated this step for all the edges on the burlap.
Here you can see how I twisted the string around the stem, leaving the stem exposed.
When all the edges had been covered with the string as well as the edge on the top around the stem,
I used a piece of burlap ribbon I had on hand to create a longer stem for my pumpkin. I folded the ribbon in half and rolled it to form a stem, I then hot glued it to seal the seam. After the seam was dry, I tucked it over the existing stem and hot glued it around the edges, under the string surrounding the original pumpkin stem.
You can see here how it is tucked in under the string. That was it, I had my burlap pumpkin ready to add a little color with faux leaves and real pinecones around it with small pumpkins. I will probably add some flowers later on, but for now, this will do. You may use the Burlap Pumpkin for any area in your home, table, mantel or by the window, it's up to you.
I hope that you have enjoyed this Fall Craft.
