How I Made the Fabric Pumpkins for My Fall Tree 🎃
Sincerely Fall: Part Two — From one ribbon to a very colorful fall idea
If you read Part One of Sincerely Fall, you already know this year's fall collection is starting to spill out of my closet and into my house.
And today, you get to see where a big piece of that inspiration came from.
Would anyone be surprised if I told you it started with ribbon?
Probably not. 😂
I found a ribbon created by Reliant Ribbon that I absolutely fell in love with. It wasn't your typical muted fall palette. It was colorful, whimsical and a little unexpected—and the second I saw it, my brain started going.
Pink.
Purple.
Teal.
Orange.
Gold.
THIS was the fall I wanted.
Not necessarily traditional. Not neutral. Just colorful, happy and very me.
And apparently loving one ribbon was all it took to send me down the rabbit hole of planning an entire fall tree, making fabric pumpkins by hand, and eventually creating something I could wear.
But we'll get to that part later. 👀
Today, we're making pumpkins.
It All Started With a Reliant Ribbon 🎀
One of my favorite ways to start decorating for a season is to find one thing I absolutely love and build from there.
Sometimes it's an ornament.
Sometimes it's a color.
Sometimes it's a piece of fabric.
And sometimes it's a really, really good ribbon.
This D. Stevens ribbon became my jumping-off point for the entire color story behind my next At Home With Skye tree.
I loved that it still felt like fall without relying on the colors we normally associate with fall. The bright colors against the warm seasonal details gave me exactly the whimsical feeling I wanted.
So naturally, instead of simply putting the ribbon in the tree and calling it a day, I started thinking about what else I could make to coordinate with it.
Because apparently I don't know how to leave well enough alone. 😂
Want the ribbon? 🎀
If this ribbon has already made you want to plan an entire tree around it too, you can shop it here:
[SHOP THE RELIANT RIBBON → here!]
And you can use code SKYE10 for 10% off.
From Ribbon... to Fabric... to Pumpkins 🎃
Once I had the ribbon, I started looking for fabric.
I wanted to pull from the same color palette so everything would coordinate once it was together.
Things don't have to match perfectly to belong together.
I wanted the finished tree to look collected and creative—not like I bought every single piece from the same aisle.
So I chose fabrics that worked with those pinks, purples, teals, and oranges while still having their own personality.
Then came the idea:
What if I made fabric pumpkins out of them?
Not tiny pumpkins, either.
I wanted pumpkins that could actually make an impact when I eventually tucked them into the tree.
And once I made the first one...
Yeah.
I was committed. 😂
DIY Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial
The best part?
These look much more complicated than they actually are.
And I LOVE a craft like that.
You don't need every piece to be perfect. You don't need your pumpkin to be perfectly symmetrical. In fact, I think the slight differences between each handmade pumpkin are part of what makes them so cute.
So grab your fabric, put something good on in the background, and let's make one. 💚
What You'll Need
For my fabric pumpkins, I used:
Fabric
Fabric scissors
A butter Knife
Cording
Hot glue gun + glue sticks
A Foam Pumpkin
Any optional embellishments you want to add
Step 1: Cut Your Fabric ✂️
For this one, we are working with these pumpkins from Hobby Lobby. (they’re 10”)
Start by cutting your fabric to 14” x 6” (this is roughly too big, but I like to have room to breathe).
If you're making several pumpkins for decorating, I highly recommend cutting your pieces all at once with this template!
Remember: the cuts don’t have to be perfect! All of the ends will be pushed into the foam anyway.
Step 2: Cut the lines for the fabric
Next, We’re going to create our guidelines for the fabric!
So get that pumpkin & that butter knife out, and carve those lines in!
Start by removing the stem (it should pop right out!)
& follow the grooves in the pumpkin to create your map for where you’ll tuck in that fabric.
Step 3: Add the fabric
Now start adding your Fabric into those lines we just created, using the same butter knife!
Pay attention to the edges so you don't end up with one section that's super wrinkly and another that is super tight.
And don't judge it yet.
At this stage, it may look less like a pumpkin and more like a foam mess full of chaos.
Trust the process. 😂
Step 4: Alternate the fabric as you go around
Once you're happy with the coverage of your first section, keep going!
Alternate colors if you are using multiple fabrics as you go around.
Pull everything tight and make sure it's nice and flush to the pumpkin.
Again, this part doesn't have to look perfect.
We're about to give this little fabric baby a serious glow-up.
Step 5: Add your cording
Now this is exactly how we clean up those lines!
I chose a gold cording for mine to match that ribbon PERFECTLY!
You can glue them down, or tuck each end into the top and bottom of your pumpkins with the fabric,
BOTH WAYS WORK!
And just like that...
You made a fabric pumpkin! 🎃
Here's Your Permission to Make Them Weird
Please don't read this tutorial and think you have to make the same pumpkin I did.
That's not the point.
Use orange velvet.
Use plaid.
Use florals.
Use old fabric you've had sitting in your craft room for three years because you knew you'd eventually need it for something.
And YES...
Use hot pink.
Fall doesn't have to be brown.
A pumpkin doesn't have to be orange.
And your seasonal decorating doesn't need to look like anyone else's house.
Make the thing that makes you happy when you walk into the room.
That's pretty much my entire decorating philosophy.
Okay... But Why Am I Putting Fabric Pumpkins in a Tree? 🌲
If you're new here, I should probably explain this part. 😂
I keep a Christmas tree up and love transforming it throughout the year for different seasons and themes.
It's become one of my favorite ways to decorate my home—and it's also becoming a recurring part of At Home With Skye here on The Edit.
For this fall tree, I knew I wanted something different.
I didn't want to simply take a traditional fall tree and swap in a couple of colors.
I wanted to build an entire little Sincerely Fall world.
The Reliant ribbon gave me the palette.
The fabric brought in more pattern and life.
And these handmade pumpkins are going to give me those big statement pieces I can work throughout the tree.
At least...
That's the plan.
The tree isn't actually up yet as I'm writing this. 😂
So we're going to find out together.
And Then Things Got a Little Out of Hand... 👀
Because apparently making custom pumpkins for a fall tree wasn't enough.
The more I worked with this color palette, the more it started feeling like something bigger than one decorating project.
It felt like Sincerely Skye.
Colorful.
Comfortable.
Whimsical.
Creative.
And very unapologetically not beige.
And at some point during this process, I started thinking...
I want to wear this.
Which brings us to the next chapter.
The Sincerely Fall SweatShirt 🍂
If you've been paying attention to the little colorful pumpkin I've been teasing, you may already have an idea of where we're headed.
Because something I designed to coordinate with this whole Sincerely Fall world:
the Sincerely Fall sweatshirt.
Is officially released! The “Oh My Gourd” Sincerely Fall Design is in my shop NOW!
A Sweatshirt, A Tee & A V Neck!
And how the colors that started with a ribbon and made their way into handmade pumpkins somehow ended up in my closet, too.
Then there's only one piece left.
The tree. 🌲
And when it's finally decorated, Part Three will bring everything together in a full At Home With Skye: Sincerely Fall Tree Reveal.
Ribbon → fabric → pumpkins → clothes → tree.
See?
Totally normal progression of events.
😂
If you make one of these pumpkins, please tag me or send it to me. I want to see the colors and fabrics you choose—especially if you decide to completely ignore traditional fall colors right along with me.
Happy pumpkin making. 🎃
Sincerely,
Skye 💚
💚 Tell Me in the Comments
What would your dream fabric pumpkin look like?
Traditional plaid? Cozy velvet? Florals? Bright colors? Something completely ridiculous?
You already know which team I'm on 🤩
