The weather may be grim, but fear not, the changing season means that Halloween is just around the corner! Even if you don’t celebrate the holiday, you may still like to update your home’s decor, creating warm, woollen items that give a lovely autumnal feel. One easy project to start with is a chunky yarn pumpkin.

What do you need to make a pumpkin?

Many of the supplies that you will need to make a pumpkin can be found around your home. You’ll need a pair of scissors, glue, a toilet paper roll, a small log whose diameter is roughly the same as the toilet paper roll, a bit of moss and some orange chunky yarn from Wool Couture or another supplier.

Where can you get a log from?

If you have a tree in your garden, you can remove a small limb (known as pruning) to use for this purpose. You won’t damage the tree and autumn is a sensible time to do this, especially if the weather is cold

Alternatively, you can purchase a sustainably sourced log of the right size for craft purposes from many retailers.

How do you make a pumpkin?

Cut a slit in one end of your toilet paper roll, secure your chunky yarn through the slit and glue it in place. Then you can begin winding the yarn around the toilet paper roll, making sure to completely cover it and overlapping your yarn slightly to make sure the toilet paper roll is not visible. Keep going until you have a lovely round finish that resembles a pumpkin, then secure the end of the yarn to the inside of the toilet paper roll.

Use glue to secure your log to the inside of the toilet paper roll with the end poking out of the top of the pumpkin, and add a little moss around it if needed to create a realistic finish. The moss will also help to disguise any imperfections and hide the join between the toilet paper roll and the log.

Ta-da, you have just made a chunky yarn pumpkin!