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When we moved from the shore to the woods, our home decor transitioned from beach-themed blues to more rustic grays. And over our first year of holidays and seasons in the new house, I’ve been transitioning our holiday decor as well. I love the warm and cozy look of knitted decor… to make this rustic Fall decor, I took this upcycled sweater destined for the donation pile and turned it into a farmhouse chic, cable knit DIY pumpkin.

Warm and Cozy Farmhouse Chic Fall Decor

I love the warm, welcoming feel of knit decor, but my knitting skills aren’t that great yet. After spotting some giant knitted pumpkins at the craft store (but not wanting to shell out the small fortune on the price tag), I came home and dug a couple sweaters destined for Goodwill out of the donation bag. In less than 30 minutes, I turned this…

… into this DIY pumpkin, with a warm, welcoming cable knit.  It’s a perfect fit for our new home in the woods, and my new favorite piece of rustic Fall decor.

Make Your Own Cable Knit DIY Pumpkin

Do you love the look of cable knit decorations but can’t actually knit? You can still make this DIY pumpkin… All you need is an old cable knit sweater to upcycle, a darning needle, stuffing, white cotton yarn and twine (optional). You may also want to use sizing spray or hairspray to add the decorative curls in the twine ‘vine’ at the end.

First, lay your sweater on a flat surface. Cut a line straight across from armpit to armpit.

Next, you will stitch a running stitch around the bottom of the sweater using your darning needle and white cotton yarn,  Stitch on the inside of the bottom of the sweater, and pull it tight to gather the bottom of the sweater as you go.

Once you have stitched around the bottom of the sweater, fill it with polyester stuffing.  Fill the sweater with stuffing up to about 4-6 inches from the top, cut edge.  Then, make a running stitch approximately 3-4 inches from the top, cut edge of the sweater, again pulling and gathering as you stitch.  You should now have a stuffed, cable knit ball.

To finish off your DIY pumpkin, use twine to add decorative seams and the twisty, pumpkin vine. Thread the twine on your darning needle, and run a long, single stitch from the base of the pumpkin to just below the gathered top.

Pull through to the opposite side of the pumpkin, and run a long single stitch back to the base of the pumpkin.  Repeat around the pumpkin as desired. I placed my twine stitches between my cables to make them stand out more.

To create the pumpkin vine, wrap the twine around the gathered top of the pumpkin, leaving long loose ends. Wrap the ends around a wooden dowel (or I used the round wooden handle of a spatula), and spray heavily with starch or sizing spray. Let dry, then remove dowel and stretch curl to loosen and drape along side the pumpkin.

I repeated the process above using the ribbed bottom of the sleeves of my upcycled sweater to make miniature pumpkins.

Rustic Fall Decor Perfect for October through Thanksgiving

This DIY Pumpkin will be the perfect complement to your rustic or farmhouse chic decor. Place them on a console table, use as dining room table centerpieces, buffet accessories, on your mantle, or even as decorative throw pillows. I love white pumpkins too because they make a seamless transition from rustic fall decor to farmhouse holiday decor.

They make a perfect complement to this Upcycled Sweater DIY Snowman too!

For more DIY upcycled sweater ideas, check out these DIY Wine Wraps , Recycled Sweater Vases, and Re-Purposed Sweater Pillows. You can find all of these and more on my DIY Crafts for Grown-Ups  and House of My Dream boards on Pinterest!

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