Easy Dollar Store DIY Bandana Pumpkins

Try These Easy Dollar Store DIY Bandana Pumpkins for Fall…

If you’re in the mood to do something crafty this fall, but don’t have much time to do it, then you and the kids will LOVE this easy DIY bandana pumpkin craft!

I love bandana crafts. If you do as well, then you’re in the right place.

We have a number of them for you to try! All easy, all inexpensive:

How to make your DIY bandana pumpkins:

There are several good tutorials you can use for fabric pumpkins, and making a bandana pumpkin is pretty much the same no matter which method you choose to use.

The method I’m going to show you today is what I think (based on trying several) is the easiest method. And the ABSOLUTE fastest way to complete this project is to just leave off the spines.

Without the spines, this project will take you a whopping 3-minutes or so. WITH the spines, it’s more like 20 minutes per pumpkin.

Let’s get you started on making your DIY bandana pumpkins! The video tutorial below is comprehensive. But if you prefer to read, just scroll past the video.

How to make DIY bandana pumpkins:

1. Make a fabric tube using two rubber bands.

Grab your bandana, and if your bandana has a “bad” side, it should be face down.

Now fold it (doesn’t have to be neatly…it’s more like bunching it) into a long tube-like, accordion-esque thing…

Secure each end with a rubber band.

By moving the rubber bands toward the center of the bandana, you will make the pumpkin smaller, and vice versa.

2. Flip your bandana right side out. 

Flip the bandana right side out.

The rubber banded ends will now be inside what has become a little pouch.

3. Stuff the pocket with poly-fil.

Now stuff the pouch full of poly-fil. Use more or less depending on how squishy or non-squishy you want your pumpkin to be.

4. Hot glue seam to close your bandana pumpkin. 

Simply hot glue the opening in your pumpkin closed.

If you’d prefer to stitch your fabric pumpkins closed with a needle and thread, that’s an option as well. I just choose the fastest route, always.

5. Put on stem now, or…

You can opt to end the project here, and simply hot glue your stem into place! That’s what I did with the tall, skinny bandana pumpkin below.

Or, if you wanna get a little fancy, and spend a bit more time, let’s add your pumpkin spines using yarn.

6. Create spines.

To create your pumpkin’s spines, you’ll want to have a long upholstery type/tufting needle on hand (THIS set is a good option).

Below is a shot of one of our scrap fabric pumpkins and the upholstery needle I use for this project. You can see how long it is compared to the pumpkin.

Ensuring your needle is a bit longer than your pumpkin will make this process much easier.

Thread the needle with yarn of your choice. Push needle in through one end of your pumpkin, and out the opposite end.

It can be a bit difficult to get the needle out the opposite end. Just be careful as you’re jabbing around…it’s a big needle, after all.

Once your yarn is out the other end, knot the yarn to create a spine on one side of the pumpkin. Then repeat this process to create the other half of your spine.

Cinch the yarn a bit to create the dimpling that gives your scrap fabric pumpkin the actual pumpkin look! Create as many spines as you’d like!

Once you’ve created a full spine (a piece of yarn that spans both sides of your pumpkin), simply cut the excess yarn with scissors.

Eventually, you’ll end up with an area in the center of one end of the pumpkin with small knots. You can choose to make this side the top, or the bottom. I decided based upon which way the pumpkin sat up the best.

7. Add a stem to your bandana pumpkins.

You can use lots of different things for a stem. I personally like the look of a real pumpkin stem. Simply buy some smallish pumpkins, and break off  the stems.

Make sure the stems are nice and dry before gluing them onto your bandana pumpkins. Then simply hot glue into place!

That’s all there is to it! You’ve created adorable DIY bandana pumpkins for fall!

I hope you love them! If you try this fall craft, I’d love it if you’d share this post with others on social media (there are buttons right at the very top of this post where you can click and post to facebook, twitter, etc.

And if you’re in the mood for some other fall, pumpkin crafts, check out our…

melted crayon pumpkins

chalkboard pumpkins

pom pom pumpkins

tattoo pumpkins

magazine pumpkins

 map pumpkins

or scrap fabric pumpkins!

denim pumpkins (from old jeans)

Pin these bandana pumpkins for later! And if you make one, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try this project, too!