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How to Make Tiny Beaded Pumpkins

tiny beaded pumpkins
Join us at Maker Festivals Colorado, the ultimate crafting extravaganza in Loveland from April 10-13, 2024, where the beloved Yarn Fest evolves with an exciting addition of beads and jewelry artists!

I grew a monster pumpkin in my front yard garden this summer and didn’t quite plan on the joy and surprise it would bring. Not only did this 70-pound monster bring shocked looks from adult passersby and squeals from the little ones, but I realize now that it also brought back my Halloween mojo and led to these beaded pumpkins!

When my kids were little, Halloween was a rollicking season of play, creativity, and high drama. We created wild and scary decorations, filling the yard with homemade zombies and specters. We created and played audio recordings of screams and banging chains. And we donned fantastical costumes that made us unrecognizable to the ghouls and goblins that we knew were spinning around the neighborhood on Halloween.

This year’s arrival of “The Great Pumpkin” has brought back all of those fun memories, and it’s helped me remember how important it is to P-L-A-Y! It’s a four-letter word that adults often suppress in order to keep our noses to the grindstone, pay our bills, and follow the traffic rules. But play is so important for bringing creativity to our lives and to our design boards.

Materials and Steps to Make Beaded Pumpkins

In honor of this creative, fun, season, I played a little and whipped up these tiny beaded pumpkins. Want to make some? You’ll need: an 8-10mm wide-holed rondelle (I used bone; you can use orange or paint yours any color you want), orange size 11 seed beads, green size 8 seed beads, and beading thread.

1) String enough size 11 seed beads to reach half-way around your rondelle. Pass through the rondelle, making sure the seed beads don’t go inside the hole. Tie a square knot to secure.

figure 1

2) String the same amount of seed beads and pass through the rondelle again, taking care to keep the seed beads in place.

figure 2

3) Repeat Step 2 until you cover the rondelle to your liking.

figure 3

4) String 4 size 8 seed beads; skip the last size 8 strung and pass back through the other 3 and down through the rondelle. It’s looking like a beaded pumpkin now!

figure 4

5) Secure the thread and trim.

figure 5

I think I’ll add a pair of ear wires and wear these to celebrate the season of play!

After making a couple of tiny beaded pumpkins, I hope you’ll want to continue playing, too. Luckily, you’ve got a whole community filled with great projects right here at your fingertips with the Interweave Store and Interweave Plus.

Happy beading and happy Halloween!
Jean Cox

Updated September 2021.

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