Don't Toss Your Old Socks: Use Them To Make Cute Pumpkins With This Easy DIY

It's decorative pumpkin season, which means it's time to hit the pumpkin patch and get creative with your pumpkin decorating. While having a freshly harvested pumpkin (or five) on your porch is a surefire sign of fall, maybe you want decor that you can display year after year and that will make use of something you'd otherwise throw out. Cute DIY pumpkins are a genius way to reuse old socks and get long-lasting home decor.

The project is simple — just cut the calves off of a few old socks, fill the foot area with pillow stuffing, and wrap them in twine to make the mini pumpkins. Unlike the fresh gourds you bring home from the supermarket or farm, your sock pumpkins won't rot on your porch after Halloween. You can safely tuck them away in storage until autumn comes around next year. And, since you can use any color or pattern of sock you have available, you have the chance to put your own stamp on your fall decor, no carving knife or can of paint required.

To make your own sock pumpkins, choose a sock that you're finished wearing, but that's still in relatively good condition — no holes or runs. You'll also need something to fill it with, like polyfill pillow stuffing. Plain old cotton balls will also work if you can't get to the craft store, as will dried beans or rice, although they'll give the finished pumpkins a different feel. To make the pumpkin's ridges, you'll need twine or yarn. Finally, to put the finishing touch on the pumpkin, consider adding dried or felt leaves, googly eyes, or felt triangles for a jack-o'-lantern.

Cut the sock along the heel, removing the upper calf part. Fill it with your chosen stuffing, leaving about an inch at the top. Twist the opening to close the sock, shaping it into a ball as you do so and forming a stem. Wrap or tie the twine or yarn around the stem. Then use a needle to sew through the center of pumpkin from top to bottom in a starburst pattern, pulling tightly as you do so to create the ridges.

Once you've made the ridges, wrap the twine or yarn around the remaining stem of the pumpkin sock. Put your personal stamp on the pumpkin by decorating it with dried or felt leaves, black triangles or any other decorative touches you can think of. Or use ribbon in place of the twine or yarn. Mix and match your sock pumpkins with DIY linen-wrapped pumpkins for a seasonal display you can use on repeat.