Hello everyone!  This is Heather, Sheila’s assistant, again.  And I thought I’d drop you a quick project that even a non-sewer can do in no time.  Just in time for Halloween (and you even have time to still make several before Friday)!

First – , for those who want to know what a fat-quarter is, it’s a term used by quilters. It’s a ‘fat’ quarter of a yard. Which means that instead of the ¼ yard being cut only along the width of the fabric – it’s actually first cut as a ½ yard, which is then cut in half along the length. This gives you a piece of fabric 18” x 22”
Need a picture? Check out this link.

Now, what can you do with a fat quarter? Well, some quilts are made up entirely of fat quarter cuts of fabric – and in most fabric stores you can purchase fat quarters as single pieces or in color- or pattern-coordinated packs. But I’ll leave more on fat quarter quilts to Sheila and other experts in quilting.  (Trust me, you don’t need me to confuse you!)

Since I work around fabric, and I’m a crafter – I’m always on the hunt for little scraps of brightly colored things I can use in crafting, and fat quarters (which can occasionally be purchased for less than a dollar with a good sale) naturally attracted my attention. And when I first saw these pumpkins – well, I had to have a few.

The steps are simple. Here’s what you need:

• An average roll of toilet paper (mine are the ‘jumbo’ size, and so my pumpkins came out a bit more squared looking at the top)
• A few leaves cut out of green felt or fleece (or your leaves could be fall colors)
• A coiled pipe-cleaner, brown or black makes a great stem – and holds the fat quarter in place
• An orange colored fat quarter (red ones make good apples!)

Wrap the toilet paper in the fat quarter – start with it centered on the fabric as shown here, then pull one side of the fabric up and tuck into the top of the roll.

Match with the second side, and then tuck in the corners, be careful to pull the extra fabric so it will hide under the edges that are securely tucked in (unless your roll is VERY small, not all the edges of the fabric will reach to be tucked into the tube of fabric).

Press in your coiled chenille stick and one or more leaves.

Voila! A pumpkin! Okay, so a few of you are wondering what to do with a fat quarter pumpkin… Why not use this method to disguise that extra roll of toilet paper that you have out in the guest bathroom?

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Heather