The New Year is a time to feel positive about the future and spread love.

In Greece, there is a tradition of gifting loved ones with New Year’s charms. In this tutorial, we will learn how to transform a simple fabric pumpkin into a Fabric Pumpkin New Year’s Charm.

How to decorate your Fabric Pumpkin New Year’s Charm with beads.

To decorate your Fabric Pumpkin New Year’s Charm with beads, start by choosing a fabric pumpkin base.

Pumpkins are great for New Year’s charms because they symbolize prosperity, luck, potential, and money.

You can make your own pumpkin base from scratch, using  my tutorial on How to make easy DIY fabric pumpkins.

I decided to decorate my first pumpkin using gold thread and beads.

For this project, I chose bicone and rondelle beads. You can use any type of beads you like, but I think you’ll get a better result if you use shiny beads like glass or crystal. A New Year’s charm needs some sparkle, after all.

To begin, I stitched the thread through the fabric so the beads would stay secure and not fall off the pumpkin.

Then, I took one side of the thread and used a needle to start adding beads. I repeated the same process on the other side until I had created a full circle around the stem.

To connect the two ends of the circle, I used a single bead, passed the two threads through it, and secured them by tying a knot.

I continued adding beads to the two threads and let them hang off the pumpkin.

At the end of the thread, I added two charms: one that says 2023 (because a New Year’s charm needs the year) and one coin, for prosperity.

When I was finished, I secured the charm by threading the needle back up through the beads until it was near the stem and tying a knot.

All that was left to do was to cut the excess thread, and my pumpkin was ready! It looked really nice with the sparkling beads, and since the beads were secured, they wouldn’t fall off.

How to decorate Pumpkin with ribbons.

To decorate your Fabric Pumpkin New Year’s Charm with ribbons, start by choosing the type of ribbons you want.

 Ribbons are usually a cheaper option, especially if you want to make many pumpkins. You can even repurpose ribbons from gifts or wedding favors.

 I chose a satin ribbon that says “happy New Year,” a thinner gold ribbon, and some lace.

To make a bow, start by tying all three ribbons together. Remember to adjust the ribbons a bit to give them a nice shape and avoid a pressed-together look.

 To secure the New Year’s charm on the ribbon, I used two split rings: one big and one small. To attach the charm, simply open the bigger split ring with pliers and pass it through the knot.

Then, use a hot glue gun or liquid glue to attach the bow.

Trim the ribbons to your preferred length and remember to burn the edges with a lighter to prevent fraying.

Keep in mind that this step depends on the material you’re using – some ribbons don’t fray, so attempting to burn the tips may damage them.

One nice thing about the second charm is that you can use a fabric pumpkin, a plastic pumpkin, or even a real pumpkin.

You can experiment with different materials to see what you like best.

 If you are making the pumpkin from scratch, you can glue the ribbons onto it before attaching the stem.

In some of my creations, I added tassels, but you can also add things like feathers, leaves, glitter, and more. The options are endless.

No matter how you choose to make your pumpkin, it will be a perfect gift for your loved ones and I wish it brings you luck and joy in the new year!