How to Make a Concrete Pumpkin (Fall Decor)

Start by mixing your cement outdoors where the mess does not matter. Add water to the dry cement a little at a time and stir until it holds together like a thick batter. You want it wet enough to coat fabric but not so soupy that it runs off. Work in a sturdy bucket and keep the water handy so you can adjust as you go. A batch this size will make two or three pumpkins.

Pour some of the mixed cement into a bowl and thin it slightly so fabric can soak it up. The slurry in the bowl should be looser than the bucket batch, closer to a thick pancake batter. This is what carries the cement into every fiber of the cloth. If it looks too stiff to dip into, work in a splash more water until a spoon drags through it smoothly.

Lay an old cloth or a nylon stocking into the slurry and press it down until it is fully soaked through. Squeeze the fabric so the cement works into the weave rather than sitting on top. A T-shirt scrap, a rag, or a knee-high nylon all work, and each texture leaves a slightly different surface on the finished pumpkin. Get every part of the cloth heavy and grey before you lift it out.

Gather the soaked fabric around a filler, like a wadded plastic bag or a foam ball, and pull it into a rounded shape. Cup it in your gloved hands and pat it into a squat, slightly flattened dome. Real pumpkins are wider than they are tall, so keep pressing it down and out. Smooth the outside as you go and let the cement start to firm up under your hands.

Pinch the fabric from the top down to the base to create the vertical ridges that make it read as a pumpkin. Some people wrap a string around and cinch it into segments, others just press grooves in with their fingers. Space the ribs evenly around the body and press them deep enough to show. This is the step that turns a grey lump into something you recognize, so fuss with it until you are happy.

Set the pumpkin somewhere out of the sun and leave it alone until it is rock hard, usually overnight or a full day. Once cured, the excess fabric at the bottom will be stiff and easy to snip away. Trim it flush so the pumpkin sits flat and steady. Handle it gently at first since fresh concrete keeps gaining strength for a few days after it feels dry.

Push a real twig, a piece of a branch, or a craft stick into the top for the stem. A found twig with a little curve to it looks the most convincing. If the top has already hardened, dab on a bit of leftover cement or hot glue to hold the stem in place. Let that set, then decide if you want to seal the pumpkin or paint it. A clear concrete sealer keeps it weatherproof for the porch.

Group your finished concrete pumpkins together for the full effect. Vary the sizes and stack a couple if you want height. The raw grey stone look is great on its own, or you can brush on white or cream acrylic paint for a limewashed farmhouse feel. Set them on a mantel or porch step with a few sprigs of greenery and they will hold up all through fall and winter.