How to Make a Concrete Pumpkin (Fall Decor)

Steps

1. 1. Mix the Concrete

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step and add the water slowly. It is easy to overshoot and end up with a runny mix you cannot thicken back up without more dry cement.

   

2. 2. Prepare the Slurry

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step to gauge the pour consistency. A wide bowl gives you room to work the fabric around without slopping cement over the edge.

   

3. 3. Soak the Fabric

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step and take your time saturating the cloth. Dry spots turn into weak spots that crack once the pumpkin cures.

   

4. 4. Shape the Pumpkin Body

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step to see how firm the shape gets before it holds. A crumpled plastic bag inside keeps the pumpkin light and saves cement.

   

5. 5. Form the Ribs

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step for the rib spacing. An odd number of ribs, five or seven, tends to look more natural than an even count.

   

6. 6. Cure and Trim

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step to see how clean the trimmed base looks. Sharp scissors cut cured cement fabric better than dull ones, which just fray it.

   

7. 7. Add the Stem

   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.

   Tip: Watch this step for the stem placement. Collect a few twigs of different thicknesses so you can match the stem to the size of each pumpkin.

   

8. 8. Style Your Fall Display

   Group your finished concrete pumpkins together for the full effect. Vary the sizes and stack a couple if you want height.

   Tip: Watch this step to see the styled display. A foam brush and a dry-brush motion give the paint a mottled, aged look instead of a flat coat.