[Make] Fabric Pinecone

As my children can attest, I love pinecones.  I'm always picking them up when we're at a park... which seems to be often since the boys play baseball and soccer multiple times a week.  And if I happen to miss one, my little helpers are always sure to bring me a few.

While I've collected quite a few real pinecones, I also love the handmade ones.  Last year I made a felt version.  This year I wanted a more natural look and created this fabric pinecone out of muslin.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Muslin Fabric Pinecone

What you need:
plastic easter egg
muslin or other fabric
scissors
hot glue gun
branch (optional)

1. plastic easter egg-- glue the seams of the egg together.

2. cut muslin into 1-inch squares. i cut around 70 squares for my 3-inch egg.

3. place a square scrap at the pointed tip of the egg. this will prevent the plastic egg from showing through the bottom of your pinecone.

4. fold the fabric square into a "house" shape-- place a line of hot glue in the middle and fold both sides to create a point. the point will become a "petal" on the pinecone. 

5. apply hot glue to the sides of "house" shape. keep the glue away from the pointed tip.

6. start gluing pieces down, starting at the tip of the egg.  overlap each "petal".

7. continue gluing down and overlapping each "petal" until...
8. you reach the top (or is it bottom?) anyhow, where the pinecone's stem is.  for the top of the pinecone, cut down the sides of the "petal" so that it is more hexagon in shape.
9. layer and glue down the last few pieces.
10. glue on the branch and let the glue dry. if you're planning on hanging the pinecone, you can forgo this part and glue down a ribbon loop instead.
11. cut out a small circle with a hole in the center (see it in the background of photo #10), then glue it around the base of the branch. This should keep the branch securely attached.
12. ta-dah!  a fabric pinecone!

I've made these before but with paper... I like the softer look of the fabric though. This is a fall project that can easily transition to winter.  I plan on hanging a few of these on our Christmas tree.  Yikes... let's not even start thinking about the holiday's just yet.  :) Enjoy your pinecone!

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