SUMMER: NEW Sweet Sweater Tomatoes!

A departure from tropical decor this week...
Summertime isn't complete without ripe, juicy tomatoes - and I've come up with a fun new Sweet Sweater Original creation that captures their appeal!

Whether you love fresh-grown summer tomatoes in a Caprese salad, on a grilled burger, or just on a plate with a sprinkle of salt, they seem to be the design accent of the season... everyone from Target to World Market to Pottery Barn has tomato products right now.

My idea was inspired by a fuzzy red 'tomato' pillow (more like a giant pincushion) that I saw in the Bullseye's Playground bins at Target - made from red microfleece and felt, it was... cute.

Yet I knew I could make it BETTER. With a SWEATER! ;)
Yes, sweater decor in summertime. I am obsessed!

Continue reading for an easy tutorial...

The Target 'tomato' was missing one essential feature - the 'ribs' of the tomato. The large heirloom variety tomatoes that I love and get at my farmer's market aren't big round orbs - they have bulging sections.

I decided to use my original construction method for my sweater pumpkins, to get that feature in my new Sweet Sweater Tomatoes. The addition of a green stem adds more detail, and is easy to add.

Tutorial

Materials:

Red sweater fabric (though if you love fried GREEN tomatoes, you could certainly use green sweater fabric!) Buy 'em at a thrift store!

Green felt or ribbon to create the stem

Red twine or ribbon . polyfil stuffing . rubber bands . scissors . hot glue 

Method: 

Note: I used a red knit beanie for my tomatoes, so I'm showing you how I did that. *If you are using an actual sweater, cut the arms off at the shoulder, then cut that 'tube' into sections @ 8" long each to make tomatoes.* 

I folded the knit beanie in half, and cut along that line - giving me two pieces of sweater fabric to create two tomatoes. I used the rounded-top piece for this tutorial.

Then I poked a small hole in the top of the rounded piece *If you are using a sweater arm piece, you already have two open ends and this step doesn't apply.* Then I flipped the fabric inside-out.

I cut a long piece of red cord into six equal lengths. The length should be one and a half times the length of your fabric piece - bigger tomatoes (or pumpkins!) require longer cords. 

Gather up the cords and secure them TIGHTLY with a rubber band at one end.

I poked the rubber-banded end of the cords through the hole in the fabric, until the rubber band was outside of the fabric. A second rubber band is tightly secured around the top of the fabric to hold the cords in place.

*If you're using a sweater arm piece, simply put the rubber-banded cords all the way through your 'tube' (instead of 'through the hole' as I did) and then secure them by wrapping another rubber band tightly around that end of the tube. Continue with the rest of the tutorial exactly as written.*

Flip the fabric right-side out. The secured cords will emerge from the top without the rubber bands showing. This will become the BOTTOM of your tomato.

Sit the bundle of fabric flat on a work surface, with the cords below the fabric and the rubber-banded 'top' poking up in the center. It looks like a bowl, so that's how I describe it.

Fill the fabric 'bowl' with polyfil stuffing, filling in all around the center. (It doesn't need to be covered)

Gather up all the top edge of the fabric 'bowl' into your non-dominant hand. I'm right-handed, so I gather it into my left hand. You'll see why in the next step...

Grab a rubber band with your dominant hand and secure that bunch of fabric in your other hand so that it holds the stuffing inside. Make it TIGHT! You can see in the photos that there is plenty of fabric above the rubber band - that becomes the stem, so allow for about 2" of fabric above the rubber band. 

Flip the whole thing over, holding the rubber-banded 'top' in your non-dominant hand. Arrange the cords to be equally spaced around the 'ball' you've created - I lined mine up with the existing seams of the knit beanie.

Grab those cords securely beneath the 'ball', then secure them to the 'stem' part with another rubber band. The cords will be UNDER this rubber band. Tighten it as much as you can - this will help you with adding the 'ribs' to the tomato.

This step is the KEY to getting a great result... I see a lot of ripoff and mass manufactured pumpkins every fall that are mostly round blobs, because this part isn't done right. SO.... get your muscles ready! 

Pull on EACH cord separately, working your way around the 'ball' - this will pull the cord through the rubber band tightly, making the fabric scrunch up and pouf out. I usually pull each cord twice to get the effect I want. 

Because the rubber band is holding the cords so tightly, they won't slip backward.

The two last photos above show how much the fabric pouffed, from the top and bottom view. You want definite ridges in your tomato (or pumpkin!). 

I tie off the cords to make sure they stay in position... grab one tie plus the one next to it, and tie a knot. Once all of them are tied together, wrap them around the stem and tie the ends of them together to cover the knit fabric.
(On my pumpkins, this part is important - but since we're going to cover the whole tomato stem with something, it doesn't have to look perfect.)

This is where the final 'tomato' detail comes in...

Now we're going to cover the knit 'stem'. You can use green felt, ribbon, or fabric for this step.

I used a piece of wide green ribbon, wrapping it around the stem and hot gluing the ribbon in place. Then I took a small piece of ribbon and pushed it into the hole at the top of the green ribbon, to finish off the 'stem' and hide the knit fabric underneath.

(I know these are much larger than actual tomato stems... but this is what works!)

A few triangular 'leaf' shapes cut from the ribbon work as the tomato's sepal, at the bottom of the stem. I used a drop of hot glue to secure them, and a wood skewer makes pressing them into place easy - without finger burns!

Displayed in these produce containers, they are a happy addition to summertime decor... and now I'm craving a Caprese salad!

Back to more tropical summer decor ideas next week!

Related Content:


All of my Sweet Sweater Original creations


If you're getting an early start on creating fall decor, you can find my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkin Tutorial HERE!


Red, White & Blue Summer Decor content

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Funky Junk Interiors | New Upcycle Ideas # 785

Thank you for including my project in your feature, Donna!


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