Anthropomorphic Halloween Figure - Perry Pumpkin

Perry Pumpkin

I have been working on and off throughout the year on anthropomorphic Halloween figures.  The latest one I call Perry pumpkin.  It was based on the same pattern I used for Tom Mato that I made earlier in the year.  The pattern was from a book called Crafting Cloth Dolls by Miriam Christensen Gourley.


This time I created an anthropomorphic figure with a pumpkin head rather than a tomato head.  Otherwise everything is the same.  The only change I would make for the instructions is that I would use a heavier gauge wire for the armature.  The doll is too heavy for the wire.  It sags when you try to stand it up.

Perry Pumpkin and witches

I almost did not finish this doll.  I was using some scrap fabric and once the body was completed I
thought it was going to be a boring doll.  The project sat around for a while until I talked myself into
finishing it.  Once I painted and added the head to the doll it really came together.  It showed personality that was completely missing before the head was added.  A project like this is why I encourage people to finish a project even if they think it has gone so wrong that it is useless to finish it.  Sometimes the results will surprise you.

Tom Mato

When I first started crafting, I had a lot of unfinished objects. Now I know better.  There is a point in practically every project where it seems like
it is not worth it to finish.  That is the point when you have lost sight of the finish.  When you cannot visualize the end, you get stuck and cannot go on.  At that point it is worthwhile to take a break for a short time and then come back to it; just don't leave it for too long.  After your break, visualize what you want the end product to look like.  Once you are able to see what the project looks like when it is completed you can get back to work.

My Halloween collection went up October 2nd.  I did not get any pictures of him before I put him out with the decorations.  I still have not figured out his final position in the scheme of things.  I have tried him is a few different

Tom and Perry kneeling before the witches.

places.  I need to purchase a larger doll stand if I want him to stand.  Currently he and his friend Tom Mato are kneeling before some witches.  If I choose to position him in another spot, I may use some wire to wire him in place.  I have visions of him
dancing ecstatically around a pumpkin or something to that effect.