Make Something for Halloween the Old-Fashioned Way
Before store shelves were lined with plastic pumpkins, decorating for Halloween meant making something yourself — an afternoon with paper, wire, and a little patience, rather than a trip to a store. Starting in 1909, the Dennison Manufacturing Company published an annual party-planning guide called the Bogie Book, and one of its most charming projects described exactly this kind of thing: a wire-frame pumpkin, entirely covered in crepe paper by hand.
A quick note before you start: the original Bogie Book instructions weren't precise about measurements the way a modern pattern would be. What follows is our own practical version of the same technique, sized to actually work — not a transcription of the original 1920s instructions, which we don't have access to in that level of detail.
What You'll Need
• 18–20 gauge floral wire (about 8 feet total) — sturdy enough to hold its shape, flexible enough to bend by hand
• Orange crepe paper streamer, standard 1¾–2 inch width (one full roll is more than enough)
• A small amount of green crepe paper, for the stem
• Fine thread or florist tape, to secure the paper as you go
• Scissors, and wire cutters if your wire is heavier gauge
How to Build It (makes one pumpkin, about 7 inches tall and 8 inches wide)
1. Build the ribs. Cut five pieces of wire, each about 16 inches long. Bend each one into a gentle arc — like a rainbow — about 7 inches tall at the peak. Gather all five arcs so their ends meet at a single point at the top, and twist the ends together tightly. Do the same at the bottom, twisting all five bottom ends together at a second point. You should now have a rounded, cage-like pumpkin shape with five vertical ribs.
2. Add the equator. Cut one more piece of wire, about 26 inches long, and bend it into a circle roughly 8 inches across. Fit this circle around the widest point of your rib frame — usually just above the middle — and wrap a small piece of thread or fine wire around each spot where it crosses a rib, to hold the shape steady. This ring is what keeps the whole frame from collapsing in on itself.
3. Cover it in crepe paper. Cut your orange crepe paper into strips about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long — you'll need roughly 8 to 10 strips. Crepe paper has natural stretch across its grain, so gently pull each strip as you wrap it along one rib, from the top point to the bottom point, letting it curve to follow the shape. Overlap each strip slightly as you go, securing the ends with a dab of glue or a wrap of thread. Repeat rib by rib until the whole frame is covered. For a more dimensional, true pumpkin look, pinch and crumple the paper gently in a few spots along each rib rather than pulling it perfectly smooth.
4. Add the stem. Twist a 4-inch piece of wire into a short, slightly bent stem shape. Wrap it in a strip of green crepe paper, securing the ends with thread, and twist it into the top point of your pumpkin where all the ribs meet.
5. Set it out. Use it as a table centerpiece, a window decoration, or simply somewhere you'll pass by and notice it — a small, handmade thing in a season that's usually full of store-bought ones.
It won't look factory-perfect, and that's rather the point. A hundred years ago, that was simply what decorating for Halloween meant.