Pom Poms

I feel sort of silly making a tutorial for these. I’m sure some of you are saying, duh, I’ve been making pom poms since grade school. But who knows, maybe some of you haven’t?! And since I was wrapping gifts with yarn and simple handmade pom-poms, I photographed the quick steps to share.
Pom poms can be used for gift wrapping, home decor, parties, necklaces, and for any occasion that needs a “poof” of fun. And they can be made from yarn, ribbon, twine, tinsel…there are so many options!
Take your yarn or ribbon and wrap it around something hard, such as a small piece of cardboard, a book, a stack of post-its:
OR, use the best tool….your hand! For larger pom poms, 4 fingers is a good width:
for smaller pom poms, use 2-finger width (this is my favorite size).
Wind the yarn around and around and around. The more you wrap, the fuller the pom pom will be.
When you’ve wound to your desired “poof”, slide the yarn off of the surface and tie a piece of yarn around the center in a knot. Leave the ends of this string long, so you can attach it to a gift later.
Take a pair of scissors and cut through the loops on both sides of the pom pom.
Pull all the hairs up and give your pom pom a trim! This step is a must, for a fine lookin’ pom. Just keep cutting till it looks poofy and full.
and you’re done!
Using the long strings, tie it on to a gift.
Merry Christmas!

  1. 1) Michelle

    Thanks for the great tutorial! I never thought to use pompoms on gifts but it looks adorable! One question though: how do you get the yarn tight enough that little bits of yarn don’t get pulled out? I’ve tried everything I can think of to no avail… I just can’t get it tight enough šŸ™ any suggestions? TIA!
    -Michelle

    • 2) karney Wennerbom

      great to read your new found pom pom making enjoyment yet to make it 100% secure not to fall out??? – so please what was the answer to secure threads. they are simple and fun – every child loves a pom pom as a gift and i would love to do the same as an icon for my daughter as she starts kindergarten as i am ready for parties every weekend…

      thanks for your reply

      Karen

    • I found that when you make the first tie- when making the knot. If you thread the loose ends through a couple more times then it doesn’t start to loosen while making the second part of the knot…:) hope this helps

  2. 4) Ashley

    This is the best tutorial I’ve found for pom poms. I know it’s crazy I don’t know how to make them, but alas I didn’t. All of the tutorials I’ve seen were confusing, but this one really cleared things up! Thanks!

    • 5) Okie

      Don’t worry, Ashley, I’m right there with ya! lol I’ve never been successful making poms, so I’m going to try this. Thanks for the tutorial!

  3. 7) jasmine cox

    Thank you, I didn’t know how to make them, and really wanted to, your info was really simple and helpful. Love your shakespear quote too.
    kind regards
    jasmine cox

  4. I haven’t made them before and we are going to Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland tomorrow and I need some for my little girl’s shoes because she is Tinkerbell!! Thanks so much for another great tutorial!! XOXO

  5. 9) chrissie

    I made pompoms years and years ago when I was a little girl and they always seemed complicated. I recently came across a knitting pattern, I knitted all the pieces and then hidden from view on the rear of the pattern it said ‘make a pompom’ no further instructions but that and my heart sank at the thought. Searched online and yours was the first one that appeared and this way is so so so much easier than the old method I used of cardboard and wrapping it around and around, this will be done in no time, Thank you so much for posting!!!

  6. Thank you for this simple and beautiful tutorial! I have never made pom-poms before and needed to make one for a hat and it turned out great! Just what I needed (thanks for the extra sizing tips too — I needed a little one).

  7. 11) Derra

    I had the same problem with the pompoms I made, the strings could easily be pulled out, no matter how tight I tied the middle yarn. I used a glue gun, and glued the yarn as close to the centre of the pompom I could. Had no proplem after that.

    • 12) Jamie

      Genius!! Iā€™m trying it tonight šŸ™‚

  8. 13) Elaine

    Can’t get much easier than this….thanks for the tutorial!!!!

  9. 15) Stephanie

    I’m going to use them on a pair of baby booties šŸ™‚
    Thank you

  10. Thanks for the tutorial, I forgot how to make them! Now I’m making some for my cats- if I make enough I will use them for my pet photography! (Leo and wolf pet photography) I think that they will make a great back-ground!!

  11. 17) Grandma GeeGee

    This tutorial was easy to follow. My Grand baby’s hat looks adorable with the on pom. Thank you!

  12. 18) Barbara

    This worked brilliantly thank you so much. Didn’t have a glue gun but did you general purpose glue to secure the centre for added strength. This method took just a few minutes!! Thanks again.

  13. Thank you so much for those instructions! I am 72 years old and never made a pom-pom (we didn’t have kindergarten when I was a kid!) … šŸ™‚ All the other places I visited the instructions were actually too complicated… I am a simple person who likes simple easy-to-understand words… Bless you!

  14. 20) msCindyD

    G-R-R-E-A-T instructions. I made these as a teenager and when my kids were little, but the memory at this age . . . well, I forgot what I was going to say about that . . . hahahaha. Anyhow, last night (Christmas Eve) I gave my little 4 1/2 pound Toy Fox Terrier (her name is Xena Warrior Princess!) a new snow suit with a pom-pom on the hood. She loved it! That is, she loved the pom-pom. Grabbed the snowsuit when I wasn’t looking and the cute pom-pom became NOT-CUTE fuzz all over the carpet! Fortunately, I only need to replace the pom-pom — which, thanks to you, I can easily do.
    msCindyD

  15. 21) Erin

    Thanks for the tutorial!
    I must not be making them right… when I finish cutting the loops and fluff the pom pom, it still never quite looks right. You can clearly see the yarn in the middle where I tied it tight; the yarn doesn’t fluff over it. I guess you could say my two sides don’t “mingle” over the line. What am I doing wrong??

  16. 22) Andriana Eichenberger

    Thank you, thank you. I had forgotten how to make them and your tutorial was such a great reminder and so easy. i have made my niece legwarmers and I am going to add the pom poms in different colours to match the scarf i made for her.

    Kind Regards
    Andriana

  17. 24) Elizabeth

    Thanks for this info…..it had been years since I made a pompom and your instructions are so easy to follow……

  18. 25) Alicia

    so great!!!! this would be great for Christmas crafts when the cuz!!!

  19. 26) Vicky

    THANK YOU! My dog eats all of our Pom poms off our winter hats. Your tutorial is just what I needed!!!

    • 27) Dana

      That’s so great to hear!
      Yay!

  20. 28) Stefanie

    Great tutorial! Question – how many small poms on average would you expect to get from a bundle (sure that’s not the right term – I’m a new crafter) of yarn? Any insights would be helpful!

    • 29) elizabeth

      I JUST STARTED TO ONTHE 24 TH OF JULY 2016

  21. 30) Alana Peculiar

    COMMENT:Nice wat a gud recipe tanks a lot I really appreciate.

  22. 31) elizabeth

    so easy i tried somme on y tube that i just couldn’t get

  23. 32) Cheryl

    This looks to be the easiest method ever of how to make a pom pom!!!! I am going to give it a try shortly and I don’t think it will be a hassle in any way. Wow, amazing!!!!!!!

  24. 33) Sarah

    Great quick easy to follow tutorial! I never made pompomsome in my life! I learned how to make bows and other thing with the sewing machine but never a pompom. This will come in handy! My cats love my first couple of trys too! Thanka so much šŸ™‚

  25. 34) Linda ashpaugh

    Thank you so much for the short tutorial. This was exactly what I was looking for. Very very useful tutorial. I have been looking for a quick and easy tutorial for making pom poms. This is it!

  26. 35) mONA

    I will never struggle with trying to make a Santa pom pom or buy another gift wrap ribbon again..thank you!

  27. 36) elliot

    I used this with some thicker string to make a little cat toys for my kitties, and its worked out very well!

  28. 37) Ardyth Leitch

    Well, it may be hard to believe but I’ve never known how to make a pom pom, and am now knitting hats that need pom poms. So thank you – every school I went to focused on reading, writing and arithmetic!

Leave a Comment