Handmade Holiday 2020: Woolly Balls (Yarn Pom Poms) Tutorial

Our next tutorial is from POP Squad member Cindi. She's going to explain how she makes the woolly balls to accessorize her famous gnomes!

Gather Your Materials:

• Yarn: I purchased a set of yarn off of Amazon so I would have a variety of colors
• Scissors
• 3”x 3” piece of sturdy cardboard, with a 1” slit on both ends. (The size of your cardboard will affect the finished pom pom size.)

If you're feeling extra fancy, you can get a set of these:

• Pom Pom Makers from Amazon or your favorite craft store. I prefer the Pompom maker because it is inexpensive, makes the process move more quickly, and comes in different sizes. 

For the purposes of this tutorial, I'm using a cardboard square. if you buy a pom pom maker, it will come with instructions. 

Let’s Get Started!

Cut a piece of yarn about 12” long and slip each end into the slits on your cardboard. 

Flip the cardboard over and start wrapping the yarn around the cardboard. You don’t want it too tight or you will have a hard time slipping it off of the cardboard. 

Keep wrapping the yarn until it's nice and full. You want your woolly ball to be nice and round.

When you finish wrapping your yarn, bring the two ends of the yarn together that you put in the slits from step 1 and tie a really tight knot. This keeps your woolly ball together.

Slide the looped and partially-tied yarn off of the cardboard and flip it over. Tie a knot on the other side of the wooly ball. 

Cut the loops of the yarn on both ends of the wooly ball.

Your woolly ball will look like this, but don't worry, it won't be scraggly-looking after you finish fluffing and trimming it.

Fluff the yarn, and shape it into a ball by trimming off small lengths of yarn. Trim and fluff, trim and fluff, keep trimming and fluffing until you get the desired shape and size.

All done! You made a woolly ball!

You can use all different textures and types of yarn for a variety of woolly balls. And they're not just for gnome hats! Use your balls to decorate stockings, or make a bunch and attach to styrofoam tree cones (inspiration from Target)

Or maybe a wreath form (also Target):

We can't wait to see what you create with your balls! Join us in the POP Facebook group to show off your projects, ask questions, and chat. Happy Holidays!