Hooked on Needles: How to Make a Pom Pom -- Quick and Easy!

The school color hats that my daughter knits for her band friends are quite a hit around the high school. So much so that parents are now asking Elizabeth to knit hats for their other children who aren't even in high school yet.

Recently one mom whose oldest is in the high school band with Elizabeth asked for hats for her two younger children. She wanted them in the school colors, but she wanted pom poms on the top. Elizabeth gladly knitted up the two hats but she needed help with making the pom poms as she had never made one before. So we had a little lesson. This is how it went...

You don't need any fancy gadgets or equipment, just yarn and sharp scissors.

First cut a piece of yarn about 12 inches long and set it aside. Then start wrapping your yarn around your hand.

Keep wrapping...

...and wrapping...

...and wrapping.

For a nice full pom pom, you need to wrap A LOT of yarn. Don't be shy. You can always pull some out if it's too full, but adding more yarn after your pom pom is made is impossible.

Pull your bundle of wrapped yarn off your hand carefully and lay it down over the cut piece of yarn that you had set aside, holding the folded ends firmly.

Wrap the cut length of yarn around and around and around the middle of the bundle, pulling it very tightly with each wrap. Tie a good strong knot but DO NOT trim the ends of the tying yarn. You can use these long ends to attach the pom pom to the top of the hat.

Using your sharpest scissors, cut the loops on one side of the tied bundle.

This is what it will look like. Then cut the loops on the other side.

Now you have a nice little crazy looking ball of yarn, with two long ends sticking out. You can leave it this way if you like, or you can give it a haircut.

For a nice tight pom pom, again using your sharp scissors, trim all around the pom pom so that all the yarn ends are even and the pom pom is the size you want it.

And there is the nice little puff ball among all its clippings. Kinda reminds me of my old neighbor's dog right after a grooming!

You can attach the pom pom to the top of a hat, or to the ends of a drawstring on a hoodie or sweater, or to a zipper pull. I remember years ago it was popular among ice skaters to have pom poms on the ends of their skate laces. I am going to put some on the ends of the Dr. Seuss Knitted scarf I am making for the Special Olympics. I think that is appropriately Seuss-ish, don't you?

So there's a fun and easy way to make pom poms without needing any of the many gadgets you can find in craft stores or online. You can use any kind of yarn, thread, cotton, floss, what have you. Use as much as you want to make a pom pom as full or as floppy as you like. The more yarn and the closer you trim it, the fuller it will be. Make a few and see what you come up with.

If you haven't already, please be sure to sign up for my Christmas giveaway. The winner will be announced on my 200th post, which will be in a few days, so tell all your friends there is still time!

Happy Stitching!