Pompoms are small, fluffy balls, typically added to knit hats. You can always buy them from the store, but making your own will allow you to choose any color and texture of yarn you want. They are fast, fun, and easy to make. You can add them to knitted or crocheted hats, use them as Christmas ornaments, or give them to your cat to play with. Best of all, there are lots of different ways to make them!
1
Cut a 12-inch (30.48-centimeter) piece of yarn, and set it aside.[1] You will be using this piece of yarn to tie your pompom together. Your fingers will be literally tied up, so it will be easier to do this part first.
2
Drape your yarn around your fingers. Take the rest of your yarn, and place it horizontally across your fingers. If you want a standard sized pompom, drape it across your forefinger and middle finger. If you'd like a bigger pompom, extend the yarn over your ring finger too.
3
Wrap the yarn around your fingers. Do not wrap the yarn too tightly, or you will risk cutting off your circulation. If your fingers start to turn blue or purple, you are wrapping too tightly. Wrapping the yarn too tightly will also make it harder to slide it off in the end. How many times you wrap the yarn around your fingers will depend on how big you want the pompom to be:
If you are using two fingers, wrap the yarn 100 to 125 times.
If you are using three fingers, wrap the yarn 125 to 150 times.
4
Carefully pull the yarn off your fingers and set it down on top of your short piece of
yarn. Hold your yarn bundle together as you pull it off so that it doesn't come apart. Make sure that you place it in the center of your short piece of yarn.
5
Tie the yarn tightly around your bundle. Pull both ends of the yarn towards yourself, then tie them together into a tight knot over the center of your yarn bundle. This is very important. If the knot is not tight, the pompom won't hold together.
6
Turn the bundle over, and tie the yarn into a double knot. Bring the two yarn ends towards yourself again, and tie them into another tight knot. Tie them together once more to make a secure double knot.
7
Trim off the excess yarn, then cut through the loops to either side of the bundle. Be sure to cut through all of the loops, or your pompom won't look right in the end.
8
Fluff the
pompom up. You can do this with your fingers, or by gently rolling it between your palms. Don't panic if a few strands come out; this is normal.
9
Shape and neaten the pompom. Your pompom is mostly done, but it may look a little scruffy. Neaten it up by trimming off any long bits of yarn that stick out. Do this by carefully rotating the pompom between your fingers, and cutting away any pieces of yarn that are longer than the rest.
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