Introducing the Pom Maker! This fabulous little tool will make pom pom making your new favorite thing! Keep reading to learn how to become a master pom pom artist. We'll show you tips and tricks and inspire you with different ways to incorporate pom poms into your creative practice.
Let's get this pom pom party started!
We love the Pom Maker! It's made of solid beach wood from sustainable forests for plastic-free crafting; it's sturdy and comfortable to work with; and the designs are absolutely gorgeous. Choose from 4 sizes:
1. Extra Small button design
2. Small macaron design
3. Medium floral design
4. Large bow design
How-to
Gather these simple supplies and you're wrap-star ready!
- Pom Maker (we are using size Medium in Pink)
- Thread or Yarn of choice (we are using Prairie Sock Yarn)
- Strong scissors (we are using 6-2/3" Professional Kai Japanese Scissors)
- Thread Wax (we are using Merchant & Mills Tailor's Beeswax)
Take two of the four wooden arcs that come with a Pom Maker and place them back to back. Hold the yarn end against the wooden arc with your thumb as you begin wrapping. Alternatively, you can sandwich the yarn end between the two wooden arcs and then begin wrapping.
For a full and fluffy pom pom, wrap neatly and pull on the yarn a little for a tight wrap.
TIP: To speed up the pom pom making process, you can hold multiple threads of yarn together as you wrap.
Wrap, wrap, and wrap some more! The more you wrap, the more dense and fluffy the pom pom will be. A typical pom pom will have anywhere between 120 - 400 wraps.
Cut your yarn and tuck the yarn end under another thread to keep it secure.
Repeat these steps on the other half circle. For a fun half and half colored pom pom, wrap each of the two sides with a different color.
Put together the Pom maker. The wooden arc pegs fit into the top and bottom pieces, and now you have a Pom Maker sandwich!
While holding the pom sandwich together, use strong scissors to cut through the center of the wraps. We recommend the 6-2/3" Professional Kai Japanese Scissors.
Next, you'll need to tie a very tight double knot through the center of the pom pom with about a foot of thread. When tying the center, you can use the same yarn that you used to make the pom pom; however, some yarns can break when pulled very tight, so be sure to test a piece first. Eleganza is a reliable thread to use for this step because of its superior strength.
It's inevitable that when tying a double knot, it will slip a little and you'll lose tension, but not if you wax your thread! Coating the thread with wax is a game changer! Don't skip this step!
Remove all parts of the Pom Maker.
Give the pom pom a little shake, and it will fluff up nicely. Look at the difference a little shake makes!
Trim up any irregular length strands, and take pride in your perfect pom pom!
Both pom poms were created using the Extra Small Pom Maker, but the pom on the right was simply trimmed more for a tighter, more uniform look.
Inspiration
Nothing elevates a project to the ultimate level of adorableness like pom poms! Check out some of the ways we have embellished with pom poms.
Hat Toppers
The Medium and Small size Pom Makers work great for these!
Double Pompom Zipper Pull
Flower Centers
How cute would this pom pom flower be appliquéd to a project!
Corner Pom Poms on Pillows or Pincushions
Embellished Bauble Zipper Pull
CLICK HERE for the tutorial on how to make these. We simply replaced the wool roving balls with pom poms.
Sue has incorporated pom poms into her creative stitching. In this example, she used Ellana Wool Thread.
Create
We had a blast creating pom poms from so many different types of yarns and threads, and we bet your creative mind is already thinking about what threads you'll use and color combinations you'll choose. As Pom Maker says, "Take a break and make a pom pom!"
Browse below for materials and ideas.
A variegated yarn like Adarah Bubblegum Ice Cream makes a super fun, multicolored pom pom.
Eleganza #3 + Dazzle Thread
Add a little sparkle by wrapping your pom pom with a thread of both Eleganza and Dazzle at the same time. We used Eleganza #3 in Lion's Mane and Dazzle in Bistro.
For a wild and colorful pom pom, try wrapping layers of different Plied Yarn colors. We used Kinetic Sculpture Race, Pink Flamingos, Mister, Divine, Lemon Stick, and Tree Baltimore.
Rico DK Yarn + Silk & Ivory
Try wrapping with two different types of yarn at once. Here we combined Rico DK in Coral and Silk & Ivory in Pail Gray.
Eleganza Thread #3
Try a solid Eleganza #3 like Fuchsia Fever for a strong pop of saturated color.
House of Embroidery Thread
Go half and half! We used Flame 43B #3 and Fuchsia 49B #3.
When wrapping the Pom Maker half circles, try wrapping them with three different colors (one next to the other). This method creates a very cool color blocked look. We wrapped Gold, Dark Teal, and Sprout on one side and Light Peach, Electric Yellow, and Seafoam on the other side.
Rico Spin Spin Yarn will give you beautiful gradients of color on your pom poms. Here we used Rico Spin Spin in Orange.
Pom Pom Addict?
Need more? We got you!
The Loome offers another way to make pom poms as well as tassels, bracelets and more. Check out our tutorials on how to use The Loome.
For tutorials on these adorable animal face pom poms and more, visit the Tutorials Page at pommaker.com.