How to make a yarn pom pom:

The trick is a simple tool you make yourself!

Materials for a yarn pom pom

• Heavy cardboard. We use 1/8" tag board, but heavy corrugated cardboard, plastic, metal or wood will work - if you can cut it.
• Craft knife or other cutting tool for your material.
• Marking pen or similar cylindrical shape, about 3/4" in diameter.
• Yarn. You'll need about 8 yards for each 3" pom pom. Almost any kind of worsted yarn will work. Heavy yarn makes large, fluffy pom poms. You can use a single color, mix different color yarns, or use multi-color yarns.

Instructions

1. Determine the finished diameter of your desired pom pom. With this measurement as D", cut a rectangle of cardboard D" X D(1.5"). For example: To make a 3" diameter pom pom, cut the cardboard to 3" X 4.5".  To make a 5.5" diameter pom pom, cut the cardboard to 5.5" X 8" (The height of the rectangle must be exactly the diameter of the pom pom, but the length can just be approximate. To make our 3" diameter pom pom, we cut our cardboard tool to 3" X 5").
2. Within this rectangle, cut out a smaller rectangle about 1" in from all sides.
   
   
3. Lay the marking pen across your tool, parallel to the long side. Begin wrapping yarn around the tool, staying close to the center. The purpose of the marking pen is to keep the yarn loosely wrapped. If it is wrapped too tight, you won't be able to get scissors in to cut the loops. For a nice, plush 3" pom pom, wrap the yarn about 75-100 times. The bigger the pom pom, the more yarn you'll need.
   
   
4. Remove the marking pen. Thread a 10"-long double-strand of yarn around the center of the wrapped yarn and tie a very tight square knot. (Now you see why there is a window in the center of the cardboard!)
   
   
5. With sewing scissors (or a razor blade works well), cut through the ends of all of the loops on both edges of the tool.
   
   
6. Trim any uneven strands of yarn to shape the pom pom into a ball. To keep it steady, use a paper towel tube as a holder while your trim.
   
   
7. Fluff it up and sew it, tie it or glue it on something for a fuzzy embellishment! See our New Year Noisemaker for one example.