DIY Wool Pom Poms

 

Did you know that you can make colorful pom poms of any size — from mini, pea-sized pom poms to dryer balls — with scraps of wool? It’s so easy! All you have to do is wind your pieces of wool into a soft ball, dip into hot, soapy water, and gently roll into shape with your hands.

Once you get the hang of making your pom poms, you’ll be able to string them together to make festive garlands, fun little cat toys, pretty necklaces and earrings, or sew them together to create caterpillars and more!

Materials:

• Wool roving in your color(s) of choice
  (Call Cast Away Yarn Shop + they'll help you with a rainbow of colors)  
• Bowl of hot, soapy water (a few drops of any liquid soap will do)
• Bath towel

Directions:

STEP 1: Lay out your towel and bowl of hot, soapy water on your work surface.

STEP 2: Take a length of wool roving, stretch it out by holding one end and gently pulling on it every few inches to lengthen the fibers, and loosely knot it in the middle. For smaller pom poms, you will want to split your roving into thinner, shorter strips lengthwise.

STEP 3: Wrap the loose ends of the roving, one at a time, around the knot of wool, making sure to rotate 90° each time.

STEP 4: Take another piece of stretched roving — or a few different colors of roving to create a more marbled look — and wrap around the ball that you are now forming.

STEP 5: Keep wrapping until the pom pom measures about twice the size of your desired finished product.

***If you want to make multiple pom poms approximately the same size, follow steps 1–4 and lay them all side-by-side to compare before moving onto the next step.***

STEP 6: Once you’ve formed all of your pom poms, dip and soak them, one at a time, in your hot, soapy water. Then gently toss each pom pom back and forth between your hands, without squeezing or pressing, to allow the wool fibers to attach to each other without clumping. The soggy wool will seem like it’s never going to form into a tight little ball, but I promise it will. Keep tossing it gently back and forth and occasionally dipping it back into the hot water as it cools.

STEP 7: After about 10 minutes, your pom pom will start to harden. Now you can roll it between your palms and don’t forget to dip it into your hot water when it feels cool. At this stage, the wool will begin to shape into a ball and start to shrink. Once you’ve reached the desired size, rinse your pom pom in cool water, squeeze out all the moisture, and set aside to dry for up to 2 days.

You’ve now successfully crafted a pom pom! High five for learning this fun, new technique!

Go ahead and finish the rest of the wool pom poms you may have set aside. And once dry, they’ll be ready to craft into a garland or a myriad of other colorful handmade treasures. Stay tuned — in posts to come, we’ll explore other fun things to make with your pom poms.