How to knit pompoms. DIY pompom: making a simple decoration

Modern handicraft today knows no boundaries. From ordinary scrap materials and tools you can create original crafts, things and household items. Today, a very exciting activity is making pom-poms, which are used as decoration or to create independent products.

What is a pompom?

A simple pompom is a decorative element in the form of a tassel or ball that has a solid history. In the eighteenth century, pompoms adorned the headdresses of military personnel in the Russian army and were insignia by which rank could be judged.

Nowadays, pompoms are the main finishing element of knitted items, often hats, scarves and warm winter capes. They look very beautiful and original from the outside, causing many needlewomen to want to make pom-poms from yarn with their own hands.

Types of pompoms

Pompons can vary in size, method and material of manufacture. The most common type of pompoms are soft ones made of yarn. There are also knitted and fabric pompoms. Depending on the number of shades used in production, they can be plain or colored.

Material and tools for making pompoms

The main material for making pompoms is new wool yarn. It can be a natural thread or with synthetic admixtures, such as acrylic. A simple sewing thread can also serve as the basis for a pompom, but making balls from it will require more time and perseverance. Balls are also made from embroidery threads - multi-colored floss. You can also use dense and soft fabric, such as crimplein or fleece, as the basis for the pompom. Very often, multi-colored bows or tulle are used to make decorative balls in order to create beautiful children's girls' hairpins. Very beautiful pom-poms, often used by youth cheerleaders at sporting events or as Christmas tree decorations, are made from shiny foil ribbon.

Making pom-poms from yarn requires a minimum of available tools: an ordinary table fork, pom-pom patterns in the form of two cardboard rings or two rollers, scissors with sharp blades that easily cut woolen threads.

How to make a soft pompom?

There are several ways to make a pompom from yarn - soft and airy. The first involves winding wool thread around the tines of a fork. This tableware is suitable for making balls of small diameter. They are often used to decorate gift packages or bookmarks. The main thread wound around a fork is tied in the middle with an auxiliary thread of the same color, the resulting bow is cut on the sides with scissors - and the ball is ready. To create an attractive appearance, all that remains is to fluff it up and cut off any irregularities with scissors.

In the question of how to make a pompom from yarn, cardboard rollers, which are used to make large-diameter balls, help. A thread is simultaneously wound onto two rollers, after which the resulting skein is also tied in the middle, the edges are cut, and the resulting ball is trimmed with scissors.

The third way to make a pompom from yarn is to wind the thread on cardboard rings. When the winding process is completed, the threads are cut with scissors along the circumference of the rings, after which they are connected in the middle with a thread of the same color. This method is applicable for making balls of any size, depending on the diameter of the rings taken for work.

The easiest method for making small balls is the manual finger method. The thread is wound around two fingers - the index and ring fingers, if a ball with a small diameter is being made. If a larger diameter is required, the thread is wound on four fingers.

When making pompoms, it is important to understand what diameter the ball will be. When winding the thread on ring patterns, a ball with a diameter is obtained, the size of which is measured by the difference in the diameters of the outer and inner circles. No matter how the pompom is made, you always need to allow for a one-centimeter margin for cutting when leveling the resulting wool ball.

You can make your own yarn pompoms in just a few minutes. This is a very exciting activity for both adults and children.

How to make a knitted pompom?

In the question of how to make a pom-pom from yarn, the role of a crochet hook is also important. With its help, pom-poms are dense and more weighty. For knitting, the double crochet or regular stitch method is used. The filling for such a pompom can be cotton wool, padding polyester or foam rubber. Depending on your imagination, you can knit spherical, oval or cube-shaped decorations.

Knitting a spherical pompom begins with several loops, which are enclosed in a ring and then knitted, most often adding four loops in each row. Increases are made in the circle until the desired diameter of the pompom is reached, after which several rows, five or six, are knitted without adding loops. The resulting recess is filled with the appropriate material, then a gradual decrease in rows begins until the ball is closed.

What products can be made from pompoms?

Wool pompoms serve not only as a decorative element, but as the basis of an independent product. From the balls you can sew a soft rug for a chair or floor, make a soft toy, pillowcases for sofa cushions, children's blankets, garlands, warm scarves, hats, shawls, bags, vests, panels.

Versatile pompom yarn

To make something from individual pompoms, they have to be sewn onto a fabric base. If the product is large, then you need to make a lot of wool balls. To save time, pompom yarn is often used. You can knit original things from it using crochet and knitting needles. This yarn is a thread on which elongated soft balls are placed at certain intervals.

Knitting from yarn with pompoms

The size of the pom poms on the yarn may vary. Very quickly you can knit a chic warm blanket, bedspread, or shawl from this material. Children's toys look very nice, especially the poodle and the sheep. Yarn with pom-poms can be used to knit magnificent fashionable scarves, padded jackets, sleeveless vests, and children's openwork sets worn in cool weather. The technique for making various products is elementary, but the effect is simply excellent.

Many needlewomen, having seen the beauty of pom-poms, set to work with great zeal and create unique masterpieces, the techniques of which are shared on blogs. It is very beautiful and evokes a lot of positive emotions. Products made from pompoms, with their unusual fluffy appearance, create a feeling of warmth and comfort.

There are a lot of original ideas using this decorative element. Using wool threads in all the colors of the rainbow, you can fill your home with the most beautiful things that you can’t buy in a store. The time spent on making pom-poms is always justified by the excellent result. You can fantasize endlessly. Good luck with your crafting!

A pompom is usually a fluffy and soft ball made from the same threads. They are usually tied and intertwined in the middle with strong thread. If you need a hard pompom, you can make it from fabric, pre-crocheted and secured to a thick base. The thread for the pompom can be taken from bulky synthetic, wool or melange yarn. Yarn makes pompoms the most beautiful. In today's master class we will make yarn pompoms quickly and easily with our own hands.

We knit a simple pompom from yarn with our own hands

Pom poms are not a modern accessory, but very old in their use. It was used in many countries as an insignia in military uniform. For example, in the Russian army in the 18th century, ranks could be distinguished by the color of their pompoms: two-colored - non-commissioned officer, one-colored - a simple soldier. In France, pom-poms were used to protect a sailor's head from impact. This was due to the fact that at that time the cabins on ships had very low ceilings. Even though ships are now spacious with high ceilings, the tradition of decorating sailors' white hats with bright red pom-poms remains.

Consider the option of making a classic multi-colored pompom.

The general work plan is as follows:

Take two cardboard rings;
Press the rings tightly together and wrap them with thread;
Cut the threads along the fold;
Spread the rings;
Tie the middle of the cardboard with thread;
Cut and remove rings.

Now let's study each of these stages in more detail.

To begin with, we are preparing a cardboard base in the form of two rings of the same size. The size of the rings is the size of the future pompom. It is also important to take into account that the larger the diameter of the cut out inner ring, the denser the pompom will be.

First we cut out a circle, and then in it the middle with a diameter of 1/3. We put the resulting rings together and carefully begin to wrap them with yarn. The tighter the yarn is located towards the center, the fluffier the pom-pom will be, and therefore more spectacular and beautiful.

The next step is to cut the threads. We do this with scissors, which we place between the wound yarn, hold and cut. The main thing is to act carefully so as not to move the cardboard.

The next step is to fix the cut threads between the cardboard circles. You need to tie it tightly and firmly so that the pompom does not fall apart.

Next, you can remove the cardboard base. We do this simply - cut the cardboard from the edge. The ends of the pom pom will be uneven and need to be trimmed with sharp scissors. Having completed all the above steps, we will get a wonderful pom-pom.

It is important to remember that if you wind few threads on a cardboard blank, then the inner ring will be empty, its shape will not be round, and the diameter of the pompom will be smaller than required.

Another wonderful and interesting option would be to create a pompom tassel. In order to make this version of the accessory, you again need to take cardboard and cut out a rectangle. The length of the paper blank should be calculated in such a way that the finished product will be slightly smaller than the base, and the width should be approximately 10 cm. Next, take threads or lace and fold it several times, focusing on the narrow side of the rectangular blank. This cord will hold the pompom-tassel.

As already mentioned, the larger the layer of threads wound on the base, the more magnificent and voluminous the pom-pom - tassel - will be. Next, using a thread that is located along the width of the cardboard blank, we tighten the main winding of the threads. We cut the wound yarn with sharp scissors in the opposite direction from the knot. Next, cut a thread approximately 30 cm long, and at a distance of 2 cm from the top, tightly wrap the pompom, tighten it and tie it.

We even out the ends of the pompom tassels, shake them and get a wonderful accessory.

Such a pom-pom-tassel can be decorated with a large-sized tree bead or decorated in some other way.

Tip: if you want the edges of the pompom to be curled, you need to hold the entire piece over steam before cutting the threads on the base; an iron does an excellent job of this task.

Tip: if you need to make a pompom of two colors with a uniform distribution of threads, you need to wind two threads of different colors at the same time.

Let's hope that this master class will be useful to needlewomen and ordinary readers. And to further explore the topic of creating pompoms, we suggest watching interesting videos on how to work with your own hands.

Video on the topic of the article

In fact, pom-poms (buboes) made from yarn are not only a decorative addition to a knitted hat. Buboes of different shapes, sizes and colors can be used to decorate scarves, stoles, socks, knitted slippers, footwear and sweaters. From these fluffy balls you can even make an original blanket or decorate sofa cushions with them. You have already realized that this is a wonderful decorative element, and it’s time to learn how to make it yourself, because there is nothing complicated about it.

How to do it right

We offer you several step-by-step instructions on how to properly make beautiful pom-poms from yarn in various ways and with a minimum of equipment.

In order to make such a bubo, you only need yarn and scissors.

Wrap the thread in a fairly thick layer around the four fingers of your left hand (refer to the photo).
Carefully remove the wrap from your left hand.
Holding it in the middle with your fingers, measure 20-25 cm of thread and cut it with scissors from the ball.
Wrap this thread around the middle of the coil several times and tie it in a knot with a chain loop.
You now have two loops that need to be cut in the middle with scissors.
Now fluff the ends of the threads to make a ball.

The larger the winding, the fluffier and more voluminous your ball will be.

How to make a fluffy pompom from yarn

This manufacturing option is a classic, and additional devices are required for it.

Cut out two rings 2-2.5 cm wide from thin cardboard.
Prepare cutting threads up to 1 meter.
Using your finger, secure the tip of the thread to the cardboard rings taken together and wrap it around the entire circumference of the cardboard. Make the winding dense and multi-layered, as in the photo.
Cut all the threads along the outer end of the ring.
Tie an additional thread up to 1 meter in length into a knot between two cardboard rings, and then remove them.
Fluff the ends of the threads with your hands and form a ball.

How to quickly make small pompoms from yarn on a fork

Believe it or not, using a fork you can make very small buboes in a matter of minutes.

Wrap the thread around the tines of the fork in a thick layer.
Using another piece of thread, tie a knot between the second and third cloves.
Remove the winding from the fork and cut the loops formed on both sides in half.
Fluff the ends of the yarn and form a ball.

And with this method you can form curly buboes with a pattern. First, try making it in the shape of a lemon.

Make two blanks in the shape of a horseshoe from cardboard.
Use white and yellow yarn, as well as the winding pattern in the photo.
Cut the threads along the end of the winding and tie a knot on the bottom fold of the winding with additional thread.
Now you can remove the cardboard blanks and fluff the threads.

Video with master class lessons

We offer you a selection of videos with master class lessons that will show you how you can quickly make pom-poms from yarn yourself.

In this video tutorial you will learn how to make a large and voluminous pompom from yarn.

If you don’t know how to make a beautiful pompom from yarn for a hat, then watch this short video.

Video on how to make yarn buboes in five different ways.

In this video tutorial you will learn another way to create a three-dimensional bubo

Video tutorial on how to quickly make a bubo with one hand.

Video about how to make a bubo using a ready-made plastic template in the shape of a fork.

If you have already learned how to make buboes in different ways, then we offer you a master class on making a blanket from them.

And this video shows an example of weaving a rug from multi-colored buboes, which can decorate a child’s bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room.

This master class will not leave anyone indifferent, because with it you will learn how to make bright and original buboes in the form of fruits and berries.

In this video you will learn how to form a koala-shaped bubo that young children will love.

If you are interested in knitting, then we bring to your attention two more video lessons on knitting—products made from knitted yarn—that will be useful to you:

In this video you will learn a knitting pattern for bags made of knitted yarn.

We hope that such skills will definitely be useful to you when creating knitted items. And if you show your imagination, you can make very creative things from buboes. Perhaps you know other ways to create pom-poms, then share them in the comments.

Pom-poms made from yarn have long served as decoration for knitted hats. Now, in times of creative freedom, these small fluffy balls are used to decorate clothes and create interior items . For those who want to create a pom-pom on their own, it is important to know: what yarn is best to use, what creation pattern to choose and how to use pom-poms in the future.

Pom-poms became known to the world thanks to the military sphere. Back in the 18th century, they were attached to service uniforms and served as insignia. And in the French army, pom-poms were sewn onto the caps of sailors, thereby protecting their heads from hitting the ceiling, since the ceilings in the holds were very low.

French naval uniform. Photo: Shcheglova Anna. httpprintpower.net

Where to use pom poms?

Nowadays, fluffy balls are experiencing a peak in popularity and they decorate not only items of clothing: hats, scarves, sweaters, shorts, but also the interior.

It can be:

wreaths;
Christmas decorations;
toys;
keychain;
pillows;
rugs;
curtains;
letters.

Flowers made from pompoms. Photo: fairy-hobby.ru

Chair with pompoms. Photo: Anastasia Isakova. dekormyhome.ru

Pillows with pompoms. Photo: styldoma.ru

Pompom keychains. Photo: abbigli.ru

Letter made from balloons. Photo: newokruga.ru

Christmas tree made of pompoms. Photo: Marrietta. liveinternet.ru

Making pompoms with your own hands is quite simple and exciting, especially since you can choose different types of yarn and combine them with each other, which will give the pompoms a special look and individual texture.

What yarn should I use to create pompoms?

To create balls, it is better to take material with dense threads, as this will add fluffiness to the product. An excellent option could be yarn that contains natural fibers, for example wool - Peruvian wool “DomPryazhi”, Argentine wool “Kamtex”, Cascade, New Zealand and Pure wool “Trinity Worsted Factory”, Arina and Chelsea max “Semyonovskaya Yarn”.

This yarn makes pompoms fluffy and voluminous. The color of the material can be chosen the same as the tone of the product that you plan to decorate.

What should you do to make the pompoms smooth and beautiful?

Use stencils in the form of a circle, square or horseshoe. You can make them yourself from cardboard, or you can buy ready-made ones.;
Use sharp scissors to ensure all hairs are even.;
Secure each ball with thread to hold its shape..

Ways to create pompoms

There are a number of ways to make balls yourself:

Classic - a thread of yarn is wound around a ring;
Square - a thread of yarn is wound around a square;
Fork - a thread of yarn is wound around the tines of a fork. This method is suitable for creating small pompoms.

With the classic method, a thread of yarn is wound around the entire ring in a circle, which consists of two pieces of cardboard or plastic similar to a donut. The larger the diameter of the ring and the amount of yarn, the more magnificent the pompom will be. When all the yarn is wound around the donut, you need to use scissors to cut the yarn between the two rings. Then thread the thread between the circles and tie a knot. Once tied, cut the circles and put them away. At the end, trim the yarn strands a little so that the ball becomes even and round.

The classic method of creating a pompom. Photo: sovets.net

In the square method, strands of yarn are wound around a square made of cardboard. It should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pompom. When all the yarn is wound onto the cardboard, it is cut and tied with thread. And at the end of the thread you can trim it with scissors. The result should be a ball.

The fork method uses an ordinary fork, which every housewife can find in her kitchen. A thread is placed on the fork and the rest of the yarn is wound on top of it on the teeth. When the required amount of yarn has been wound, the thread is cut and the knot is tightened. At the end, you need to turn the fork over, cut the thread, and the result will be a ball.

Create a pompom using a fork. Photo: handmadeidea.com.ua

In fact, you can get creative when creating pompoms and use ordinary things as a stencil: your finger, a toothpaste pen, or a pencil. And if you use not just one yarn, but different yarns of different colors, the result will be more interesting.

How to make a rug from pompoms?

A pom-pom rug will suit almost any interior; it will add more coziness and warmth to the atmosphere. They are often made for the bathroom and nursery. They are easy to make yourself, it won’t take much time and the process itself will be fun.

First you need to choose a base for the rug. The best option would be a plastic canvas, as it will not unravel, and the carpet will maintain its integrity for a long time. You can use plastic mesh as a base, which is sold in a hardware store.

In addition, you need to decide what pattern you want to get and what size rug you plan to make. Then calculate the approximate number of pompoms you will need. You can experiment: make pom-poms of different sizes and see how they look together, or make balls of different colors.

Before attaching the fluffy balls to the base, you should mark with a marker on the grid the places where future pom-poms will be attached. After this, you can safely tie the balls to the base, trying to make sure that the mesh does not peek out.

Tying a pompom to the canvas. Photo: handmadeidea.com.ua 1

Once all the pompoms are attached, you can hem the fabric to the back of the mat for a better fit..

If there is no canvas or mesh, you can take any fabric and sew pompoms to it.

Where else can you use pompoms?

Pom-poms will look great as a wardrobe decoration. They will add a touch of playfulness to your appearance. The pompom takes pride of place on the hat.

A pompom is an addition (or sometimes a complete part of an item) to an item. Surely everyone had hats with pom-poms or mittens or scarves in childhood. They were made from yarn. Nowadays, pompoms are used not only as an addition to clothing. Needlewomen knit blankets (plaids) from them, decorate socks, make accessories (earrings, etc.), add them to handbags and still use them to decorate clothes. You can make a pompom from yarn with your own hands.

What you need to make a pompom

To make a pompom from yarn, you will need:

Yarn (of any thickness and any color, depending on what size of the finished pompom is needed and what color);
Scissors;
Cardboard (an ordinary piece of A4 cardboard of any color will do);
Fork (metal);
Table.

Making a pompom (method No. 1)

The easiest way to make pompoms is the method without using improvised materials (you only need yarn and scissors). The basis for the pompom in this method is the human hand, or rather, her hand and fingers.

The fingers of the hand must be moved close to each other; we take the yarn and wrap it around the fingers. Depending on the size of the pompom a person needs, we select the width of the yarn winding (the larger the size needed, the wider we wind). Once the required amount of yarn (the size of the pompom also depends on it) is on your hand, remove it and tie it lengthwise with the remaining tip of the thread. We cut one of the resulting parts (you get a large loop of several layers of yarn), straighten it with your hands, then do the same with the second, the pompom is ready. Finally, it is recommended to tie the separation of the two pompom parts tightly.

How to make a large pompom from yarn (method No. 2)

Large pom-poms are usually made for knitting blankets and bed linen (bedspreads, duvet covers, pillowcases, etc.). Interior items are soft and cozy.

To make a large pompom you need: a table, yarn, scissors. The table can be replaced with a chair, but then the size of the pompom will be smaller.

We turn the table upside down and wrap the two adjacent legs with yarn (in thick layers if a fluffy, large pom-pom is needed). Having finished wrapping, carefully remove the resulting workpiece and pull its middle with the remaining end of the yarn (we recommend leaving it longer). Using scissors, cut each side (from the loops). Straighten the yarn evenly with your hands. As a result, using a chair/table, we get a finished pompom.

How to make a small pompom from yarn (method of making pompoms No. 3)

A small pompom can be made using a kitchen utensil - a fork (as well as yarn, scissors).

We take an ordinary fork (it should be made of metal, a plastic one will not work, the tines will easily bend and break), and stretch a yarn measuring fifteen centimeters in the middle between the tines. Having fixed the thread, we begin to wrap the fork in the same way as in methods No. 1 and No. 2. You need to stop winding when there are two ends of yarn left, two to three centimeters each. Next, we tie the resulting shape in the middle, cut both parts and straighten it with our hands. The pompom is ready.

Small pom-poms can be used as accessories for handbags (in the form of key chains), jewelry (to make earrings out of them), decoration of clothes, blankets, and bed linen.

How to make a yarn pom pom using cardboard

It is also possible to make a pompom using cardboard. Ideally, this should be cardboard for children's creativity; it is more suitable in thickness and rigidity. However, you can also use ordinary pieces of cardboard from a box. We cut out two squares or two circles from it, connect them, start winding the yarn in the middle, then remove the threads from the cardboard and tie them in the middle, as we did in the previous methods. Finally, we cut the resulting loops, straighten them into a hand-made piece, and you get a pom-pom. Its size will depend on the size of the cardboard figure and the amount of yarn.

Thus, we looked at a variety of ways to make pompoms from yarn. Each of them is practical for a specific purpose. The simplest of them is a method of making pom-poms from yarn without using improvised materials (that is, the blank is made on a person’s hand). Pompom blankets have become especially popular due to their original and cozy appearance. They are made both from calm bed shades of yarn and from iridescent, bright ones. The blanket attracts with its appearance and its characteristics: softness, warmth. It is made from many pom-poms connected with yarn. Depending on the desired size, the required number of pompoms is used.