• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sheep and Stitch

Knitted goodness made by you

  • About
  • Start Here
  • Patterns
  • How To Knit
  • Knitting Library
  • Blog

Knitting Library  >  Techniques

How to Make a Pom Pom

Published on September 29, 2018 By Davina | May contain affiliate links (whats this?)

blue pom pom tutorial graphic

Today I’ll show you how to make a pom pom without a pom pom maker! 

Pom poms add cheer and whimsy to every project. They make great accessories, and they’re the cherry on top of a knitted hat.

Thankfully, making a pom pom is not hard. If you can use a pair of scissors, then you can make a pom pom.

The secret to the perfect pom pom involves three steps:

  1. use lots of yarns when wrapping your donut
  2. make sure your scissors are super sharp
  3. use your donuts as a tracer to help you cut a perfectly round shape

materials for making a pom pom

Table of Contents

  • What You Need to Make a Pom Pom
  • The Best Yarn for Making a Pom Pom
  • A Tip for Successfully Trimming Pom Poms
  • Making a Pom Pom Step-by-Step
  • Make a Pom Pom Video Tutorial
  • Pom Pom Craft Ideas
  • How to Make Fuzzier Pom Poms

What You Need to Make a Pom Pom

The materials you’ll need to make a pom pom are pretty easy to source. In most cases, you’ll have them in your home. You’ll need: 

  • yarn (in this tutorial, I’m using Malabrigo Silky Merino)
  • cardboard (use old tissue or cereal boxes or the backs of notebooks)
  • pair of sharp scissors (the sharper the better)
  • something round that you can trace (like a jar or a can of soup)
  • something round and even smaller that you can trace (like a quarter or a roll of tape)
  • tinfoil (optional for sharpening dull scissors)

The Best Yarn for Making a Pom Pom

Okay, there’s no objectively “best” yarn for pom poms, so take the following with a grain of salt.

In my subjective opinion, the best yarn for making poms is single-ply yarns. This opinion is based on the premise that fuzzy pom poms make the best pom poms. 

Single-ply yarns tend to fuzz up easily because of their lack of yarn plies and twist. This means that they don’t have as much structural integrity, and when knitted up, they are susceptible to pilling.

They’re a “softer” yarn than multi-ply yarns. It’s this “softness” and floppiness that makes them not-so-great for knitting hardy sweaters, but excellent for making soft and fluffy pom poms.

malabrigo silky merino one ply yarn
Malabrigo silky merino is a soft and shiny one-ply yarn, perfect for fuzzy poms.

The yarn I’m using in this tutorial is Malabrigo Silky Merino in the colour Green Grey. It’s a one-ply silk and merino wool blend.

It’s got great shine and is incredibly soft. Perfect for making pom poms!

A Tip for Successfully Trimming Pom Poms

Okay, before we get this started, I need to stress how important it is that you use sharp scissors. If your scissors are dull, you will have a hellacious time trimming your pom.

With dull scissors, there’s a chance you will rip out yarn strands, howl in frustration and squirt hot tears all over your unfinished pom. There will be cursing and gnashing of teeth.

To save yourself the drama, make sure your scissors are sharp. Test them out by snipping your yarn a few times. If it cuts smoothly, you’re good to go. If it doesn’t cut through, then bring out the tinfoil! (not for a hat)

 

sharpen scissors with foil

Fold a piece of foil four or five times. Then cut through it with your dull scissors a few times. This will temporarily sharpen your scissors by getting rid of burrs on the blades, making yarn cutting much smoother.

Now, a few caveats. This is a quick fix and not a long-term solution for dull scissors. If you continuously use this method, you might actually end of making the scissors more dull!

If you’re using expensive scissors, you should get them professionally sharpened or invest in a sharpening stone. But for cheap craft scissors, I find the tinfoil method works in a pinch.

Making a Pom Pom Step-by-Step

Now, let’s get our pom pom on! You have two options: watch the video tutorial or follow the obsessively detailed step-by-step photo guide. Both are below. The choice is yours. Let’s do this!

Decide how big you want your pom pom to be. The size of the circle you cut correlates to the size of the pom
Use a jar or a can to help you trace two circles
Cut out the two circles
Trace a smaller circle in the centre of the two circles. Use a quarter to help you trace.
Cut out the smaller circle from the larger circles. You’ve got two donut- looking circles now. 
Line up the two donuts and cut out a larger exit row
Hold two yarn strands together & wrap them around the donuts. Doing this makes wrapping much faster
The more times you wrap the yarn, the fluffier the pom pom will be. More wraps = fluffier pom
Once your pom pom is nice and chubby, about one inch in thickness, then it’s time to cut it loose
Slip your scissors in-between the two donuts and begin cutting
Cut the yarn wraps around the whole donut
Cut a length of yarn that’s 10-12”. Slide the yarn in-between the two donuts, encircling the whole donut
Tie a double knot and tighten it by pulling both ends tightly. Your pom is now secure!
Pull off the two cardboard donuts to reveal your pom in all its glory!
Shake out the pom! There will likely be some loose strands, so next you’ll trim the pom to round perfection
Lay the two original donuts on your pom, like you’re making a sandwich
Using the donuts as a guide, trim excess yarn from around the donut.
Turn the pom 90 degrees and make another sandwich. Trim as before
Set aside the donuts and shake out your pom.
Your pom should look nice & round now! Do a final trim to get a perfectly round shape and enjoy! 

Make a Pom Pom Video Tutorial

If you want a comprehensive video tutorial for pom pom making, then watch below. You’ll get a step-by-step guide on making perfect pom poms!

Pom Pom Craft Ideas

You’ve made a pom pom! Woohoo! After you’ve finished bouncing it around like a gleeful kitten, you might wonder, now what? 

My friend, now is where creativity and whimsy can really shine!

There’s no shortage of pom pom craft ideas online. In addition to some ubiquitous ones, I’ll show you some off-the-beaten-path options for putting your poms to good use.

Here are the ways that I’ve used the pom poms I’ve made: 

1. Attached to my laptop bag. I’ve tied a small pom onto the pull tab of my laptop bag here. Easy peasy. I could glue gun it down for extra stability, but I just keep it tied in case I want to switch out another pom pom or take it off completely.

pom pom craft idea

2. I love using pom poms to wrap gifts, where the pom takes the place of the proverbial bow. To make a pom-bow for gift wrapping, cut a length of yarn that’s long enough to wrap around your gift, with a few extra inches for knotting.

Then, use this yarn tail to secure the pom (Step # in the photo guide), making sure that the pom is tied at the halfway point along the yarn tail. Then tie up your pom-bow!

pom pom crafts idea

3. Pom poms for stress. This is unusual and a bit unorthodox. When I get stressed or overwhelmed, I enjoy squeezing a big pom in my hand as if it were a stress ball. It’s oddly relaxing to mash a pom in your hand.

If you’re into ASMR, the sound of yarn crunching is also sensorily satisfying. Of course, after manhandling the pom, I’ll shape it back into a nice ball!

pom pom crafts idea

How to Make Fuzzier Pom Poms

I mentioned up top that I think one-ply yarns make the fuzziest poms.

But what if you’ve only got multi-ply yarns?

how to fuzzy pom poms
Method one for fuzzier pom poms: use your dryer

Not to fear! I’ve compiled three ways to make your pom poms super fuzzy! It mostly involves everyday household objects.

Click This: 3 Ways to Get Fuzzier Pom Poms

blue pom poms being made

pom pom tutorial graphic

Pin
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
Tweet

Category: Techniques / Subcategory: Decorative

Stay In the Loop!

Sign up for free patterns, tutorials, sales and promotions. Only good stuff. Never spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

You May Also Like:

how to fix dropped stitchHow to Fix a Dropped Stitchm1r and m1l knitting increaseM1R and M1L Knitting Increasehow to unwind yarn hankHow to Unwind a Yarn Hank

SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Most Popular

  • 3 beginner knitting mistakes 3 Beginner Knitting Mistakes and How to Fix Them
  • how to knit a scarf for beginners How to Knit a Scarf for Beginners
  • egyptian knitting The History of Knitting Pt 1: Mysterious Origins

Categories

Footer

Navigate

  • About
  • How To Knit
  • Patterns
  • Blog

Support

  • Privacy and Affiliate Disclosure
  • Technical Support
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Advertise

Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

A twisted headband is the perfect gift for the hol A twisted headband is the perfect gift for the holidays! This headband is knit in fisherman’s rib - a classic stitch with a dramatic stretchy rib. Grab the free pattern and tutorial in the link in the profile and cast on! #knitting #knit #knittersofinstagram #knitknitknit #knittersgonnaknit #knitting_inspiration #knitstagram #freepattern #freepatterns #headband
This holiday season, knit up a twisted headband! T This holiday season, knit up a twisted headband! This free pattern is great for adventurous beginners and makes a fantastic stocking stuffer! 🎁 Knit in double stockinette stitch, this headband will keep you cozy all winter long! 👉 Link in the profile #knit #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram #knits #headband #knitting #knitknitknit #knittinginspiration
Hello muggles! I’m so tickled to present a Harry Hello muggles! I’m so tickled to present a Harry Potter scarf tutorial! This has been a looong time coming!  This Hogwarts scarf is a great beginner project. With a simple 1x1 rib pattern, you’ll be done in two shakes of a newt’s tail. No spells or house elves required!  Whether you’re a Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, wear your House affiliation loud and proud. Grab some yarn and let’s get started!  Scroll through for more photos. Link to the pattern and video in the profile ⚡️
Meet your new summer challenge: a pair of adorable Meet your new summer challenge: a pair of adorable fingerless gloves! The video tutorial that guides you through the whole knitting process is now available on YouTube at the link in my profile! I had such a blast filming this tutorial and shooting these gloves. I hope you enjoy! #knit #knitting #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #knittingpattern #knittingnerd #freepatterns
This week a hot little tutorial on fingerless glov This week a hot little tutorial on fingerless gloves is coming your way. Stay tuned!⚡️#knitting #knit #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram #mittenknitting #knits
This infinity scarf is perfect for beginners since This infinity scarf is perfect for beginners since it’s made up entirely of knits and purls!  With just these two stitches, you can knit up a squishy, textured scarf using the mistake rib stitch. This is one of my favourite stitches because, despite looking complicated, it’s actually deceptively easy! Check out the full pattern in my profile link and get a head start on fall knitting! #knitting #knits #knittingpattern #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspire #knitknitknit #knitoholic #infinityscarf #knitcowl #freepatterns #freeknittingpattern

Search The Site

Stay in Touch

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

2021 Copyright © Sheep and Stitch Limited

Pin
Share
Tweet
Let's Stay
In Touch

Sign up for new patterns, sales and exclusive giveaways. 100% good stuff!



no thanks

{"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"","openAnimation":false,"exitAnimation":false,"timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"30","cookieDomain":"","autoFire":"40000","isAnalyticsEnabled":false}