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A pom pom is the fastest way to make a plain hat look finished, and you do not need a pom pom maker to make a good one. Davina from Sheep & Stitch cuts her own from a scrap of cardboard, wraps it with two strands of yarn at once to halve the time, and trims the result into a proper round ball rather than the shaggy lump most first attempts produce.
You need yarn, a piece of cardboard (a cereal box or the back of a notepad), a jar or can to trace, something smaller like a coin for the centre, and the sharpest scissors in the house. About fifteen minutes per pom pom once you have made one.
A thin, floppy pom pom has one cause: not enough wraps. The yarn you wind round the cardboard becomes every strand of the finished ball, so a donut that looks generously covered still makes a sparse pom pom. Keep wrapping until the centre hole is almost closed and the ring looks fat. Four or five full passes round the donut is typical. Holding two strands together, as Davina does, gets you there in half the time.
Wrap with a neutral hand, not a tight one. Yarn pulled tight grips the cardboard and makes the cutting step hard work. Loose enough that the scissors slide in without resistance is the target.
The outer circle sets the finished size, roughly. A pom pom comes out a little smaller than the ring, and trimming takes a bit more off. For a hat, trace something about 3 inches across, like a jam jar. For gift toppers and garlands, a 2 inch circle from a spice jar lid. The centre hole should be about a third of the outer diameter. Bigger holes mean more yarn per wrap and a denser pom pom.
The tie round the middle is the only thing holding every strand in place. Use a 12 inch length of the same yarn, pull it hard between the cardboard layers, and knot it three times. A loose tie is how a pom pom sheds strands in the wash. Leave the two tails long, because they are what you use to sew the pom pom onto a hat.
Wool and wool blends make the fluffiest pom poms, because the fibres bloom and spring apart once they are cut. Acrylic works and is cheaper, but it lies flatter and can look a little stringy. Chunky yarn fills the ring fast; fine yarn takes longer but gives a denser, velvety finish. Variegated or self-striping yarn turns into a speckled pom pom, which is what the multicoloured ones in the photos are.
For a two-colour pom pom, wrap half the ring in one colour and half in the other. For spots, wrap a small patch of the contrast colour first and cover it with the main colour. The layout on the ring is the layout you get on the ball.
A plastic pom pom maker is quicker to wrap because the arms open out, and it lasts for years. Cardboard costs nothing and you can cut any size you need on the spot. If you make more than a handful a year, a set of makers in four sizes pays for itself. If you need three for Christmas presents, a cereal box does the job fine.
The obvious one is the top of a hat - a pom pom is what turns a knitted hat or a crochet beanie into a winter hat. They also tie onto bag zips, replace a bow on a wrapped present, and string into a garland in about an hour for a dozen. If you were after the tissue paper kind for a party, that is a different technique: see paper pom poms.
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Make a full, round yarn pom pom with a cardboard ring and scissors. An easy project: about 25 minutes. You need 6 things, including worsted weight yarn, sharp craft scissors and cardboard. The 9 steps start with trace Two Circles on Cardboard for a DIY Pom Pom Maker, cut the Centre Hole and an Exit Slot in Each Cardboard Donut, hold Two Strands of Yarn and Start Wrapping the Cardboard Rings and keep Wrapping Until the Yarn Donut Is Fat.
9 steps, about 9 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.
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Stand a jar or can on the cardboard and draw round it with a pencil. Do it twice so you have two identical circles. The size of this circle is roughly the size of your finished pom pom, so pick the jar to match the project.
Cereal box card is the ideal weight. Corrugated cardboard is too thick to fit scissors between the two layers later.
Cut out both circles. Trace a coin or small lid in the middle of each and cut that out too, so you have two cardboard donuts. Stack them, then cut a slot from the outer edge through to the centre hole on both at once. The slot is how the yarn gets in and how the tie gets round later.
Cut the slot a little wider than a strand of yarn. Too narrow and the tie will not slip through at step six.
Line the two donuts up so they sit as one. Hold two strands of yarn together, lay the ends against the ring at the slot, and wrap over the ends to anchor them. Then keep wrapping round and round the ring, working your way from the slot all the way to the other side.
Two strands at once is not a shortcut that costs anything. The pom pom comes out the same, in half the wrapping time.
Go back over the ring four or five times. It should look chunky and the centre hole should be nearly filled. This is the step that decides whether the pom pom is fluffy or thin, so err on the side of more.
Keep an even, relaxed tension. Tight wraps make the next step a fight.
Slide one blade of the scissors between the two cardboard layers at the outer edge and snip. Work round the whole circle, cutting every loop of yarn. The cardboard holds everything in place while you do it.
If your scissors are dull, cut through a folded sheet of kitchen foil five or six times first. It puts a quick edge on cheap craft scissors.
Cut about 12 inches of yarn. Slip it between the two cardboard rings, round the centre, and out through the slot. Pull it as tight as you can and knot it, then knot it twice more. This single tie holds every strand.
Leave the tails long. You will use them to attach the pom pom to a hat.
Ease each cardboard ring off. Tear it if it will not come away cleanly - you can cut new ones. Fluff the pom pom with your fingers and let the strands settle.
Keep the rings if they come off whole. They are the trimming guide in the next step.
Lay newspaper down first, because this makes a mess. Put a cardboard ring on top of the pom pom and one underneath, like a sandwich, with the tails tucked out of the way. Trim round the edge of the ring, then flip and do the other side. It takes the straggly ends off and leaves an even ball.
Trim a little at a time. You can always cut more and you cannot put it back.
Thread the long tails onto a tapestry needle, push them through the top of a hat from the outside, and tie them off on the inside. The same tails tie a pom pom onto a zip pull or round a wrapped present in place of a bow.
For a hat that goes in the wash, tie the pom pom on rather than gluing it so you can take it off first.
Keep going
How to Make a Wrapping Paper Bow
More on this topic, picked for this yarn pom pom.
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How to Make a Yarn Pom Pom
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OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
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Question 1 of 5
What usually makes a pom pom come out thin and floppy?
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5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.What usually makes a pom pom come out thin and floppy?
Answer: Not wrapping enough yarn round the ring
Every wrap becomes a strand, so a sparse donut makes a sparse ball.
2.What mostly decides the finished size of the pom pom?
Answer: The outer circle of the cardboard ring
It comes out a little smaller than the ring once trimmed.
3.Why hold two strands of yarn together while wrapping?
Answer: It fills the ring in about half the time
Two strands per pass means half as many passes for the same fullness.
4.Why wrap with a relaxed hand rather than pulling tight?
Answer: Tight yarn grips the card and resists the scissors
The blade needs to slide between the rings without a fight.
5.What is the easiest way to trim it into an even ball?
Answer: Sandwich it between rings and trim round them
The rings act as a template, so both sides end up the same.
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