How to make Pom-Poms and Braids for Your Hats

Part 1 - Pom-Poms

Pom-Poms and braids are a popular way to add flair to any hat. My grand kids love pom-poms and I made quite a few of them in the last few months. If you don't make a lot of them it wouldn't pay for you to invest in a pom-pom maker. I have to say, I am in love with mine. Making a good size pom with cardboard circles is a little time consuming. It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to get a nice and fluffy one the old fashioned way.  With my "toy" it only takes about 2 minutes.

Assuming you don't have the luxury of a pom-pom maker, I am going to show you how to make a pom, using a cardboard template. Any stiff cardboard, such as a shoe box will suffice. Using a compass, glass or any round object the size you would like your pom-pom to be, trace 2 circles onto the cardboard. With a another smaller round, object draw a bulls-eye in the center of each circle. Cut the circles out and remove the bulls-eyes. What you are left with, are 2 identical cardboard doughnuts. 

Used a can of tuna for outer circle, bulls eye should measure about 1 inch.

As you can see, mine aren't what you would call professional but they will do the job. The goal is to wrap the doughnut with yarn, until the hole in the center fills up with yarn. For this template I used the lid of a tube of Vaseline. It measures 11/2 inches in diameter. This was actually a little to big. For this size pom, a center opening of 1 inch would have been better. I like to completely wrap my pom about 5 times. Making Poms for over 40 years, I developed a feel for it. Once my circle fills up and my disc feels nice and puffy, I know it's right. If you think you have enough yarn wrapped around the doughnut but your center isn't full, not all is lost. In this case all you need to do is to take a needle with some yarn and run it around the inside of the circle several times,pulling tight and catching all of the loops. This keeps your loops from falling through the hole when you cut your pom open. If the center if full, this step will not be necessary. The more yarn, the fluffier the pom-pom will be. Holding both pieces of cardboard together, thread the needle through the center of your doughnut. Knot the end to keep it secure. Now comes the fun part, wrapping and wrapping around the circle. When you run out of thread, join the new thread with a knot. It can be cut off later, when you trim your pom. Once your cardboard circle is full, cut the thread. 

Now it's time to cut the loops. To separate the strands, cut the yarn around the top edge of the template, all the way around. Do not cut the cardboard.

Now cut a piece of yarn about 18 inches and slide it between the center of the 2 discs. This is how you tie off your pom so you don't end up with a pile of loose strings. Wrap the yarn around the center at least 4 or 5 times. Pulling as tight as you can. Knot it several times but don't cut you string. I use it to sew my pom to the hat. Now cut the cardboard circle to remove the finished pom. You might be able to carefully pull the circles apart and save your template. Trim the pom even if you have some larger strands and carefully cut out any knots.

These colors work for both a boy and a girl. I decided to use it for a girl and accessorize it accordingly. I think a pretty crochet bow would look very nice. Bows are very easy and can be done many ways. Next up tutorial on how to crochet a bow for your hat.

Pom-Pom maker I purchased at JoAnnes. Came in a set of 2 sizes for $19.99 with 50% off coupon only about $10.00. This is the large set. Purchased the small set at Hobby Lobby for $8.00 regular price. Easy to use and a great time saver if you make a lot of Poms.