sallysetsforth

A Christmassy/crafty post in June - why not? ;)

Each year for the last few years I've made little ornaments for my sisters' Christmas trees. Photos of some of my previous efforts are on Flickr HERE. For Christmas last year I didn't have much time to put something together, so I decided to make something I'd been wanting to try my hand at for a while - pom poms! It sounded so simple :)

I soon learned that there are a few important things to take into consideration when making yarn pom poms. The process was very much a case of trial and error, and fixing up mistakes was not much fun. I used Clover pom pom makers, which I thought would make it a breeze. It was probably much easier than using a cardboard template, but wasn't idiot-proof by any stretch of the imagination!

The first lesson I learnt was to use lots and lots of yarn! And when you think you couldn't possibly add any more - add some more. Secondly, it's important to choose the right thread/yarn for tying the pom pom off. For large pom poms, I imagine it would be fine to use the same yarn that the pom pom is made from. But for small pom poms like the ones I made, a finer thread was required, otherwise it would look split in half. I ended up using a fine metallic embroidery thread. Finally, the right knot is key. A double knot just won't work, as you can't keep the first knot tight enough while tying the second. I had to learn to do a slip knot for this.

Once I'd figured all this out, it was pretty easy from there on in. The finished pom poms just needed a little trimming to neaten them up, and then they were all ready for the Christmas tree. Except that then I came down with the flu and was quarantined for Christmas :( But my family got their pom poms eventually!



It turned out pom poms had another tricky aspect - photographing them. They're really hard to get the camera to focus on them properly!!

P.S. Yes, the title of this blog post is a poor attempt at a Star Trek pun ;)