Crafty Obsessions - PomPoms!!!

This month, in the name of creative blogginess I will mostly be obsessing over pompoms.  Honestly, consider it a service to craftkind...



To be fair, I would quite happily obsess over pompoms for the rest of my days. Pompom making with some of my mum's wool and a couple of circles of cardboard was one of the first crafty techniques I learnt. My mum was an avid knitter making all manner of jumpers, hats, cardigans, even whole outfits (one day I will share the photographic evidence... one day... maybe...) and no woolly hat was complete without a pompom attachment.

These days of course it is perfectly acceptable to attach pompoms to just about anything that keeps still long enough! And just a few moments (ok, hours) of gazing at fab images on Pinterest provided me with plenty of inspiration for a whole bunch of pompom related projects to have a go at this month.

So let us start with something seasonal...

Valentines Day is just over a week away and although me and the OH don't really go for the BIG ROMANCE thing there really is no better excuse for hanging a few extra hearts about the place and as we are talking pompoms I thought I'd share with you how I make heart shaped pompoms without shelling out for heart shaped pompom makers...




First of all you need three pompoms one large and two smaller - I have a set of pompom makers I bought off ebay for peanuts last year, the larger heart is made with the two larger sizes and the smaller one with the two smaller sizes.  I am assuming here that you all know how to make a basic pompom but if you don't just search youtube for endless pompom making videos...

When you finish off your pompoms make sure you leave a long-ish tail. Take one of the smaller pompoms and thread the tail of yarn onto a large wool needle.

Now attach the small pompom to the larger one taking the wool needle through the centre of the large pompom, out the other side then back through the centre of the large pompom and through the the centre of the smaller one. Remove the needle and trim the tail of yarn so it blends into the pompom

Do the same with the second smaller pompom, positioning it to the side of the first. Your three joined pompoms will resemble a teddy bear head (ooo there's an idea!) so now you need to get some sharp scissors and begin trimming to shape them into a heart.

Trim the pompoms small amounts at a time until you are happy with the shape.

I found the smaller pompom heart worked better than the big one but I think that was just because the smaller pompoms tend to be denser.

They would be just perfect as a little woolly gift just as they are but I have a little project in mind for these hearts which I will share with you next week.

Happy Crafting!