2 Easy Pom Pom Crafts: Making pom poms with wool 

When you’re a parent, school holidays can be a lot to deal with; the house is messier, the fridge is permanently empty, and the kids need constant entertainment. That’s why DIY crafts are so great: they keep your kids busy, and offer you respite from being their favourite human climbing frame! Pom pom crafts are the perfect starting point for many children’s crafts. From cute chicks and fluffy white bunnies at Easter to podgy snowmen and Santas at Christmas, making pom poms is the perfect solution to your kid's winter, summer, and easter break boredom!

1. Making pom poms out of toilet roll tubes  

This easy method for making pom poms with wool uses two Cushelle toilet roll tubes to make one large fluffy pom pom. Here’s how to make fluffy pom poms out of toilet roll tubes: 

Takes 20 minutes

1. Create the body of your pom pom. First, place two toilet roll tubes side by side. Start wrapping the wool around the middle, trapping the loose end inside. Continue wrapping many times, building up a good amount of wool.
2. Tie around the middle. Your second step is to take another length of wool and tie it around the bundle, in between the two toilet roll tubes. Tie a tentative knot.
3. Take the pom pom off the tubes.Gently push the wool bundle away from the tubes with its loose knot still around the middle. Now, tie the length of wool tight around the middle, and knot to secure the wool bundle in place.
4. Cut the loops. Carefully cut around the outer looped edges of the wool bundle with sharp scissors. An adult should do this part.
5. Fluff your pom pom into shape. Use your fingers to shape the finished pom pom and trim any straggly ends with the scissors.

There are lots of creative things you can do with loo roll besides our pom pom craft ideas, so definitely take a look at our most creative toilet roll crafts around. You can make anything from flying fish to cityscapes!

2. Making wool pom poms with cardboard circles

When making pom poms with cardboard circles you can use the cardboard from a flattened empty box or piece of cardboard to make any size pom pom – the larger the rings, the bigger the pom pom! Here’s how to make fluffy pom poms with cardboard circles:

Takes 30 minutes

1. Cut out the outside of your cardboard circle. Cut open and flatten the empty tissue box. Place the tumbler on the card, draw around it twice and cut out both circles.
2. Draw holes in the middle of the circles.Place the coin in the middle of the circles, and draw around it using a pencil.
3. Cut out the inner holes. Hold the two circles together and cut a small thin wedge from the outside to the middle, then cut out the inner circle to make a doughnut shape.
4. Start making your pom pom. Starting from one edge of your doughnut circle shape, go around the ring wrapping your wool around lots of times – the thicker you wrap, the fuller and fluffier the pom pom will be.
5. Cut around the edges. Once you are happy with the amount of wool around the rings, push the scissors in-between the cardboard rings, and start snipping. Make sure that pieces of wool don’t fall out of the central hole.
6. Wrap some wool around the rings. Cut another length of wool and carefully wrap it around in between the cardboard rings. This will hold the pom pom wool together.
7. Tie your pom pom together. Tie as tightly as possible, then remove the rings and ‘fluff’ and trim your pom pom.

What else can you make with your pom pom crafts?

As you can see from these two tutorials, once you’ve learned how to make pom poms with wool, the sky’s the limit! Here’s a whole list of DIY craft projects that begin with making pom poms:

• Pom pom earrings: Attach mini pom poms to earring hooks in just a few extra steps to make a statement pair of earrings in your favourite colours.
• Pom pom Christmas ornaments: This is a perfect way to keep the kids busy – have them add these to your family’s collection of Christmas ornaments and customize them with initials for every member.
• Wooly wall art: Adorn your room with pom pom garlands, wall-hangings or even large photo frames.
• Pom pom keychains: For your older kids, who may have a set of locker keys, let them occupy their afternoons making wool pom poms for a set of keychains – cute, colourful and weightless!
• Pom pom bouquets: Create colourful, uplifting pom pom “flower” arrangements that will never wilt!
• Pom pom crowns: Make flower crowns a thing of the past and wear colourful pom pom crowns instead.
• Hand-made cards: Use pom poms to decorate your own hand-made masterpieces – from animals to abstract designs, the world is your oyster!
• Pom pom bunting: For an original take on party décor, why not hang colourful pom poms from a string instead of the traditional triangles?
• Pom pom bookmarks: We know you want to start that book that’s been on your nightstand for ages, so why not teach the kids to make reading more fun by joining a woollen string to little pom poms and creating colourful bookmarks!
• Rug or blanket trimming: Stitch pom poms across the bottom of a plain blanket or rug to revamp it! Pick monochrome shades for a cosy, chic look, or go wild with a funky rainbow.
• Easy DIY dress-up: Attach wool pom-poms to a plain outfit and hat to create a super-easy clown or jester costume.
• Homemade toy animals: With a few extra craft items, you can easily turn a couple of pom poms into a new fluffy friend for you and your loved ones. Try these ideas: 
  • Sheep: tie one big white pom pom (for the body) to one smaller black pom pom (for the face). Then, push two black pipe cleaners through the body part and bend to make legs. Finish with glue-on googly eyes. 
  • Teddy bear: This one requires a few more pom poms: one big one for the body, one medium one for the head, four small ones for the legs and two teeny ones for the ears! 
  • Halloween spooks: Thread more black pipe cleaners through black pom poms to make spiders or attach black cardboard wings for bats! Try out more of our spooky seasonal crafts here. 

There you go, ‘how do you make a pom pom’ answered. Let your kids’ imaginations run wild, and create all kinds of fun things after you’ve discovered how to make pom poms with cardboard. They’ll soon become pom pom craft geniuses, and you’ll find you’ve freed up enough of your former human-climbing-frame time for a well-deserved break!