How to make pom poms with wool: 2 easy ways to make wool pom poms from scratch

Pom poms 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. They’re super easy to make, and you can use recycled materials from around the house. Making pom poms out of empty toilet paper rolls and cardboard tissue boxes is a creative and fun way to upcycle by repurposing bits and bobs (like loo roll cardboard!) you might usually dispose of. So, are you wondering how to make pom poms with wool and recycled packaging at home? Our handy guide shows two easy ways for making pom poms with wool and empty Cushelle toilet rolls and card from an empty tissue box. 

pom poms out of toilet roll tubes | pom poms with cardboard circles

1. Making wool pom poms out of toilet roll tubes 

This easy method for making wool pom poms with wool uses two Cushelle toilet roll tubes to make one large fluffy pom poms.

Takes 20 minutes

1. 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. Next, take another length of wool and tie it around the bundle, in between the two toilet roll tubes. Tie a tentative knot.
3. Gently push the wool bundle off the tubes. Now tie the length of wool tight around the middle, and knot to secure the wool bundle in place.
4. Carefully cut around the outer looped edges of the wool bundle with sharp scissors.
5. Use your fingers to shape the finished wool 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

Now this pom pom idea is a good one. When making pom poms with cardboard circles you can use the cardboard from a flattened empty tissue box to make any size wool pom pom – the larger the rings the bigger the pom pom!

Takes 30 minutes

1. Cut open and flatten the empty tissue box. Place the tumbler on the card, draw around it twice and cut out both circles.
2. Place the coin in the middle of the circles, and draw around it using a pencil.
3. Next, hold the two circles together and cut a small thin wedge from the outside to the middle, then cut out the inner circle.
4. Now start wrapping your wool around the rings lots of times – the thicker you wrap, the fuller and fluffier the wool pom pom will be.
5. 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. Cut another length of wool and carefully wrap it around in between the cardboard rings.
7. Tie as tightly as possible, then remove the rings and ‘fluff’ and trim your pom pom. Voila! Your DIY pom pom is complete!

Once you’ve learned how to make pom poms with cardboard you can use your imagination to create a whole host of fluffy balls. You could attach several in a row next to each other to make caterpillars, or stick one on top of the other to create various figures. And because you’re not using any glue, you can reuse the same cardboard rings again and again, without having to buy anything new.

Like you, we’re conscious of the world we live in, and we’re passionate about helping to increase the amount of packaging that’s recycled. Our packaging is recyclable; and our tissue boxes are made with paper openings, so you can in one piece. So when (or should we say if) you’re finished with pom pom making, just pop the cardboard in the recycling bin, so that it can turn into something new, somewhere else!