Tag Archives: pom-poms

Tutorial: Pom-Pom Package Topper
by on Jan 25, 2021

It’s no secret that WeCrochet loves pom-poms! In this article, learn how I make my quick pom-pom package topper.

Making a pom-pom package topper with yarn: a top-down view of hands tying fur yarn around a mint green package

Finishing a crochet project is a great feeling. Not only am I happy to have another finished project but I am excited to gift it as well. When wrapping my crochet gift, I make a pom-pom package topper to pull the package all together.

Materials

Supplies needed: A package, a ball of yarn, and scissors

You might also enjoy: How to attach a pom-pom to a hat

How to Make a Pom-Pom Package Topper

Start with a wrapped gift. Your gift can be any size or shape. My favorite way is wrapping with tissue paper.

Hands cutting a 12" piece of fur yarn to tie the pom pom

For this tutorial I will be using scrap yarn from the project that I wrapped up and my fingers. You could use a pom-pom maker if you prefer but I like the quickness of using my fingers.

First I start by cutting a length of yarn that will be used to tie my pom-pom together. I tend to make this about 4-6 inches.

A top-down shot of hands wrapping fur yarn around 3 fingers to make a pom-pom

Next I will begin wrapping the yarn around your fingers. Depending on the number of wraps and the number of fingers that you wrap around will change the size of your finished pom-pom.

Wrapping fur yarn around your hand to make a DIY pom-pom

Typically I wrap between 20-30 times.

Hands trimming a handmade pom-pom made of fur yarn

Cut your yarn when you have wrapped your desired amount.

Hands tying a handmade pom-pom made of fur yarn

Lay your wraps on top of your first cut strand of yarn and tie a knot to cinch the pom-pom together.

Hands cutting a handmade pom pom made from fur yarn

With a sharp scissors cut the loops on both ends of your pom-pom. Trim the ends of your tie to match the ends of the other strands. Now is when you would trim up the pom-pom to make it more round if you like.

Making a pom-pom package topper with yarn: a top-down view of the process of tying fur yarn around a mint green package

To attach the pom-pom to the package, take the same yarn and wrap it around the package at least one time. Tie a knot in the yarn at the top of your package, DO NOT cut the yarn yet.

Making a pom-pom package topper with yarn: a top-down view of hands tying fur yarn around a mint green package

Lay your pom-pom on top of the package and tie with the yarn tales. Cut the ends to match the length of the pom-pom.

Making a pom-pom package topper with yarn: a top-down view of a mint green package with a fur pom pom tied around it

Now you are ready to use this great pom-pom topper on any package, handmade or not!

Making a pom-pom package topper with yarn: a top-down view of a mint green package with a fur pom pom tied around it

You might also enjoy: How to make pom-pom ornaments

0 Comments
Tags: How to

Free Pattern: Lisbeth Beanie— 12 Weeks of Gifting
by on Dec 8, 2020

It’s the most wonderful time of year: when we give away free crochet patterns every week leading up to the holiday gift-giving season. We’re featuring a new free pattern every Tuesday for 12 weeks. This week’s free crochet pattern is the Lisbeth Beanie.

A model wears a gray crocheted beanie with a pink pom-pom. The Lisbeth Beanie, a free crochet pattern from crochet.com.

To help you with your holiday gift list, we offer our favorite annual tradition: the 12 Weeks of Gifting, where we release a brand new free pattern every Tuesday for 12 weeks, counting down the days to mid-December. We are featuring all sorts of projects—from cozy shawls
to cushy scarves and pretty hats—a little something for everyone on your list!

Lisbeth Beanie – Free Crochet Pattern

A gray crocheted beanie with a pink pom-pom. The Lisbeth Beanie, a free crochet pattern from crochet.com.

Download the free crochet pattern: Lisbeth Beanie.

Yarn needed: Mighty Stitch

Inspired by the icy landscape of a Colorado winter, the arching pattern in this hat mirrors the wind whipping snow into drifts. The Lisbeth Beanie is worked in the round from the bottom up with a ribbed brim. The top of the hat is stitched with a repeating arch and then cinched together before being topped with a faux fur pom-pom.

Stay Tuned for More 12 Weeks of Gifting Patterns to Come

  • A model wears Mighty Mittens: Crocheted mittens with 4 blocks of color ranging from turquoise, spring green, rust red, and mint green.
    Mighty Mittens
  • Pineapple Beanie
  • Winter Cable Hat, a free crochet pattern from crochet.com
    Winter Cable Hat
  • A model wears a multicolored crocheted hat: The Multiverse Colorwork Cap by WeCrochet at crochet.com
  • Cozy Infinity Scarf
  • A model wears the Bright Gifts Wrap from crochet.com
    Bright Gifts Wrap
  • A model wears the Vanilla Latte Super Scarf crochet pattern from crochet.com
    Vanilla Latte Superscarf
  • A model wears a red-pink toned crocheted shawl. The Triana shawl is part of the 12 Weeks of Gifting free patterns from Crochet.com
    Triana Shawl
  • A model wears the Holiday Sweets Shawl: part of the 12 Weeks of Gifting free patterns from Crochet.com
    Holiday Sweets Shawl
  • A model is wrapped in the Bambino Ripple Blanket, a copper-colored crochet ripple blanket, part of the free crochet patterns of Crochet.com's 12 Weeks of Gifting.
    Bambino Ripple Blanket

We can’t wait to reveal the rest of this year’s 12 Weeks of Gifting Patterns, so check back next Tuesday to find out what the final pattern will be.

In the meantime, check out last year’s 12 Weeks of Gifting Patterns to inspire you as you craft up your holiday gifts (or maybe just make something for yourself!)

0 Comments
Tags: 12 Weeks of Gifting, Free Crochet Patterns

WeCrochet Podcast Episode 25 – Bright Pink Yarn Machine
by on Dec 3, 2020
Photo from April Gopwani of OTH Crochet Nook

With Thanksgiving over and done, we have moved on to the part of the fall that gets erased and just becomes everyone’s default winter. Our crafting queues are now full of fun projects that will brighten our homes for the holidays and beyond. In this episode of the WeCrochet Podcast, we’re talking about our holiday crafting lists, what to do with pom-poms, and interviewing a yarnpreneur and crocheter about her yarn vending machines.

First, Sara and Heather check in about crocheting for the holidays and what does or does not constitute a good crochet gift for kids or other members of the family. Find our their favorite cold-weather yarn picks and whether they are pro pom-pom. 

Next, Katelyn joins Heather to talk all about pom-poms: how to attach a removable pom-pom to a hat, and how to use pom-poms in your holiday decor and beyond. Pom-poms are fun and easy way to use up yarn and add some whimsy to a project. They can also be used to engage your kiddos in a craft project.

Heather and Sara briefly discuss Crochet Foundry, a group of crochet designers dedicated to creating beautiful crochet garment patterns for women of all sizes. WeCrochet now offers kits for making the most popular Crochet Foundry designs.

Photo from The Philadelphia Inquirer, photo by HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
ID: Emani holds up a skein of yarn with her Bright Pink Machine behind her

Finally, Heather interviews Emani Outterbridge, an entrepreneur who has launched her own yarn line as well as the world’s first yarn vending machines. Emani’s yarn line, Needles, offers unique colors in 8 Ply Worsted Weight 100% Acrylic yarn as well as cotton t-shirt yarn. You won’t be able to find these color combinations anywhere else. If you’re in Philadelphia, you can get this unique yarn at one of her bright pink yarn vending machines. Outside of Philly, you can connect with her on Instagram where she says she “always on”. 

Listen, rate, review and share this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts!

Mentioned in This Episode:
Heather’s Stocking project – Color Pop Stockings 
Wonderfluff
City Tweed
Pom-pom ornaments
How to attach pom-pom
Faux fur pom poms
wecrochet magazine issue 5
Pom-pom maker
Crochet Foundry 
Double Espresso Cardigan  
Macchiato sweater 
Emani on Instagram @Emani.milan
Shop Emani’s Designs and Yarn at www.maniwear.com

Timestamps:
0:00 Sara and Heather Check in
5:11 Heather and Katelyn talk pom-poms
15:02 Crochet Foundry
17:42 Interview with Emani.Milan
33:28 Credits

This episode’s featured photo of the pom-pom tree is by April Gopwani, and you can find a tutorial for making that tree at http://www.othcrochetnook.ca/2020/12/diy-pom-pom-holiday-tree.html

2 Comments
Tags: Podcast

How to Attach a Pom-Pom to Your Crochet Hat
by on Oct 29, 2020

Pom-poms can take your finished hat to the next level. Sometimes adding a pom-pom is the perfect way to finish a beautiful crochet hat! In this article, we’ll show you how to attach a pom-pom to a hat in various ways, both removable and permanent.

Shopping for a pom-pom will reveal that there are a few different options of what you can get and different ways of attaching them.

A model wears a green crocheted hat with a gray pom-pom
The Brava Beanie, with added embellishments and a pom-pom

Removable pom-pom or no?

Once you have selected the perfect pom-pom for your project you will need to decide if you are going to make it removable or permanent. Selecting a removable pom-pom for your hat makes it easier to wash your hat, to switch out the pom color on a whim, or use the same pom-pom on multiple hats.

You might also enjoy: How to Make Pom-Pom Ornaments

A fur pom pom with a string to attach
12cm pom-pom, with attached string

On the WeCrochet website you will find a selection of pom-poms, in both 8cm and 12cm diameters, which come with a string that you can tie onto your hat. Threading the string through the hole at the top of your hat is a great way to attach your pom-pom. If you don’t want it to be removable you can sew it into place.

How to attach a removable pom-pom

Attaching a removable pom-pom can be done in a few ways.

The Brava Beanie, a striped crocheted beanie with a fur pom-pom
The Brava Beanie, with a Fable Fur pom-pom

How to attach a pom pom to a button: Using a flat button without decoration, like these coconut buttons, will make it a more comfortable fit on your head. The button just needs to be large enough so that it doesn’t slip through the starting hole at the top of your hat.

These photos show: Threading a pom-pom string through the top of a hat.
These photos show: threading the string through the button and tying a bow.

After threading your pom-pom through the hole at the top of your hat you will then want to thread the button onto the string on the inside of your hat. Tying a knot around the button will allow you to untie your pom-pom later when you want to wash it, or change the color. If your pom-pom comes with ribbon attached you won’t need to use the button, but it is still recommended for a more secure finishing.

How to put a removable pom-pom on a hat.

What if my pom-pom doesn’t have strings?

The Brava Beanie, a striped crocheted beanie with a fur pom-pom
The Brava Beanie, with a Fable Fur pom-pom

No strings on your pom-pom? That’s okay! You can add your own strings to purchased pom-poms or ones that you make. This is easier when you are using yarn to make your own pom-pom, by using a pom-pom maker, but still possible if you make it with faux fur yarn, like the WeCrochet Fable Fur.

Take a sharp needle, like one of our lace darning needles, and sew a strong thread through the pom-pom, making sure to get a few layers making it secure. From here you would thread it through the top of your hat and then through a button and tie your knot or bow.

Attach a pom-pom: it’s a Snap

hands holding a fur pom-pom
Faux Fur Pom-Pom Pattern

Snaps are another great way to add a pom-pom to your hat. By sewing one half of the snap to your pom-pom you can stick the other half out the top hole of your hat. Snap the two parts together and you will have a secure pom-pom that can be taken off whenever you want.

Now that you know how to attach a removable pom-pom, grab one of these 5 crochet hat patterns and get started on your next project!

5 Hat Patterns that use a Pom-Pom

  • A model wears a crocheted hat with a white pom-pom
1. Snow Mountain Hat, 2. Pom-Pom Hat, 3. Better Than Basic Beanie, 4. Dancing Snowflakes Beanie, 5. Camden Hat

You Might Also Enjoy: 7 Plaid Crochet Patterns to Make

2 plaid crocheted baby trapper hats

Pin it for later:

How to attach a pom-pom to your hats, by WeCrochet: An image with the above text + a photo of a model wearing a crocheted hat with a pom-pom
0 Comments
Tags: How to, Tutorial

How to Make Pom-Pom Ornaments
by on Oct 15, 2020
How to make pom-pom ornaments: a snowman and a gnome pom-pom ornament.

Pom-poms are one of our favorite things to make (especially when made with a pom-pom maker… one of our favorite tools!), but what happens when you use pom-poms to make ornaments? CUTENESS overload!

I taught our company staff how to make these ornaments last year as part of our holiday festivities, and everyone had so much fun making their own custom ornaments that I KNEW I had to pass it along to you.

The supplies for making these ornaments are inexpensive (and you probably already have things around the house that will work well), especially if you use stash yarn. HOWEVER, I really love using Tuff Puff for making pom-poms because you can make them super quickly, and they turn out so full and fuzzy.

Read on to learn how to make a Pom-Pom Snowman / Snowperson ornament and a Pom-Pom Gnome ornament.

Pom-Pom Ornaments Supplies:

  • White Tuff Puff (or white yarn of your choice)
  • White sock yarn, cord or thread (We used Bare Hawthorne)
  • Felt, various colors, including orange
  • Pom-pom makers
  • Scissors
  • Toothpicks (or “mini craft dowels”)
  • Wooden buttons
  • Black beads
  • Mug for circle template
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • (Optional) Red & white striped pipe cleaners + wire cutters

To make Pom-Pom Snowman Ornament:

Two snowman pom-pom ornaments.

Snowman (or “Snowperson” as we call them in the office) Ornaments are so cute you’ll want to make several of them. Once you’ve made one, show your family how to make them too so everyone can get in on the fun. Each snowpersonality will emerge as you add accessories, so get creative!

  1. Snowman Body: First, make 2 pom-poms from white Tuff Puff using 2 different sizes of pom-pom maker (I used the small & medium pom-pom makers).  Quick Note: We have a video on our Youtube that demonstrates how to use a pom-pom maker.
    • Wrap pom-pom maker, close, then cut according to directions.
    • Tie around pom-pom securely with Hawthorne (or other strong cord), cut to about 12”.
    • Open up the pom-pom maker to release the pom.
    • Give pom-pom a “haircut” to even out the yarn. Leave Hawthorne tie long for hanging ornament.
    • Glue both poms together, leaving the tie at the top of the small pom.
  2. Earmuffs: Next, cut 2 small circles and a 1.5” rectangle for the headband from felt.
    • Glue circles to ends of rectangle to make the headband.
    • Hot glue earmuffs to pom-pom head to secure.
  3. Arms: Snap toothpick in half. Cut mitten shapes from felt and glue to the ends of half toothpicks. Hot glue toothpicks into pom-pom body.
    • Use a 1″ piece of pipe cleaner (cut with wire cutters) as a candy cane, if desired.
  4. Face: Use a small snippet of orange felt to make a carrot nose. Glue onto face.
    • Use a toothpick to pick up black bead and dip in hot glue, then glue it to the face as eyes.

Related Article: How to Use a Tassel Maker

To make Pom-Pom Gnome Ornament:

Two gnome pom-pom ornaments.

Nothing is cuter than these Nordic-inspired pom-pom gnome ornaments, and they’re so easy to make. Keep them minimal (in keeping with Nordic style), or go crazy and add any embellishments you want. One person in our office used a jumbo pom-pom maker to make a very large gnome ornament!

  • Head: Make a pom-pom from white Tuff Puff using larger pom-pom maker. 
    • Wrap pom-pom maker, close, then cut.
    • Tie around pom-pom securely with Hawthorne, then cut to about 12”.
    • Open up the pom-pom maker to release the pom.
    • Give pom-pom a “haircut.” Leave Hawthorne tie long for hanging ornament.
  • Hat: Make a hat with felt using a mug as a circle template. Slit circle from side into middle and then form into a cone, securing with hot glue. 
    • Slip Hawthorne tie through hole in top of hat for hanging ornament (note: a small crochet hook can help you slip the cord through the hole easily). 
    • Hot glue hat to pom-pom head to secure.
  • Nose: Hot glue wooden button just peeking out under hat.

You might also enjoy: 7 Plaid Crochet Patterns to Make

If you make some pom-pom ornaments, don’t forget to tag us on social media so we can see them! @wecrochetofficial on Instagram.

How to make Pom-Pom Ornaments: Two gnome pom-pom ornaments.

0 Comments
Tags: Crochet Tutorials, Fun Stuff, Staff Projects