Materials Needed:
a. scissors
b. yarn – one roll per color is more than enough even for dozens of pom poms
c. cardboard or a friend’s hand

* Purchase yarn in desired colors and choose different textures for different sized pom poms. I wanted some thick and tight like a true pom pom garland, while keeping others larger and less structured. The color you choose for your chain should be the thickest yarn, so keep that in mind while shopping.

1. Use any thick paper to cut a square the width of about 5 inches and cut an insert as shown. Wrap your yarn until desired thickness. For tighter/fuller pom poms keep things pretty thick (for white yarn I used 80 wraps, gold only 40 or so). Cut your yarn once wrapped.

2. Cut another strand about 8 inches long and feed through the opening on the right, around the back of the yarn, and back through the opening on the left. Tie a very tight knot and slip your yarn off of the cardboard.

3. Take a pair of scissors and cut along the loop on both ends, then fan out your pom pom with your fingers.

4. Now, for the fun part. Shave, shave, shave, and then shave some more. This is the step I never could quite figure out until it hit me! keep trimming for those thick and tight poms. The larger and less full you want, the less you trim. Continue to turn the ball as you trim making sure to take a step back and check your progress as you go along.

* Now you can thread your pom poms! Use  a single strand of yarn on a needle and thread through, or you can make a braided chain like I did for a thicker look. For my braid, I simply took the thick white yarn and braided 9 strands in groups of three. I then took a piece of yarn matching the pom pom I was attaching and tied them into the chain. It was that simple! Space things apart in a fun, whimsical way. There are no rules.

And of course, before you go hanging it somewhere fun in the house, use it as a backdrop to take photos of your little one in the costume they have no control over wearing. Something tells me I can use this later in his life. That coupled with the story of months of colic should get me whatever I need in the teen years.