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Reported by Susie Ziegler
I know, I know.. You can make pom poms with a cardboard template. HERE is a tutorial on how to do one around just your fingers. The thing is that for whatever reason I never did. With this tool I have made dozens of super cute little round fuzzies.
I have recently started something of a love affair with the sewing tools and gadgets by the manufacturer Clover. So I was pretty excited to get the Clover Pom-Pom maker as a gift from my young niece and nephew for my birthday a few months ago. I guess my nephew was puzzled and wondered, "What do you do with a pom-pom maker?" Make pom-poms! His Christmas gifts were topped with several versions so he understands now.
I tested the two sizes that are in the "Large" package. These are about 2 1/2 and 3 3/8 inches or pretty much exactly the same size as their respective tool. Several other sizes are available including an extra large 4.5 inch one and extra small ones less than an inch.
I opened up my package to get a look at this thing. It honestly was not immediately evident how it works. There are two halves and these semi circular wings that open up. Anyone remember the DeLorean? It's like that...
The first pom pom, I had to read the instructions which are written only slightly confusingly in several languages with helpful photographs to illustrate the steps.
Snap the two halves together and open up one set of wings. Wrap your yarn around that half. Be as even as you can and wrap as densely as you can manage. If you are messy during this step, your finished pom pom will require extra haircuts.
When you get to the end of that set of wings, close it and bring the yarn around to do the opposite side in the same way.
Close up both halves and use some sturdy scissors to trim all the way around in the center groove. Don't be scared! The yarn doesn't fall out!
Now you have to tie a string or yarn inside that groove as tightly as you possibly can. I found that some yarns broke when pulled tightly. I like to use a long string to tie it so that I have something for later when I use the pom pom in my crafting or gift wrapping.
Open it all up and pull out your creation. Fluff it up to make it pretty. Trim those straggly yarns. There are very few when you use this tool.
Something I learned when making these is that certain types of yarn work better than others. I thought the cotton yarn I used in this tutorial made a droopy and sad little pom pom, but fuzzy acrylic or other squishy yarns make lively puffy creations.
Slick acrylic like Caron Simply Soft or thick cotton like Sugar 'n Cream are better to combine with fuzzier fibers. Pom poms made with them alone can pull apart easily.
Fuzzy yarns like the novelty yarns below will make the pom poms of your dreams. Customize them with interesting fibers or even fabric strips for a funky look.
Pros:- Each size is a unique color for easy identification
- Sturdy construction of hard plastic
- Makes uniformly sized pom poms that require very little extra trimming
- Yay! I can use up all that stray cheap yarn I've collected!
- Not initially clear how it is going to work
- Bulky for storage
- Another tool you didn't know you needed...
You can probably find these at any retailer that sells fibers or crafts. Buy them online from Clover, JoAnns, or Roxy Yarns.
I loved using this tool over the holidays. I adorned most of our gifts with a fun variety of pom poms. I have plans to do a garland and... gosh, there are so many possibilities! What do you think I should make with my growing pile of fuzzy puffs?
17 Comments:
Dude. I'm all about using up these little balls of leftover yarn that are too small to make anything with, but too big to just throw away. I needed to stop at JoAnn's today anyway!
Thanks for a great review!
I think you may just be starting a new obsession!! LOL Love your pompons!
Thanks! I have a whole drawer of them now so I'm going to use them in my gift wrapping for awhile.
They make fabulous kitty toys! Whenever I make one just to play with how a yarn will work, my cat gets a new toy.
Ooh I must go get myself one of these ... it will get to live with the Clover Yo-Yo makers I already have!
Wow they really came out great! I can see why you liked it!
There are so many cool uses for these little pom poms -- thanks for the tutorial and the inspiration!
Thank You!!! For documenting how to make these on the Clovers. I bought these contraptions over a year ago (everyone has raved about them) and never used them until today when I saw the very vague instructions.
Came out here to goggle to see if anyone blogged about it and Bingo!!
The easiest pom poms ever to make!! I no longer dread it!
Thank you again for taking the time to show us each step!! :o)
I have that same Clover pom pom maker. When it came in the mail, I had opened it to see how it worked but somehow threw away the directions. I just tried to figure it out on my own and got stumped. Thank you for the tutorial! Now I know how to make them using this contraption!
Thank you for posting this, I have these and lost the back to the package and could not figure out how to make it work (It has been a while since I used them)The pics of each step are great.
I am interested to make those really dense pompons from cotton yarn - do you think the Clover pompon makers will work for them? Will the arms close if lots and lots of thread is wrapped around them?
Anon- Yes, the arms will still close if loaded up with layers of yarn. The thing is that outer layers will be longer than inner layers, so you will need to trim up your pom to make it neat. I found that cotton yarn is sort of thick and makes droopy and sad poms. You may find that it suits your needs just fine. Acrylic or wool makes nice full, springy pom poms. Good luck!
I thought I'd provide another perspective since I've only seen positive reviews about this pompom maker. I bought this maker and wasn't any more impressed then when I make them by hand. My main concern is that the pompom can still fall apart just as easily no matter how hard I tie the string. Also, there isn't much room for your scissors, just the tips, so those have to be VERY sharp. I find cutting the handmade pom poms much easier. Thanks for your review!
Excellent information! I opened mine and had no idea how to use it! You saved the day. :)
--Tif
Thanks for the much better instruction. I bought these on a trip to Joann's in the States (Canadian) to make those pom pom scarves for my teens and tweens. If you haven't seen them they are all the rage here, a lot of fun and the more colours and different yarns the better.
I am currently going through a pom pom craze, and bought my first Clover set today at Joann. I bought the large size, priced at $6.99, and used my 40% off coupon on them. I'm going back next week to get the small size (the next one down). I have been seeing high-end home dec catalogs with these huge pom poms for a year now, but didn't want to fuss with a hunk of cardboard and...well, you know. The only thing I would add to your directions is that on the video on the Clover website, the lady completely fills up the 'arc' area of each wing with yarn, until it is straight across, not U-shaped, to make a very fluffy pom pom .Thanks for the great instructions!
Thank you for GREAT instructions. When I first got the pom pom maker I could not figur out how it worked! This made it super easy and my POM POM looks great!
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