A staple ingredient of many crafts for kids is the pom-pom. So what better way for kids to personalise their craft ideas than making their own pom-poms? It’s really easy, with help from a grown-up and lots of fun too.
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Things You Need
As always, crafts for kids are much easier when you gather all the things you are going to need first. You will need two small pieces of stiff cardboard, a circular template or compass, a pair of scissors and lots of wool.
Making A Pom-Pom
Start by making a ‘ring doughnut’ as the base you’ll use to create your pom- pom. Use a template to draw an outer circle and a smaller one within. Cut out the rings to create the ‘doughnut’. You will need to have two ring doughnuts using exactly the same dimensions, so that placed together they form a perfect ‘doughnut sandwich’!
Cut the wool you are going to use into lots of manageable lengths. Until now, most of the work has been for grownups but at this point the kids can take over.
Start by winding the wool around and through the rings. The aim is to completely cover and pad the cardboard doughnut. Take care that the end of each length of wool is left loose on the outside edge of the doughnut; otherwise there may be tears when the finished product starts to unravel.
When the doughnut is fully covered, it’s a good idea for the grown up to take over again. Carefully cut through the layers of the wool from the outside edge of the doughnut until you have snipped away to its cardboard edge.
Finish off by firmly tying a length of wool looping through the central hole. Finally remove or cut away the cardboard template.
Now you have the pom-pom. It’s time to tidy up with a few well-placed snips just to make it nice and tidy. Fluff the ends up into a neat shape and your kids will screech with delight at the sudden appearance of the finished pom-pom.
Special Effects
To achieve a bright and funky pom-pom, simply use lots of different coloured wool. This is definitely more cost effective than choosing one of the special jazzy yarns you can buy. The best crafts for kids are the ones that allow you to save money and create more personal objects. Kids love to test different colour combinations.
Pom- Pom Craft Ideas
Now that the kids can see how easy it is to make their own pom-poms, they can come up with lots of ways to use their handiwork in various tasks.
Crafts for kids use pom-poms in so many different ways. The most familiar use is when they take pride of place sewn at the top of a hand-knitted bobble hat. This is even better when kids have learned to knit and they can top off their own work with an eye-catching pom-pom.
Pom-poms make adorable fluffy characters. There is no limit to this idea. Using some scraps of coloured felt, googly eyes and a few dots of glue, kids can create animals, birds and googly-eyed people. They can use them in their role play or as little characters to dot around their room.
Parents will probably remember the ‘deely boppers’ of the Eighties. Kids can recreate the trend with pom- poms. Twist long lengths of pipe cleaners around two finished pom- poms and twist to attach to an inexpensive, plastic Alice band. Your child has just created their own piece of retro- fashion or alien headgear, depending on how they want to see it.
The best craft ideas always spring from your child’s imagination. Ask the experts which crafts for kids could make use of pom-poms. It’s a guarantee that the young craftsmen will come up with more ideas than you dreamt of.