How to Felt a Pom-pom
If you enjoy using pom-poms as a material when making crafts, you may think you have to purchase the pom-poms pre-made from a store. However, pom-poms can be created using basic craft supplies, such as wool roving. Wool roving is cleaned and carded superfine wool from a sheep. When you make your own felted wool pom-poms by hand, you can customize their size and color, and make as many natural pom-poms as you need for your craft project.
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Instructions
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Separate 4 oz. of colorful wool roving with your hands to make it fluffy, and form the fluffy wool into a soft ball in your hands. Select a single color for a solid pom-pom, or combine several different colors for a multicolored pom-pom.
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Fill a mixing bowl halfway full with hot water, and add in 1 tbsp. of oil soap. You can find oil soap at any supermarket --- it is the type of soap used to clean a wood floor. Stir the mixture with a spoon for one minute to incorporate the oil soap properly into the water.
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Hold the soft wool ball in between your hands, as if it were inside of a cage, and submerge your hands into the soapy water. The wool will become saturated with the soapy water.
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Lift the ball back out of the water, and flip-flop it back and forth between your hands. The soapy wool ball will become more and more compact as you toss it back and forth.
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Repeat this process of submerging the ball, and flip-flopping it between your hands until it is one-third the size it was before you first submerged it.
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Roll the felted ball around between your palms as you apply gentle pressure. This will felt the wool even more to create a compacted felt pom-pom.
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Empty out the bowl of soapy water, and fill it with fresh, warm water. Rinse the felt pom-pom in the warm water as you roll it around in between your palms.
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Squeeze out the excess water, and place the pom-pom onto a towel to dry for one hour. Repeat to make as many pom-poms as you need for your project.
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Tips & Warnings
Buy wool roving at any craft supply store, local fiber artist or crafts fair.
References
Resources
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