How To Make A Pompom Using Your Fingers

Hello everyone!

There are many tools that you can make or buy that help you create a pompom, but they aren’t always necessary. I’ve seen people use toilet paper rolls, cardboard cutouts and forks, all of which usually produce great results. This photo tutorial demonstrates how to make a pompom using only your fingers and a pair of scissors. It’s cheap, fast and easy.

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This pompom is the perfect size for hats, scarves and other crafts.

You can actually make a small, medium or large pompom with your fingers. These photos show how to make the medium sized pom that is perfect for hats. (I used this pom on my Aspen Tweed Hat crochet pattern that is available at the link.) You will follow the same directions shown in the photos for all sizes, but you adjust the number of fingers wrapped with yarn to create the different sizes. I won’t give the final measurements since it really depends on the size of your hand. To know what size your pompom will be, measure your fingers like in the photo below.

For a small pompom, use only two fingers: your pointer and middle fingers. Place the tying strand between these two fingers.

For a medium, use your pointer, middle and ring fingers. Place the tying strand between the pointer and middle fingers.

For a large, use your pointer, middle, ring and pinky fingers. Place the tying strand between the middle and ring finger.

The yarn I used in this demonstration is Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in Aspen Tweed. This is a super bulky weight yarn, but this process will work for whatever yarn weight you choose to work with. I wrapped the yarn around my fingers 50 times, which gives you a nice full pompom. If you use a different weight yarn, you may need to adjust the number of times you wrap your fingers. For a lighter weight yarn, you may want to wrap your fingers more than 50 times for a fuller pom pom.

At the end of the tutorial, I go over how to attach your pompom to a project. In this case, it is the Aspen Tweed Hat. You will need a tapestry needle and/or a crochet hook.

Here is a pin for your Pinterest board if you’d like to save this tutorial for later…

Okay, let’s get started!

Medium Sized Pompom

Cut about an 8” – 10” length of yarn and place between your pointer and middle fingers.

Get the end of your yarn skein and pinch it between your thumb and pointer finger. Don’t let go until you’ve wrapped around it a few times.

Wrap the yarn loosely around your three fingers 50 times making sure not to cover the 8” piece wedged between your fingers.

Once you’ve wrapped it around 50 times, cut the strand to the skein. Grab the two ends of the 8” piece, pulling them around the wrapped portion as shown in the photo. Center it as much as you can between your pointer and ring fingers.

Tie the two ends of the 8” piece and pull tight, but don’t knot it just yet. Gently slide the bundle off of your fingers. Be sure to pull as tight as you can and then finish the knot.

Note: You have the option to use these longer ends that are left over from tying the center as your pieces that tie the pom to your project. That’s the easiest option. Or you can trim them too as part of the pom and add another piece for tying to your project later. The instructions are included below for adding another piece.

Insert your scissors into the loops and begin to cut section by section.

Move on to the next section, insert your scissors into the loops and cut again. Repeat along the opposite side of the pom with the remaining loops.

It’s going to look a little chaotic at first, but you are going to give it a trim!

Use your scissors and make small cuts to round out your pompom. Remember that it’s better to cut off too little and cut again, then to cut too much and have a lopsided pompom.

Once you are happy with the shape of your pom, and you need a long piece to tie the pom to your project, cut another 8” length of yarn from your skein. Using your tapestry needle, insert it deep into the center of your pom so that you’re hooking onto something that isn’t going to pull out. In other words, try to get it through the loop you tied at the center just after you slid it off your fingers.

When your strand is secured to the pom, you’re ready to attach it to your project. In this example, we are attaching this pom to the top of a hat.

You can use your tapestry needle or a crochet hook to draw the two strands through your project stitches. For this hat, I centered the pom over the final round at the top.

Work from inside the hat. Pull your two strands nice and tight so that your pompom doesn’t flop around. If you prefer a more secure pompom, you can add another strand through your pompom and run that through your project in a way that it would look like four corners or like the points on a compass.

Tie the two ends together with a knot. Weave in any loose ends if you wish.

And there you have it…a pompom made with just your fingers. Enjoy your new pompom!

Here is the link to get back to the Aspen Tweed Hat crochet pattern.

For more great free crochet patterns and tutorials, don’t forget to follow along with me on social media, Pinterest and by signing up for my Newsletter where every week you get the latest pattern sent straight to your inbox!

Don’t forget to follow along with me on social media, Pinterest and by signing up for my Newsletter where every week you get the latest pattern sent straight to your inbox!

Thanks for stopping by!