The technique only uses the chain stitch, so is suitable for non-crocheters, or those who want an easy introduction to crochet.
So this is how it looks.
(the hat pattern is Declan's hat)
First of all I found a ball of furry yarn that matched my hat. I got this ball of king cole moments. (I actually got it for £1.95 from Leeds market.) From this one 50g ball I made 5 pom poms of the size shown.... bargain!
So, Instructions:
You will just need: furry yarn, 4mm crochet hook, and a length of any yarn (the carrying yarn). I chose to coordinate my yarn to the hat but as you will see later even if you use a contrast yarn, it will not show. The length of this piece of yarn is not important but 1 metre is a easy length to work with.
create a slip knot with the furry yarn, pull the carrying yarn through and then insert the hook into the slip knot.
Chain 15 with furry yarn
Use the hook to pull the carrying yarn through the last stitch....
...all the way through. then reinsert the hook into the last furry stitch.
continue in this way
bunching the furry loops up on the yarn, until you have made 50 loops. cut and fasten off the furry yarn.
bunch up all of the furry loops on the carrying yarn
Then tie the two ends of the carrying yarn tightly together to form the pom pom. securing with a double knot.
finished! now attach to your hat.
This is the pom pom in a different furry yarn.
The small one (which is for the innocent smoothie big knit) is made exactly the same way but the carrying yarn is pulled through every 5 stitches and only 20 loops are needed. I used a contrast yarn here to show it more clearly.
Which disappears when you tie it.
So, what about normal yarn, can you use this technique with that. why, yes you can.
In fact this is how I now do all of my bobbles as they can't be pulled apart like normal pom poms, making them especially safe for babies. And I think they look pretty cool too!
