How to Make Fur Ball Pompoms

Santa hats are the customary vehicle for showing off a soft, furry pompom. But these fuzzy takes on the classic, handmade accent look good just about anywhere, as long as you match the color -- and the texture -- to the rest of the project. You can make fur ball pompoms by wrapping faux fur yarn around your hand or a piece of cardboard, or go even more realistic by stitching two circles of fur or faux fur into a ball.

Many yarn manufacturers produce novelty yarns that look and feel like various types of fur, using names such as "eyelash" yarn, "sueded" yarn or "fun fur." Once you have the yarn, cut a 10-inch length and set it aside. Then take the rest of the yarn and wrap it around all four fingers of one hand at least 20 or 30 times; the more you wrap the yarn, the fuller the pompom. Slide the bundle of wrapped yarn carefully off your fingers and tie it snugly around the middle with the 10-inch length previously set aside. Clip through the loops on either end of the bundle with scissors, and trim the resulting ball into a tidy pompom shape.

You can get a softer, fluffier pompom if you use wool roving -- thick, fluffy strings of wool fiber that haven't yet been spun into yarn -- to make your pompom. Use the same process described for making a fun fur pompom. Once the basic pompom is completed and trimmed, use a wire brush to comb through the fibers all the way around the pompom: The result will be a realistic-looking ball of fluff.

If you really want to make a pompom that looks like a true ball of fur, you might as well do it using fur or faux fur. Cut two circles out of the fur and hold them with the furry sides together. Stitch around the circles, leaving a small hole just big enough for turning them inside-out. Turn the joined circles inside-out through that hole, stuff them with batting or scraps of yarn; then hand-stitch the gap shut.

No matter what technique you use to create your fur ball pompom, the easiest way to attach it to a hat, gloves or scarf is by stitching it in place. If your pompom is made of novelty yarn, run the same yarn through the center of the pompom, then through whatever you're attaching it to. Continue doing this until the pompom is firmly attached; then tie off the yarn on the inside of the glove or hat or on the backside of the scarf. For a pompom made of brushed wool or actual fur, use an unobtrusive color of sturdy embroidery floss, thin yarn or nylon cord for a secure join.