Fork Pom Poms

Yes.  Really.  Teeny tiny pom poms can be made by using a fork.  Any fork.  Go and grab one from the cutlery drawer!

You need these four things: fork, scissors, small amount of yarn and small piece of embroidery thread.  The embroidery thread, that green stuff right there in that photo, is the secret ingredient for perfect teeny pom poms.  I'll explain why later.

Start off by wrapping your yarn (I'm using dk here, my usual go to yarn of Stylecraft Special) around the fork, not too tightly, you'll need to slide it off easily later on. It's a bit of trial and error to work out how much yarn you are going to need for a nice chunky little pom pom.  I used all the yarn in the photo above for this one.

Next thread the embroidery thread through the centre slot of the fork, right between those middle prongs. 

Then slide the thread through the middle centre at the top of your fork and tie it around your yarn like a little belt.

Now here's the trick to perfect fork pom poms.  You need to tie this thread very, very tightly around the yarn.  You need skinny but very strong thread for this.  The tighter you pull that knot, then another knot right over it (double knotting the thread) the better your pom pom will be.  If you use the yarn to do this bit your pom pom will separate where you tied the yarn.  I know this from experience.  It's not a very happy looking pom pom.

Now the magic starts to happen!  Carefully slide the fork out of the yarn and you create a little yarn wheel!

Can you see it's pom pom potential now?  It's very nearly there!  Now start snipping those little loops of yarn with the scissors. 

Keep going, all the way around.  Then when you've snipped every loop, roll the pom pom around in your hands to give it a bit of shape.

Now, you've got yourself a pom pom, but it's a little bit scruffy...give it a quick trim...

That's better!  You now have a perfect little pom pom!  Adorable right?  You can either use it's little thread tail to attach it, or chop it off, it really won't matter that it's a different colour because it's hidden inside the pom pom's fluffy strands.  The more securely you tied the knot in the middle the more secure your pom pom will be, however if you want to be super certain that your pom pom will stay in one piece you could add a dab of glue at the centre. 

So there you have it.  A pom pom made with a fork.  Cute eh? Maybe you should make it a friend, or twenty...  Do be careful this pom pomming can be addictive...  Have fun!