T-shirt Pom Poms

If you have extra t-shirts laying around, here is a great idea for them. You can make Pom Poms. They do not serve a functional purpose, but they are neat little decorations. Below is a tutorial.

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Find some old t-shirts that you don't wear anymore. I used Kenny's because they are bigger.

You will also need some cardboard to cut out your forms. The first step is to cut out two templates like below. Mine were 6" for the outside diameter and 3" for the inside diameter. You will also need to cut a lot of t-shirt strips. This pile of strips were 1/2" wide. If you start at the bottom of the t-shirt, you can cut horizontal strips.

Once you have a nice pile of strips and your cardboard templates, you will need to place one of the strips on top of the form, like below.

Next, place the other template on top.

Now you will start creating the pom pom by wrapping the template with the strips of fabric. It is important that each new strip, you line up the edge of the strip with the outside of the cardboard.

When you end a strip, you add a new one by overlapping where you ended. This will keep it from coming undone. 

Once you make it to the end, you start from that end and go back. You will do this three times, or so you have three layers.

Once done wrapping, take the string that you pinched between the templates and wrap them together. Below, I tied a knot. That was my first pom pom, and I would not recommend the knot, instead, just wrap the strings around each other a couple times.

Now you will start cutting. Make sure you have sharp scissors, as this will make your life 100% easier. This part is not easy. I place the scissors between the templates and started cutting. It is important to hold down the strings firmly while you cut. You can do this by pushing down on the template.

Once you are done cutting, you can tighten the string between the templates and remove them. You will tighten the middle string one last time and tie a knot. Do not tighten too much or it will break and you will be left with a pile of strips. Trust me, I would know :) Once you tie the knot, you will have to even the strips out and fluff your pom a little. The last step is to groom your pom. Just give it a little hair cut to get it even. And voila, you have a pom pom!

**Found this project on Pinterest compliments of Craftaholics Anonymous.