I was shopping at Target last year just after Christmas, when they were practically giving away their holiday decorations. They had bins full of icicle tinsel, and I simply couldn’t pass it up. It’s so SHINY!
I bought about 5 of them, not quite realizing just how far one of those little packages goes. So now I have a bit of a tinsel surplus. I came up with this fun and easy project to incorporate all of my favorite things into one holiday craft: fluffy pom-poms, shiny tinsel, and homemade decorations. Tinsel pom-pom DIY ornaments.
These guys make perfect ornaments, but they would also be really fun strung together as garland or as gift wrapping accents (can you imagine 3 of them dangling from a red wine bag?). You can also play around with different colors of yarn or tinsel, or try different textures of yarn. I loved the fluffy white yarn that I used, and the resulting pom-poms make me think of snowballs. Have fun with it, and be sure to share your creations with us!
What you’ll need:
Thin strand tinsel, often called “icicles” or “lametta”
Yarn (Note: some of the textured yarn isn’t as strong as standard yarn, so I had to tie off my pom poms with regular yarn to avoid breakage.)
A pom-pom maker (I used Clover’s 65mm one, and I think it’s the perfect ornament size.)
Scissors
What to do:
1. Separate the tinsel into 12 bunches of 4 strands (you may want to use more or less, depending on how thick your tinsel is and how sparkly you want the pom-pom to be).
2. Start making the pom-pom with just the yarn according to your pom-pom maker’s instructions. After you wrap the yarn a few times around the base, stop.
3. Take one bunch of tinsel and line it up with the yarn you’re working with. Continue wrapping the yarn and tinsel together around the base, until you run out of tinsel. Add another bunch of tinsel and repeat, until you’re done winding the yarn.
4. Finish the pom-pom based on your pom-pom maker’s instructions. Leave extra length on the string you use to tie off the pom-pom.
5. They might look a little dishevelled, but don’t be discouraged! At this point you’ll need to shake them out a bit and trim any unruly tinsel or yarn to shape the pom-poms into more distinct balls. Textured yarn will likely require extra trimming, while regular yarn turns out a prettier shape.
6. Turn the length of yarn that you tied off the pom-pom with into the loop from which the ornaments hang. Tie the two sides of the yarn into a knot about 4 inches up the strand and tie a bow with the remaining loose ends to make it pretty.
7. Hang on your tree and spread Christmas cheer!
One year ago: DIY origami star garland
Two years ago: Caramel apple bites with creamy salted caramel
