How to make a super fluffy Pokeball pompom

Get your yarn and pompom maker and start making a bunch these super fluffy Pokeball pompoms! Just for fun. (I cannot think of a better better reason)

We made heaps of pompoms a while ago and I thought it was time to get out the yarn again. Now what would be better to attract the attention of my 6yo girl? Making pompom flowers! I’m no crafty wonder woman, but I saw a really nice tutorial, so I gave it a go. Surprisingly enough our first attempt wasn’t half bad, so we soon experimenting with colours and shapes.

But.. do those round flowers remind you of something when made in red and white? Well yes, there’s a striking resemblance to a Pokeball!

Needless to say we had a go at the Pokeball. The first attempt was a disaster, as the black ring was inserted totally wrong.. but at the second attempt I came to my senses and produced a decent looking Pokeball pompom. This time my son became interested. Score!

I decided on the classic Pikachu Pokeball pompom, as it is the most recognisable or most famous version. I’m sure that, with some experience and imagination, you can make other Pokeballs.

How to make a pompom

Have you made pompoms before, or has it been a while?

Essentially, what you do is spinning a lot of yarn (wool, cotton, acrylic fibres) around two half-circle moulds. Then you fold them together and cut through the middle. Hold these firmly, as you need to secure the pompom (to prevent all you loose pieces of yarn flying about!): tie a string around the middle and tie a knot as tightly as you can. And an extra knot, just to be on the safe side. Finally, trim the pompom to make it extra nice and fluffy.

Materials for making a Pokeball pompom

This is what you need.

1. Pompom maker

Obviously you’ll need a pompom maker. In principle any type would do, from a cardboard cut-out to a store-bought item. I used a yellow Clover pompom maker (which produces a medium size pompom), which turned out fine. But in principle the brand does not matter, they all do the same thing: the device holds the yarn while you wrap it.

2. Yarn

It goes without saying that you need white, red and black yarn. I used wool for its feel & fluffiness.

3. Scissors

You’ll need a pair of (small) scissors to cut the yarn from its mould and obtain the pompom.

Step by step instructions for making a Pokeball pompom

Following the flower instructions, this resulted in a nice pokeball:

All we need to do is to tweak the instructions to make a Pokeball pompom.

Steps 1-2. Making the the button

Get your pompom maker out and start with one half. The design is asymmetrical and we start with the most recognisable feature: the white button. This corresponds to steps 1-2 in the figure above.

Make a white blob in the centre. Take a bit of white yarn and twist it around a few times, exactly in the center.

Follow with a black layer: cover the white layer, such that you cannot see it anymore (but don’t overdue it or you’ll end up with a large button). Then, add extra yarn in the center. This will be the belt later on, after we distribute it – I’ll explain.

Step 3. Red and white, please

Oh dear, that sounds wrong. Anyway, it’s time to start filling up the red and white halves. This is as easy as it sounds.

Twist the yard as tightly as you dare, so you’ll end up with a dense and fluffy Pokeball pompom.

Step 4. The second half

The second half is easier than the first, as we can omit work the button. You do however have to fit in a black slot to make the ‘belt’ that goes around the Pokeball..

So, take the second half of your pompom maker and start with a few good twists of black at the center.

Step 5. Wrap it up

Time to wrap up (ha ha)! Fill the two remaining halves with red and white yarn.

Take a look at where to wrap the red and white though, as it seems counterintuitive (at least, with my pompom maker). I physically closed the pompom maker to check where each colour should go. It only takes a second and will save a hassle later on.

Steps 6. Cut in half

Close the pompom maker and cut the yarn into two halves, according to the instructions. Well, I suppose you’ve made pompoms before, so you know what to do.

Step 7. Tie a knot

Wrap a piece of yarn around the center and tie a knot, as tightly as you dare without breaking it (..).

Tip: I actually wrap it around the center twice before I tie a knot. This way there won’t be so much strain on the knot. And I’d recommend a second knot, just to be safe (and a third if you don’t trust yourself and hate hoovering).

Step 8. Trim

Gently remove the pompom from the pompom maker. You can see some characteristics of a Pokeball, but it’s not quite there yet.

You see, the ‘black belt’ that normally goes all around the ball is still stuffed at two spots (once per half pompom). Use your fingers to part the white and red yarn and work the black yarn in between. This sounds more difficult than it is – it only takes a minute.

Now the little guy needs a haircut! Give it a good trim, a little more than you dare. The more you go towards the center, the denser the yarn will be.

Voilà – all done! Call your Pokemon fan and let him/her admire the new toy!

And then it’s up to him/her to produce more ; )

Is there another pattern I can try, this one does not seem logical

Exactly! That’s what I thought! Why can you not use the fact that a Pokeball has two halves in different colours, and make the pompom in two different colours (one half white and one half red)? In theory that should work, which is why I gave this a go. if you use this ‘pattern’ you’d have top make the Pokeball button on the ‘divider’ (you know, where you cut the pompom in halves). Then, to finish the pattern you’d have to cover the red and white halves with a single layer of black (on both halves). Does that make sense?

Anyway, all this is doable, and I’d say that the overall difficulty is comparable (to the method described above). But.. it practice the resulting Pokeball pompom just didn’t look good. More specifically, the button didn’t look nice. The black belt looked great, but that’s not as much of an eye-catcher as the button, so I decided to stick with ‘the original version’.

Tips for a super fluffy pompom

There are a few factors that define the fluffiness of ‘fullness’ of the final pompom.

Firstly, the fibres that you choose. Generally speaking I’d say that wool and acryl will give you the best results. As much as I like cotton, it’s more dense by nature. You can still make a nice-looking pompom, but it won’t look or feel as full as it woolen or acrylic sisters.

Also, try to put as much yarn on the pompom maker as you can. The more yarn the fluffier the result, so try to pull it tight. Try to absolutely stuff the pompom, the denser the fluffier!

Give the pompom a good trim. The more you cut towards the center the denser it is.

Use a (pet or doll) brush to fluff up the yarn

Do you have any tips? Please let me know by writing a comment!

Do you need a store-bought pompom maker?

The short answer is no!

You could of course make a pompom using a different pompom maker. I simply use the items that I have at home and that I’m familiar with, but you can equally use another brand. Here’s an overview of alternative mays of making pompoms, and a few tips. I suppose they would all work fine. The only one I would skip is the ‘fork method’. If you don’t have a pompom maker I’d opt for the cardboard version, as and the curved shapes are more better suited to make the home made pompoms. Plus, you can cut it to the desired size.

More Pokeballs

With a little practice and a few colours of yarn you can try different types of Pokeballs. Have a look here for more details.

More Pokemon crafts

So your kids is into Pokemon? Have a look at these Pokemon crafts ideas. For example, make your own Pokemon cards (a jumbo sized card or a bunch of regular cards). Or what about a Pikachu jumping jack? Or Snorlax? This brings the classics back to life!