how to … pompom and Co #3 …

I like the tassels on my new hat, but I want to try something else …
This is my hat without any pompom, tassel or anything …

In the large photo my hat is soaked in water and left to dry on a plate for a ‘beret’ look. The small photo on the right is ‘unblocked’.

And here with tassels (see previous post how to make them)

 

Maybe a pompom ?  (see here)

With other materials ? and a different look ?

Crochet chain might work … in a pop color. Let’s try.

I used some cheap acrylic yarn but with a terrific orange color to try it out. Crochet a chain of about 3 m / 3.30 yards (or longer), break the yarn and tie off.

Wind the chain around the thumb and pinky as shown. Cut another piece of yarn or use the 2 ends of your crochet chain to tie it firmly in the middle. That’s it.

 

Or ….

some curls ? knit ?

I used DK yarn  and 4 mm / US 6 needles

Curl 1:                                                 Curl 2:                                           Curl 3:
Cast on 24 sts                                     Cast on 20 sts                               Cast on 20 sts
row 1: purl all stitches.                      row 1: pfb*  every stitch              row 1: k1, yo, k1*
row 2: kfb*  every stitch.                   You now have 40 sts                              in every stitch.
You now have 48 sts                          Bind off all stitches                        You have 60 sts
row 3: purl all stitches.                                                                              Bind off all stitches
Bind off all stitches

• kfb: knit in the front and back leg of the same stitch
• pfb: purl in the front and back leg of the same stitch
• k1, yo, k1: knit 1 st , yarn over, knit 1 st in the same stitch

 

1, 2 or 3 ?

how to … pompom and Co #2 …

part two of pompom and Co: tassels and cords (see here for part 1: the real thing)

How to make tassels

Cut a piece of cardboard at the length of the tassel you want to make (the cardboard in the sample is 5.5 cm / 2“).

Wind the yarn all around           The more you wind the         Cut a piece of yarn (± 20 cm
the cardboard.                             fuller the tassel.                     / 8”), thread it in a tapestry
…                                                  Cut the yarn.                           needle. Slide the needle be-
…                                                                                                   tween the cardboard and
…                                                                                                   the yarn.                                            

Pull the needle through              At the opposite side cut          Remove the cardboard.
and tie a knot.                           through all the yarn wrapped          
…                                                around the cardboard.

    

Cut a 2nd piece of yarn
about 3 times the length of
the tassel, wind it at least
twice around the tassel to
form the head. Tie it very
firmly and cut the ends at
the same length as the tassel.

Ready … unless you want it to hang at the end of a cord …

…

…

…

How to make a cord

Decide how long and thick you want your cord to be. Each piece of yarn will be folded in half, twisted and folded on itself again, so using one strand results in a 4 strands thick cord. Using two strands will give you an eight strands thick cord (see below). Cut one (or more) piece(s) of yarn at four times the length of the cord you want to make.

Fold the strand(s) in half.             Hold the ends in your left      Stretch the yarn and place
.                                                      hand.                                        your right index finger in 
…                                                                                                     the loop at the folded side.
…                                                                                                    Start twisting.

Continue to twist in the             Remove your finger from           Tie all the ends firmly in a
same direction until the            the loop and fold the                  little knot and trim the 
yarn is completely twisted        twisted cord in half. Hold            ends but don’t cut too
and tightened up.                      the two ends together.                much because the knot
…                                                 The cord will twist on itself.        could be undone

Attach the tassels to the cord and hide any yarn ends in the tassel. As you can see in the next pic the cords are the finer ones made with only one strand.

And here they are on my new hat

how to … pompom and Co #1 …

Pompoms, tassels, curls …. even so many possibilities to finish a hat, scarf or shawl and give it a special touch. Even a dull colored hat can change dramatically depending on the pompom, its color or other embellishments.

How to make a pompom

Copy the circle above on a piece of cardboard and cut it out. Cut a 2nd one too. You need to make the circle a little larger than you want your pompom to be. I made  cardboard circles with a diameter of  8 cm / 3”. The pompom will be 8 cm / 3 ” – or less depending on how much yarn you will cut away to even it.

Hold the 2 cardboard circles together with the slits at the same side.

Wind the yarn all over the           Use different colors if you         The more you wind the
cardboards.                                  like.                                               fuller the pompom.
                                

Starting at one of the slit           Take care not to lose any       Cut a piece of yarn 
ends of the circle, slide your      yarn, so hold the middle        (± 20 cm / 8”) and 
scissors in between the two       area of the circle firmly.         slide it in between
cardboard layers and cut                                                            the cardboard layers and
through all the yarn wrapped                                                    tie very tightly.
around the top. 

                      
Remove the cardboard circles and even the pompom with scissors.

 

A pompom can be made with anything yarn-like. Fun-fur, Fantasy yarn, Eyelash yarn, Novelty yarn: it has lot of names. I had some balls of that fun-fur in my stash for years and finally found a use for it.

How to make a fun-fur pompom

If you tried to make a pompom in the usual way with cardboard and sciccors (see above) you will see that making a pompom in Fun-fur is even easier. No need for cardboard and scissors at all.

        
Wind the fun-fur around                  When it is thick enough, 
your fingers.                                       break the yarn.
                                

       
Cut a piece of matching                   (it doesn’t really look like a 
cotton or wool and tie it very          pompom now). Gently pull
tightly in the middle.                        out the fur with your fingers 
(Notice that I used the fun-              to give it the fluffy look.
fur to tie, but it’s better to
use a smooth yarn for this,
believe me)

                      
Ready to attach to your hat or scarf or to anything you like.

BTW: this is my latest pattern: Prpl rain is a set containing a beanie and a long, vintage-like, narrow scarf, both with a very easy stitch pattern that is very useful to use with variegated yarns. It effectively breaks up the ‘pooling’ in these gorgeous skeins by the use of lots of yarn overs. It equally looks good in solid or semi-solids.

Check it out here

Next time more on this and these