This Iron Craft challenge required us to make something for the letter “f.” The “f” could be for the material, subject or technique. I went with a double f, faux fur.

Last year when Matt and I went on our Christmas cruise through Hungary, Austria and Germany, everyone was wearing these great knit hats with fur pom-poms on them. I loved how they looked and picked up a large brown one at a knitting store in Germany, but I have regretted not picking up a smaller version that I liked. (The clerk told me it was for hats for die kinder). I haven’t seen fur pom-poms in the stores here so I thought why not try making my own.

I love how this little guy turned out. It is about 2″ in size fluffed out and looks so cute on the beanie I knit to go with it. (I’ll share the beanie pattern later this week.)

Faux Fur Pom-Pom

This is a very easy hand sewing project. These pom-poms won’t just look cute on hats, but would also make great tails for toys or costumes.

Supplies:

• small piece of faux fur (You want a fur that is on the longer side, mine was called grizzly.)
• compass or round template (I used the top of an orange juice container that was 2.5″ wide. The size of your circle will decide the size of your pom-pom.)
• small scissors
• strong thread to match fur (I used an upholstery thread.
• hand sewing needle
• stuffing (I used a mix of fur that had fallen off when the fabric store cut it and polyfil.)

1. On the backing of the fur, draw your circle.

2. Cut out the circle from the back, trying to just cut through the backing and not the fur as much as possible.

Doing it this way, I had almost no fur cut off and no mess!

3. With the backing facing you, hand sew straight stitches close to the edge of the circle. I used a double strand of thread for extra strength. Do not cut or knot off.

4. Pull your sewing thread to bring the edges in to form your pom-pom.

Fill with stuffing, but do not stuff so tightly that you can’t pull the circle shut. You just want enough stuffing to help hold the shape.

5. Pull the thread to close the hole. You may want to sew back and forth a few times to get it to really hold. Knot off. I left the thread tail to use to sew the pom-pom on the hat.

I found my fur was a little longer than I wanted when the pom-pom was done, so I gave it a little trim all around. That is very much a matter of taste.