Hello, there! It’s Melissa of I Still Love You. I love DIYing everything so you’d think I’d go all out for Christmas decorations, but I don’t. It’s strange, especially since my mother was a big decorator even for the littlest of holidays.

Back in 2008, I decorated my tree entirely with pom poms (also this is the first tree I ever bought). It was just after seeing a Martha Stewart article (via) on kid-friendly ornaments made with yarn. It was my first successful encounter at making pom poms. They’re fun! They’re easy. They’re cheap & best of all, it doesn’t matter if your little one (or pet!) plays with them. The only thing that I never liked about the yarn pom poms was that they didn’t offer much weight or texture as ornaments.

This year I plan on taking my pom poms to a new level. They’re going to be made with jersey and that’s what I’d like to share with you. Make jersey pom ornaments with me using old raggedy t-shirts! Here’s how:

SUPPLIES FOR JERSEY POM POM ORNAMENTS •

  • old white cotton jersey t-shirt
  • scissors
  • needle
  • thread
  • beeswax or waxed linen thread
  • 3×5 card
  • Rit dye (I prefer liquid)
  • ribbon or fabric strips

HOW TO MAKE POM POM ORNAMENTS

  1. To make your poms, you’ll want to follow the instructions on my jersey pom pom tutorial. There are a few differences between making jersey poms & yarn poms, so read carefully.
  2. Just before you trim your poms down to size, you want to prepare your dye bath using the instructions on the bottle. This is not nearly as intimidating as you might think. You can easily do this in the comfort of your own bathroom sink. Just be sure to have bleach on hand to clean up the mess afterward.
  3. Before dyeing, be sure to wear good protective gloves, or your hands might look like death.
  4. Holding onto the excess string from making your pom, you want to dip-dye your pom. It’s really easy.
  5. For an ombre effect you might want to check out these resources: Cotton & Curls, Freshly Picked, I Still Love You
  6. Once your poms are dyed sufficiently, run them through cold water & then the dryer. The dryer will fluff up the poms nicely.
  7. Set your poms aside & tie bows out of your fabric or ribbon.
  8. Thread each excess end with a needle through the bow to secure the bow onto the pom.
  9. Tie a knot at the end of the excess thread.
  10. Hang!

Alternatively, as soon as Christmas is done, why not repurpose the poms to decorate gifts or your hair? I know I’m going to. Can you see my slight variation in color? I think that adds a lot of depth.

Another idea: why not use an unorthadox color for Christmas this year? I think this year is the year of the blue Christmas for me. Or teal. We’ll see how I feel.

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Comments

  1. Ready to buy earring for myself, I just encounter this post accidently. When I finish reading over, I have a clear mind in my mind to choose the best earrings for me. Thanks, blogger.

  2. I made these this morning. One men’s XL tshirt made 9 mini pompoms. I dyed them using RIT dye in glass quart jars. They don’t look nearly as nice as the ones on this site, but I’m hoping once they dry completely and I get some ribbon on them, they’ll be prettier. I plan to spray them with an essential oil mixture and package them up as Closet Scenters for Christmas. 🙂 Thanks for the idea!

  3. Wow, that’s such a great idea! I love any craft that involves reusing something old and worn out (and goodness knows we all have a lot of ancient tees lurking around!)

  4. oh. my. gosh. Totally doing this. They are so cute!! Thanks for the tutorial. I am repinning now!

  5. This is so neat. The colors could be endless. You could also decorate a wreath with them to match the tree. Thanks for sharing.

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