Making soft toys is a simple and exciting process. For a child, the activity is interesting because it does not take much time. Children are not a sedentary “people”, and long monotonous activities quickly tire them. The article tells how to make a beautiful craft quickly and without tiring.
What is a pompom
A pompom is a fluffy ball of thread. They are made from different types of thread, craftsmen prefer wool yarn. Pompoms are made simply: threads are wound around an object (in the picture it is a fork). The more threads are wound, the smoother and fluffier the product will be. Then on one side the threads are tied with another, strong thread, and on the other side the winding is cut.
Please note! The tighter you tighten the tying thread, the stronger and rounder the product will be.
What toys can be made from pompoms
You can make a huge number of toys from pompoms. It can be an animal whose body is made from one large ball, and the head and paws are made from smaller ones.
Toys from pompoms are good for adults to make together with children. It is difficult for a kindergarten teacher to find a more interesting, useful activity for children. For example, winding threads on a template, as an easy activity, can be entrusted to the "specialists" of the senior group. When children are engaged in making toys from pompoms with their own hands, they are not only engaged in important, from their point of view, work, but also develop fine motor skills of the hands, develop attentiveness, perseverance, patience.
Pom-poms are also useful for preparing for the holidays. You can entrust a group of children with making simple decorations, for example, a New Year's tree garland made of multi-colored fluffy balls. You just need to seat several people, or even the entire group, at one table, give each one a template, and distribute different threads.
Important! An adult needs to remember that scissors are a dangerous, cutting instrument and should never be trusted to children.
After the children have prepared a sufficient number of multi-colored soft balls, you need to take a thin and strong cord and string them on it, alternating colors. The soft garland is ready.
Japanese Technique for Making Pom Pom Toys
Toys made from pompoms using the Japanese manufacturing technique are smoother and more beautiful due to the quality of the pompoms themselves. First, a special template is made - two round disks made of thick cardboard in the form of a donut with a small sector cut out for the thread to pass through.
Additional information. The outer diameter of the template determines the volume of the product. The larger the diameter, the larger the product.
The step-by-step production of a pompom is shown in the pictures.
Now you need to take a thread, thread it through the eye of a large needle and pass it through the middle of the product. In the future, this thread will play the role of a fastening element. With its help, pompoms can be tied together, attached to the base of the toy, etc.
Master class on making toys yourself
A master class with a step-by-step description of the pattern will allow even a child to make a soft dog out of pom-poms on their own.
To work you will need:
- threads of three colors: white, gray and black;
- scissors;
- a piece of cardboard to make templates;
- a piece of felt to make ears;
- a piece of ribbon for the tail;
- a piece of thin ribbon for a collar;
- an unnecessary decorative button for a medal;
- two beads of suitable size for the eyes.
Technique of execution
The toy is made using Japanese technique. First, you need to cut out four templates from cardboard: one large one - for the pompom depicting the dog's body. The second smaller one - for the head, the third - for the muzzle. The fourth is needed for winding the ball-shaped nose of the dog.
- Pompoms are made. Large ones are made of white threads, small ones are made of grey threads, and the last one is made of black threads. You need to wind them tightly so that the products turn out smooth and elastic. After fluffing and shaping, you need to process them, that is, trim off any unevenness and protruding ends of the threads.
- The white balls must be tied so that the smaller one is on top of the larger one, shifted forward.
- Tie a grey ball to the smaller white one so that it represents the dog's face.
- Attach a black ball-nose to the muzzle.
The main work is done. Now it's time for decoration.
Decorating details
You need to glue the ears cut out of felt. Make a tail out of ribbon. The last thing to tie is a collar with a button-medal sewn onto it.
Step-by-step instructions for making a bullfinch
After acquiring the skills of working on the principle of "one thread - one color of the ball", you can begin to create complex, multi-colored balls. From multi-colored pompoms you can make, for example, a bullfinch.
The manufacturing technique is the same as for the dog, only the ball depicting the bird's body needs to be wound with threads of three colors: red, pink and black. By winding a red thread in the front, pink on both sides, and black at the back, you can get a pompom depicting the body of a bullfinch. It will have a red chest, pink sides and a black back. The head ball is wound with red and black threads. The winding is done unevenly: two-thirds of the template circumference are filled with black thread, the rest - with red. The bird gets a black head and red cheeks.
From thick felt or other suitable material, you need to cut out the lower and upper parts of the beak. Beads of suitable size are glued to the places of the eyes. The toy has one feature: the templates for the head and body should be as narrow as possible, they remain inside and fasten the threads of the pompom, giving it strength.
Having mastered the production of various types and colors of products, you can begin to make not only toys, but also such necessary household items as rugs, capes, balls for knitted hats, even women's earrings. You can make a soft, warm bedside rug in the form of a bear skin.
It is made using the technique described above. The rug must withstand, albeit briefly, a large load from the human body. To increase strength, a base-backing is first cut out of some dense fabric. Then a large number of dense, well-wound pompons are first tied together into strips of different lengths. The finished strips are sewn along the contour to the backing.
Making toys from pompoms is a fascinating, simple, and accessible business. As you gain skill, the quality of your work will also grow.
