Core77

A Mindbender for Craftspeople, 2: Giant Pom Pom Machine

By Rain Noe - November 2, 2011

in Object Culture

I love seeing the various jigs, fixtures and contraptions that craftspeople invent to speed their creative tasks, and one great thing about the internet is people aren't shy about sharing them. But nothing drives me more nuts than when they show you the jig, show you part of the operation, then skip ahead to the end product without showing you what the heck happened in between.

Case in point: Up top is Artist Ellen Nielsen's Big Pom. That's the end product. Below is the video showing the contraption she uses to make it, but the video ends without showing the crucial final steps. Do you have any idea what those steps are? (You'll want to scan through the video, to see the intermediate steps, as it's six minutes long.)

While no answer exists on Nielsen's website, I noodled around on the web a bit and believe I've figured it out. If you want to be a hero, see if you can guess what she did without hitting the jump. All others, click on through to see a video that may provide the answer.The video below shows how to make a small pom pom:

As you can see, it hinges on creating a row of loops (or in this case a circle of loops, as it goes around the center of the donut) that you can pass a single length of yarn through to knot the center together. There is a secondary outer row of loops created during the wrapping process, and that row of loops is severed, transforming it into the pom pom's tips.

So based on this, my guess is that once Nielsen's done wrapping all of the yarn on her device, she simply passes a cord through, say, the bottom row of loops, knots that up, then cuts the top row loose.

» Checkout the first Mindbender

o

Favorite This
Q
4

Comment

Comments

Jomy

13 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

That video was about 6 minutes too long.
!Report as spam
some guy

13 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

what a waste of my already wasted time
!Report as spam
Qathi

13 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I think she's tying around the middle and cutting the top and bottom free and then shaping the giant pompom. At least that is what I would try first.
!Report as spam
Tom

13 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I believe you are right (or almost right). When I was in bootcamp we used to make throwing darts/blowdarts with our sewing kits (we were allowed sewing kits, but no fun). We wrapped a spool of thread around 2 or 3 fingers, then tied a strand around the middle of the loops. After we had them bound together in the middle, we would cut the two ends of the loops. This would make a pom pom.

To make darts, we would put a needle (for blow darts) or a stretched out huge safety pin (for throwing darts) into the middle of the bunch of thread before we cut the loops, then we would wrap more thread around the base of the needle so that it is secured tightly, with a flare of thread out the back. Then we would cut just one side of the thread loops.

!Report as spam