If you missed part 1 of the pom pom experiment, it’ll show you how I made the tool I’m using to make these. For part 2, I’m going to show you my experiment with different ways of layering the yarn to get different styles of pom poms.

Half & half: Wrap each half of the circle with a different color.

Tri-color: Wrap each third of the circle with a different color.

Speckled: Cut small pieces of various colors of yarn and wrap them in random spots. Wrap the entire circle with your main color. Do more small pieces then finish wrapping with your main color.

Striped: Wrap the entire circle with a layer of the outer color, then wrap the entire circle with a layer of the center color, then wrap the entire circle with a layer of the outer color.

I wanted to find a quicker and easier way to make pom poms than with the little tool I’ve been using. I had one of these simple round pom pom makers but you have to cut pieces of yarn and use a needle to go through the hole on it. Then I saw these ones that open up and thought that seemed a lot easier, so you can just wrap the yarn around. But I was being cheap and thought I could probably just make my own! So here’s what I did:

Cut two circles out of cardboard (the exact same) and cut through one side up to the center hole.

Hold the two pieces together and wrap your yarn around and around!

I couldn’t go all the way up to the cut because the yarn would slide off but it doesn’t matter.

Insert your scissors between the two pieces of cardboard and cut the yarn all the way around.

Cut a piece of yarn to tie around the center of the pom pom, between the two pieces of cardboard. Tie a really tight knot. Then you can slip the cardboard off and you’re done!

I thought this was definitely quicker than the tool that requires you to use a needle. It’ll be especially useful if you want to make a really large pom pom! If you try it, let me know what you think. :)

Be sure to check back tomorrow for part two of the pom pom experiment! I’m going to show you how to do all of the different style pom poms in the picture above.

I’ve had a hard time finding a sparkly yarn that comes in all the colors I want (I love Red Heart Shimmer & Caron Simply Soft Party but the colors of both are a little limited) so I came up with an easy technique that allows me to add sparkle to any yarn I want! Here’s a tutorial that will explain what I used and how I did it!

I love that this let’s me add sparkle to any yarn I choose, any fiber, any weight! And I also get to pick the color of the sparkle! I hope you have fun with this! Let me know if you try it out! :)

Oh and here are links to the sparkle threads I used: Holoshimmer (the sparkly silver) & Metallic (the clear iridescent).

Here’s another one of my favorite yarns! I honestly don’t know why I haven’t reviewed this one yet because I’ve been using (and loving!) it for quite a while! It’s Naturally Caron Country! It’s a blend of 25% Merino Wool, 75% Microdenier Acrylic. It’s another one of those rare wool blend yarns that doesn’t even feel like it has wool in it because it’s so soft!

This is the yarn that I used while designing my Pineapple Coconut Slouchy Hat crochet pattern. It’s one of my absolute favorite yarns to use for slouchy hats because it’s not stiff and drapes really well! I’d consider this a light worsted weight, which I really like for hats. Especially lacy, open designs. I don’t recommend it for amigurumi because it isn’t very plump, plus it’s a nicer yarn so I like to save it for wearables.

One really awesome thing that I have to say about this yarn is that I’m really, really pleased with how well my projects hold up over time! You know how some yarns get super fuzzy over time and end up looking pretty bad? I have some hats that I refuse to wear anymore because they’re gotten so fuzzy and ugly. But Naturally Caron Country holds up so well! I have several hats made from this yarn, they all get more wear than any of my other hats, and they all look so good considering how much I’ve worn them!

It comes in 24 different colors and they’re all so pretty! I think Claret, Gilded Age, Loden Forest, and Spruce are my favorites but I’ve only tried about 12 of them so far.

There are 185 yards in a skein, which for me, has been more than enough for any hat that I’ve made with it. It’s usually priced at $4.99, which I believe, is the same as Caron Simply Soft and some of my other favorite worsted weight yarns. This yarn has less yardage than any of those but I think it’s a slightly higher quality yarn, so for me, that justifies the price. Plus those other yarns don’t hold up quite as well over time so I think it’s worth it to buy Naturally Caron Country!

Have you tried Naturally Caron Country yet? What did you think of it? I definitely recommend it if you haven’t had a chance to try it yet! It’s probably my #1 go-to yarn for hats! :)

It’s been a while since I made my post about my favorite worsted weight yarns, since then I’ve found a couple others that I can’t wait to tell you about! First up is Sensations Lustrous Lamb. Holy crap, I’m in love! Seriously, there’s nothing I don’t like about it.

*The white, light pink, and light blue colors above are not Lustrous Lamb*

I randomly found this yarn while shopping at Joann’s. I had never heard of it before, but the bold colors caught my eye and I impulsively bought a skein of Royal because it was just too pretty to leave behind. It wasn’t long before I went back for a skein of Gold. So far I’ve tried 6 of the 18 colors it comes in, Royal & Gold being my favorites!

I used the Gold to make my Pineapple Coconut Skully (XL version) and I love it to pieces! It’s currently my favorite hat and I wear it way too much! There are 308 yards in a skein (more than my other favorite, Red Heart Soft Yarn!), which was enough for me to make this hat + the one in the previous picture + I still have some left over!

It’s a blend of 80% acrylic, 20% wool. I normally stay away from wool and wool blend yarns because they tend to be itchy but this one is so soft, you wouldn’t even know it had wool in it! It’s only $4.99, which is totally fair and worth it in my opinion, considering the quality and how much you get.

*The white and light pink colors above are not Lustrous Lamb*

I really like this yarn for slouchy hats because it’s not stiff and drapes really well. I used it to make my Spring Blossom Slouchy (above) & also made a few Pinecone Slouchies (below) while I was designing that pattern. I love all of them! It’s worked perfectly with every pattern I’ve tried so far.

I can’t wait to buy more colors and try making something other than hats with it! I absolutely love this yarn and can’t recommend it highly enough! Seriously Joann’s, if you ever discontinue this yarn, I WILL CRY! I plan on using it so much in the future! It’s become my go to yarn more than any of the ones in my original favorites post.

Have you tried Lustrous Lamb yet? What do you think?