Apomination

posted by Diana

I picked up the latest issue of Mollie Makes (aka the cutest DIY magazine I've come across aka Pinterest in page form) and I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality and cuteness of the projects inside that I'm going to purchase my own subscription.

Not only did the little bundle I purchased include a full-sized magazine and an entire project kit, but it also had a mini-mag insert complete with eight project instructions. This month, the mini-mag was all about pom-poms. I used to be a no-frills type of gal, but I've come around to interesting adornments on clothes... it was only a matter of time (what with my massive yarn stash) before pom-poms entered the mix. 

Case in point, this pom-pom statement chandelier. It does make a statement... a definitively weird and kitschy one... but I was drawn to make this project anyway.

The magazine recommends using embroidery hoops, but I had 16 gauge wire on hand already. In addition, I picked up some washi tape to wrap the wire and some twine to tie it all together. 

I cut my wire to two different sizes. This wasn't scientific at all--I just eyeballed it.

Then, I wrapped the wires all up with my washi tape. I chose the pink one because I was going for an ice-cream shop color scheme.

The directions say to make about 25 or so pom-poms, but I made 17 and didn't even use them all.

Here's the yarn before.

Making the pom-poms was easy on my Clover pom-pom makers--just wrap, cut, and tie off. (I swear this blog isn't sponsored by them... even though I've featured Clover products in a million posts recently.) If you don't feel like buying pom-pom makers, you can make your own templates out of cardboard.

And during.

To continue making my wire base, I cut my twine in four even pieces and tied my two hoops together. This part wasn't easy... it was difficult for me to get my mobile to hang evenly, even without the pom-poms on it. Then, after trimming the excess yarn on my pom-poms, I threaded them with fishing line and tied them on the wire base. Again, easier said than done, especially when gravity works against you.

And after!

This project came out way cuter than I thought it would! I still need to washi tape the pom-poms to the wire base so they don't crash down, but I'm still experimenting with their positioning. I think this project would look super cute in a little kid's room (and I'm planning on giving this one as a gift... is it bad etiquette to put a present on the internet before it's given?).

Happy making!