Yesterday I had the luxury of a train journey by myself and I knew exactly what I wanted to read! A few weeks ago I was gifted a copy of 35 cute pompom animals, birds, sea creatures and insects to make. I had a quick look through and couldn’t wait to try making something from one of the tutorials.

Pocket Pompoms: 35 cute little woolly creatures to make

Before my journey I made sure to flick through the projects and pack some basic equipment. I’ve made a few pom poms before using cardboard (the old fashioned way!) as well as a Clover pom pom maker. The book contains 35 designs for animals, birds, sea creatures, bees and other insects accompanied by clear, step-by-step instructions. With Halloween coming up I decided to make the spider, so picked up my pom pom maker, wool and scissors.

I couldn’t find any black wool so substituted brown wool and picked up a small scrap of white for the eyes. I read through the Introduction and Techniques before starting.

The pom pom maker was easy to use and it didn’t take long to make the spider. I removed it from the maker and gave it a little trim.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any beads for eyes, nor wire for legs so I used black straws instead! My children thought it was hilarious!

The book is really lovely and I love the idea of making a whole menagerie of animals with wool and a little imagination.

With sections on materials, tools and basic techniques, you have all you need to get you started. Learn how to make the pompoms, attach them to each other and needle felt on features such as faces, ears, arms and legs adding the features is where their characters really come to life! All the pompoms can be made from scraps of yarn in your stash and each design uses only small amounts.

Pocket Pompoms: 35 cute little woolly creatures to make by Sachiyo Ishii is published by Search Press. You can purchase a copy via the Search Press website, Amazon (affiliate link) and all good book shops.