DIY Teacher Gift Ideas: Apple Pom Poms

I have been wanting to make some yarn pom poms for ages. {By the way, say “pom pom” over and over again and tell me how weird that word – words? – is}. I saw some cute little animal-themed ones online awhile back and realized that they could really become anything I wanted them to be. With teacher appreciation day coming up, I had been trying to come up with clever DIY teacher gift ideas, and I thought it would be SO fun to turn some handmade pom poms into a teacher gift.

Turns out they are SUPER versatile and can be used in lots of fun little projects (for teacher gifts or also for decorating if you *are* a teacher). I want to show you how I made these and then share some fun ideas for using them! Warning: they are totally addicting to make.

ALL THE APPLE POM POMS.

DIY Teacher Gift Ideas: Apple Pom Poms Tutorial

Here’s what you need to make your own apple pom poms. {affiliate link alert!}

• Red yarn (the yarn pictured above is exactly what I used – you can also find it at Walmart!)
• Brown yarn (again, exactly what I used is pictured above) – you’ll only need a very small amount of the brown
• Green paper (you can use scrapbook paper, green card stock like in the picture above, or even just cut a piece of leaf off of an old fake flower you have around the house)
• Sharp scissors (you really want them to be sharp!)

You’ll also need something to wrap the yarn around. You could use three fingers, as I have done (but I end up with purple fingertips from how tight the yarn gets, so…). I used a wooden block from the kids’ toy box. It was the perfect size and no fingers turned purple when I used it.

Before you start, cut off a piece of brown yarn (maybe 8″ long or so).

Next, start wrapping the red yarn around the block (or fingers, or similarly-sized object).

I wrapped the yarn around it between 60-70 times. You want a fluffy pom pom, so I would say at least 60 wraps, and even up to 100 will work.

Cut the yarn.

Now, pull the yarn off the block.

You’ll have a nice little loop of yarn.

Grab your piece of brown yarn. Lay the red yarn down and tie the brown yarn, very tightly (double knot, for sure!) around the center of the red yarn. Again – make sure this is tight!

Next, you are going to cut through the loops. Be sure to keep your brown piece of yarn out of the way. This is why you want sharp scissors – it’s tough to cut if they aren’t super sharp!

You’ll have a very shaggy ball of yarny fluff!

Next you’ll want to start trimming down the yarn until the pieces are very short. Don’t be scared (I totally was at first). Just start trimming. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The goal is a (mostly) round ball of fluff. Put the scissors down periodically and fluff up your pom pom – this will help you see long pieces and know where to trim.

Once it’s nice and fluffy, tie the brown off into a short little loop, and cut off the excess. This is your apple stem! 

Cut a piece of green paper into the shape of a leaf (or, as I did on this one, cut off a piece of leaf from an old fake flower). Add a tiny dab of hot glue and glue your leaf right next to the stem.

And there are SO many cute ways to use these. Hot glue one to the top of a pencil for a super cute pencil topper. Add one to a pencil jar for handmade touch. String them together on twine for an adorable garland. Toss them all in a vase for a fun pop of color. Tie one to the top of a wrapped gift or to the handles of a gift bag. See? So many ways to use them!

If you’re looking for other DIY teacher gift ideas, check these out – they’re not all DIY, but they’re all fun (and all less than $10, too!).

Let me know if you make these – I’d love to hear how you use them!

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