How to make a tulle pom pom ball for wands…otherwise known as, “how to make a cat toy” in my house.
I made a tulle wand the other day and I was going to give it to my friend Kims daughter, but she is pretty young and if she were to pull the pins out, it could mean a dangerous situation. Not wanting to responsible for my best friends child’s untimely death by lace pin, I decided to get to work on a tulle ball tutorial for all those in the same situation.
Except instead of a tulle wand, I’m going to turn my example into a cat toy for Gwen.
It could also be used for hair puff pony-o’s, cheer-leading pom poms, decorative shirt..um…decorations. Earrings? OK, that’s too far and way too 80′s.
Here is your How To Make a Tulle Ball {So you can still give it to the baby girl/kitten in your life} tutorial:
1) First you have to decide the size of your tulle ball. I took out a glass from my kitchen since I was making this for my kitten, and traced the edges on an old used shipping box I had laying around.
2) After tracing, I used a straight razor and cut the circles, including a smaller circle in the middle so it has an appearance of a doughnut. To be honest, I didn’t take care to make this perfect, so don’t kill yourself over it.
3) Take a string, twine, or whatever you want to use to tie the middle with. I had ribbon laying around, so I used a nice skinny ribbon. They have some really strong materials on the market if you are using your pom pom ball for something that needs to hold up long term.
4) Make a loop as if you are tying it and lay it between your 2 doughnut pieces. Its considered the cream now. Sandwich it up.
Ribbon cream.
(this is a real professional tut isn’t it)
5) Moving on to your tulle. My pom pom was going to be small since it was for a kitten toy, so I took about a yard of tulle and started wrapping. Just put your piece through the middle hole and then wrap around through the hole and back out again, round and round till its filled up.
6) Take a pair of crafting scissors and cut the outside of the tulle now around the entire thing. Take care not to cut your middle string if its sticking out somewhere.
Trust me, I cut mine.
7) Once the tulle is cut, you will have two distinct sides. You separate a little bit and you should see your string/ribbon/twine in the middle. This is where you tie that sucker up TIGHT in a knot.
8 ) Then pull off your cardboard sides and you will be left with a puffy ball.
9) Just trim your tulle ball up so the tulle is even and mush it around so your string is covered
10) Now you can attach it to whatever you want. Rules on attachment are going to depend on the craft you are making. In my house….well, it was just a cat toy.
So take it and throw!
Happy Kitten:
Btw, if you do want to make a cat toy, getting some crinkle paper or ribbon and wrapping around would also make it a ton of fun for a cat!
I’m going to test it out some other ideas and I’ll post an update when I have it.
~Trisha
Had a small one done in 10 min! This is awesome! Thanks so much….easy cheap adorable princess party decorations for my 3 year old:).
Love this idea! I have a spoiled orange cat named Simon that will love this! Thanks for the idea!
You can’t beat these for washing dishes and cleaning pts and pans. Love them!
Glenda
I used your idea to make large tulle balls and it worked great. Made a backdrop for my Granddaughters Birthday Party. Excellent idea
That’s exactly what i plan on doing! I hope it turns out nice. How much tulle did you use for each one?
Thanks for the tut, very cool BUT the reason I’m commenting is BC of the kitten. I’m NOT a cat lover AT ALL, with that being said I must admit that your kitten is the CUTEST thing I have EVER seen! The close up makes me wanna run out & get a kitten. Thanks a lot! Lol, I do love the tut. This is also my first content ever! That darn adorable kitten looking at me like that!! MAKE your day a fantastic one!
aww, thanks! thats gwennie. She was a rescue and she is older now (obviously). And just as pretty and sweet as she was here.
Wow, I never knew that making this could be so simple. I love it!
my grandmother has made these all my life and they are wonderful for scrubbing. scrubbing dishes, tubs, you name it they work great.
You can’t beat these for washing dishes and cleaning pts and pans. Love them!
Glenda
Too cute!! My daughter loves making these!
ADORABLE!!! I love that last pic! Want to string some of these together for daughters room and put twinkle light with them =) I’m sure my daughter would love to have the cute cat with them!
adorable idea!
what width of tulle did you use to make these? I would like to make larger pom poms for a party… what width should I use? did you wrap the tulle around multiple times? Thanks! I can’t wait to make!
Love love love these! I have been making tissue pom poms for a while now but get frustrated when I accidentally tear the paper as I’m fluffing them out!! Can’t wait to get my hands on some tulle to make these. Great idea and great tutorial
Thanks!
THANK YOU!
I just bought some pale ivory tulle and ribbon, I’m going to make a decorative garland to hang over the front of our bridal table with tulle pom poms. Fingers crossed mine look as great as yours!
Hi, I’ve been making tissue paper pom poms and I absolutely love your tulle ones, can’t wait to go to Spotlight (I live in Australia) and get some tulle to make some for my grand daughters , thank you so much , they are beautiful.
Thanks heaps.
KC
thankyou!
Adorable kitten and pretty pink tulle toy! I am definitely making this for my kitties. I saw some nice looking cat toys in the background…
These are great! They would so cute as party decorations in different colors!
To make bigger Pom poms would u need a wider tulle?
No. You can use wider tulle if you want (it makes bigger strands) but you don’t have to. You can also use string to make them. They are so cute as props in pictures. LOVE them.
WOW! Thanks so much for posting! I am going to make a bunch of them in varying sizes & hang them over my toddler daughter’s bed – instead of a traditional canopy. Its so ethereal & sweet – I LOVE it! Thanks again! By the way – that is the cutest kitten photo EVER!
WOW! These are so cool! I have just added tulle into the craft shopping list.
I’m going to get up right now and make one for my cat (crimson)
this is so cool but everytime i try to make it, it just looks stupid and i have a cat and she doesnt like playing with but shes not as cute as yours so maybe that has something to do with it. but anyways this is a great and its worth trying again util i get it write
The cuteness of the cat totally affects it : D
I made this for my boyfriend’s kitty and she showed no interest in it whatsoever, which is a shame because it’s so darn cute
I even sprinkled cat nip into it!
I made one of these and put it on a head-band for my grand-daughter super cute. then I made tiny ones in black and put three together on a head band they are fun and cute.
how did you attach them please do tell lol
ahh i loved this i had to go out and buy the materials for it we have 8 cats so they will be used to pieces lol. they were so easy and fun to make thanks!
aww your cat is so cute…. i love these cute pom poms … so cute. thank you for sharing.
SUper big help for my twins 1st bday…Thanks a lot! They are so perfect!
This is a great idea! I just tried but found some empty cardboard ribbon spools and tore off each end. That way you eliminate cutting cardboard and any risk of accident. Also, you can use a small thin rubberband instead of the ribbon this way you can tightly secure it and not worry of it coming untied or not tying it tight enough and having it all fall apart.
You are so crafty! I have 4 kittens that would LOVE to play with one of these.
I’m very late posting to this – but you mentioned you used about 1 yard – but how wide? I’m new to the whole world of crafting so I can use all the help I can get.
Did you purchase 1 yard of tulle, cut it into a ____ inch wide strip and only use *one* strip to make this pom? Thanks for any help / feedback!
What a fun idea. My son loves cats, (although highly allergic to them) but he would love making something like this for his Aunt’s new kitten. Thanks for sharing.
We are picking up our new baby kitty in the morning. I am going to have to make this for her! Love it! Thank you
Ok, I can’t get past the pics of the cute kitty! That would make a great cat toy for sure
I’ll make the tulle ball if I can get a kitty that cute! LOL
Looks like an awesome project. The kitten is so cute!
Your kitten seems to a purrfect (couldn’t help my self) subject for your crafts. Such beautiful eyes too!
Oh how CUTE Trisha!
so creative Trisha. And look at that pretty kitty adoring it. that’s worth it indeed
Gwen seems to love it so much. That looks so simple to make, I may be able to do it.
I adore that photo of Kitty… sweet!
Girl, you love tulle! ;D
Love the cute tulle ball but my kitty would have it shredded in under 30 seconds. She’s a wild one!!!
Ohhhhhh I want one for my kitties! Can I pay you to make me two of them? Please!
Awwww she LOVES it!!!