t-shirt pom poms TIPS and TRICKS

a couple of you said you were having some issues making your *t-shirt pom poms.* i made a couple more of these curvalicious beauties and thought i'd answer some frequently asked questions and share a few tips and tricks.

• use t-shirts that have some stretch in them

• i did not make "t-shirt yarn" because i did not want the side seams of the t-shirt in the pom poms. this is how i cut the t-shirts:

Cutting your t-shirt

1. first i cut off the bottom hem. 
2. then cut 1/2 inch horizontal strips up the body of the t-shirt as shown in the diagram above. you should only need to cut strips up to the arm pits to get enough for one pom pom.
3. then cut off the side seams from each strip. this takes all of 5 minutes. but is well worth your time! the side seams don't look very pretty in a pom pom, in my opinion.

Wrapping the Strips 

• pulling each strip tight is important. it will make the strip skinner so that it goes farther, creates the "C" shaped strands you see in my pom poms, and helps to create the nice, round overall shape of the pom pom.

Cutting around the Template

• when you cut around the cardboard template, do it slowly and use your free hand to hold the strips in place as you cut.
• carefully tighten the strip in the center of the cardboard template. this strip is what pulls the pieces together to create the pom pom.  **be careful not to break the tightening strip!**
• after you're done cutting and tightening, fluff and arrange the strands as needed. i usually need to pull the strands in the center out a little. those tend to sink in on me for some reason.
• if your pom pom looks a bit straggly towards the edges, use two smaller cardboard circles to trim your pom pom to a smaller diameter. {this is shown in the tutorial}

Care and Upkeep of your t-shirt Pom Pom

• someone asked if you could put your t-shirt pom poms into the washing machine. it may hold up in the gently cycle, but i would not recommend this! if your pom pom came apart during the wash, you would have a big mess! 
• if you want to wash your pom pom, i would recommend hand washing in warm water and laying flat to dry. {you could probably use a hair dryer to dry it faster if you wanted. lol}

hope that helps answer some of your questions. thanks to those who have sent my pics of their t-shirt pom poms! i've had tons of fun seeing the awesome pom poms you've made!! keep them coming :)

happy crafting!
PS you *just might* be seeing more of that yellow pom pom in the near future ;o)