By Nicki Byrnes
November 2, 2022
If this basket was a person, she would be loads of fun with a touch of glam! But unlike her persona, she is actually very low maintenance. The most distinctive part of this basket is the faux fur, which is used to add trim and create the pompoms. I developed a method to make these pompoms that uses only a crochet hook and the faux fur yarn – no making multiple pompoms with a maker or fork, cutting all those strands, and attaching them individually. With my technique, one long strand of yarn is used and runs all the way around. This means no weaving in a million ends – yay!
To create the look of pompoms, I use a variation of surface crochet. Surface crochet is a technique that uses slip stitches on top of an already-made piece to create designs on the surface of the work. I used surface crochet to add a “B” to my Bengals hat last winter, pictured below. You can see the individual slip stitches that run along just the surface of the hat. It creates an embellishment on the front that provides depth and texture, while not being visible from the other side of the piece.
Clearly, the pompoms appear very different from the “B” above. The fuzziness and texture of the faux fur yarn certainly contribute to the pompom effect, but it really comes down to a couple of key additional steps. Namely, pulling the yarn out to puff it up and pulling the yarn end all the way out and back through as the last step. I will explain this in detail below. For the trim of the basket featured in the video, the process is standard surface crochet all the way around.
Two supplies are needed to create the pompom affect – a crochet hook and faux fur yarn. Any hook will work as long as it can pull the fluffy yarn through, so I recommend size L/8.00mm or larger. I used an N/10.00mm in the video because that is the hook I had out after making the basket. (The yarn I used for the basket is Lion Brand Re-Spun in Sepia Rose.) The faux fur yarn I used is Lion Brand Go For Faux in Baked Alaska. I bought it at Joann, but I have seen it on Amazon, Walmart, and in a set of three on Michaels’ website.
If you’d like to mimic the look of pompoms with just a crochet hook and faux fur yarn, be it for embellishing crochet, knitting, weaving, or any other fiber art, read on for the full instructions. Read them once, watch the video a few times, and then practice for yourself! Let me know if you have any questions.
Faux Fur Pom Pom Instructions
• Hold the faux fur yarn on back side of work (inside the basket in my case)
• Insert hook from the front into the space you’d like the pompom and grab yarn with hook
• Pull yarn through space so 1 loop is on hook
• Insert hook into the space directly to the left
• Grab yarn, pull through space
• 2 loops are on hook
• Pull front loop through second loop on your hook (this is a slip stitch in crochet); you can use your hand to help complete this process, as shown below
• Cut yarn so it has a 64” tail and pull yarn all the way through your stitch
• Insert hook into a nearby space or the same space you worked in and pull yarn end all the way back through so it is now on the back side of your work (inside the basket in my case)
• Insert hook into next space (from the front) for next pompom; I like to alternate pompoms up and down about 1-2” apart
• Repeat steps, beginning with first step above
• Yarn will run along back of work, so no weaving in a million ends!
• Once pompoms are complete, weave ends in
This yarn is slippery, so either weave it back further than you typically would, or tie it off. In the case of the basket in the video or other round projects, the last pompom meets up with the first pompom, so tie the two ends together twice and cut the ends.
That’s it! It takes a lot of words to explain the process, but I assure you, the actual creation is simple. Now watch the video a couple of times, give it a try, and you’ll be pleased with how easy it is, especially if you know how to slip stitch. Let me know what application you use them for – I can only imagine all the possibilities!
nickibyrnescrochet.com 