• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

How to: My Wedding Craft Party Pom Pons!

December 31, 2010 Leave a Comment

To start off, I wanted to wish you all a fantastic New Year! My fiance and I got an amazing Christmas present last week – we found out we’re moving to Chicago next summer! We’re getting married in just 64 days (holy sh*t) and will be moving in June. It gets better, too! I’ve got some pretty promising prospects on a library internship next summer and will have my Master’s in August.

Ok, I’ll stop digressing now. The other night, I threw a craft party and enlisted some of my friends (who are amazing!) to help me make a dent in the 50 pom pons with which I’m decorating my wedding venue.

from top: wine cork pin cushion, the craft party spread

The Math

50 pom pons x 5 packets per filter x 5 filters per packet =

50 pom pons x 25 filters per pom = 1,250 filters in need of dyeing

I wanted half of my poms in green and half in yellow, so 1,250/2 = 625 filters in each color. Phew!

Supplies

1250 bleached coffee filters

1 bottle of green food coloring

1 bottle of yellow food coloring

upholstery thread (color doesn’t matter)

1 tapestry needle

1 coaster

1 pin cushion (since I threw a party, I gave my guests some old wine corks so they could each have a pin cushion)

Dyeing the filters

In this post, I go over step-by-step instructions for dyeing the filters. However, to dye the absurd amount of filters I needed to dye without taking MONTHS, I dyed them in the sink in bunches of 50 or so and dried them in the dryer. Just make sure to use a gentle dryer setting, and you should use a timer! The ones that I accidentally over-dried shrunk like clothes.

Producing Pom Pons en Masse

My darling mother came to visit me from North Dakota last week, and she helped me figure out how to make these beasts more efficiently. I should have thought to ask for her help earlier on in my pom pon prototyping experiments. After all, she’s the one who taught me how to craft. :)

She came up with the idea of having my party guests sew packets of coffee filters together, rather than assemble whole poms. It turned out to be great because not everyone is comfortable with sewing, especially using a paper material.

How to Make a Packet of Filters

  • Take 5 filters from your laundry basket.
  • Fold them in half and in half again, and layer them in alternating directions (see picture). Use your coaster to hold each filter in place as you fold.
  • Thread your needle, doubling the thread and tyeing a knot securing the two ends together. Punch a hole through all 5 layered filters. Sew back through the hole you punched a couple times.
  • Punch a second hole through your filters, and sew back through the new hole twice again.
  • Punch your third and final hole, making a triangle of holes in your filter. Sew a couple of times through this last hole. Secure your thread with a couple of knots and cut your thread.

Assembling the Packets in to Poms

Using 5 completed packets, start sewing them together. That’s it! You just have to, pardon the Tim Gunn reference, make it work. Just make sure not to sew too close to the end of the packet of filters. You’ll end up with packets raining down from the sky and your future pom pon garland will look like crap.

Once you’ve sewn 5 packets together, you’ll notice how flat-looking your poms are. Fluffing them is as easy as unfolding them at the crease. A picture is worth a thousand words:

I have yet to assemble my full pom pon garlands, other than the party decorations below, but my plan is to use fishing line. I’ll post full details when I reach that point. For now, my wonderful party guests helped me finish assembling 190 of the 250 packets of filters I needed.

I need to end this absurdly long tutorial and get back to assembling poms! Happy New Year!

Filed Under: DIY Wedding, How-to Tagged With: coffee filters, dyeing, food coloring, heidedwed, party, pom pons, poms, Sewing, wedding crafts

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « How-to: Sushi-Inspired Day Bed
Next Post: Fun New Year’s Crafts! »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Coffee Filter Garland RoundupCoffee Filter Garland Roundup
  • How to: Make a Coffee Filter Garland Pt. 2How to: Make a Coffee Filter Garland Pt. 2
  • How to: Make a Coffee Filter Garland Pt. 1How to: Make a Coffee Filter Garland Pt. 1
  • Picks of the WeekPicks of the Week

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

learn more / work with me

Find Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
.
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
.
Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
.
During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
.
Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
.
These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
.
I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
.
In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
.
Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
.
You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
.
Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
.
Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
.
Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
.
Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
.
Image descriptions available in alt text. 
.
#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
.
P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
.
Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy