Making Pom-pom Animals

Pom-poms aren't just for decoration - you can use them to make little fluffy animals too! We'll be making a Ladybird, a Bumblebee and a Spider, but there are all kinds of others you could do - just let your imagination run wild!

You will need:

What to do

First of all, you'll need some pom-poms. Just follow the instructions on our How to make a Pom-pom page, but make sure you use the right coloured wool for the pom-pom animal you are making.

Here's the ones we made:

Ladybird Pom-pom

You will need:

1. Wrap around the sandwiched templates in red wool.

2. Wrap the black wool 3 or 4 times close to each other to make a spot. Leave a gap then make another spot.

3. Wrap around the whole template in the red wool completely covering the black spots.

4. Wrap the black wool as in step 2 to make some more spots, try not to place them exactly where the spots are underneath.

5. Wrap all over again in red.

6. Keep doing this until the central hole has disappeared.

Bumble-bee Pom-pom

You will need:

1. Wrap around the sandwiched templates in black wool.

2. Wrap around in yellow wool.

3. Keep alternating black and yellow circuits until the central hole has disappeared.

Spider Pom-pom

You will need:

Nice easy one, this!

1. Wrap around the sandwiched templates in black wool until the central hole has disappeared.

1. Take three (Ladybird and Bee) or four (Spider) pipe-cleaners and twist them together in the centre. Pipe-cleaners can be sharp so for safety an adult may need to help younger children with parts 1-3.

2. Curl the ends back on themselves and twist to shape the feet.

3. Bend the legs in the centre to add some shape to the legs.

4. Spread a generous amount of PVA glue at the centre point of the pipe-cleaners (where the legs will meet the body) and press firmly to the underside of the body (opposite the hanging strands of wool, don't worry about being able to see excess glue - it will dry clear)

(You may find it easier to let the legs dry in position completely before sticking on the face/wings)

5. Stick on the eyes with PVA glue (press them firmly in place).

6. Draw a mouth shape on the felt (or use a small piece of wool), cut out and glue in place, pressing firmly in position. Leave to dry or make and stick on wings if needed.

7. Make some wings for the Bee - Draw two joined ovals on the felt, cut out and glue in place. Leave to dry.

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