Crochet: My First Project // Pom Pom Garland

Small leaf measures about 1.5 inches in length.

I made about 20 leaves (I got a little carried away), but I only used 15 for the garland.

Essentially this is the pattern that I followed from HappyBerry Crochet:

Start: Slip Knot
Chain (ch) 7
Single Crochet (sc)
1/2 Double Crochet (hdc)
2 Double Crochet (dc)
1/2 Double Crochet (hdc)
Single Crochet (sc) (last chain)
Single Crochet (sc) (same last chain)

Turn project over and continue:

1/2 Double Crochet (hdc)
2 Double Crochet (dc)
1/2 Double Crochet (hdc)
Single Crochet (sc) last chain

End: Close stitch

Next, I made the garland. Basically for this one, I winged it! 🙂 I took the knowledge I learned so far and did about 250 chain stitches (foundation chains). Then, I did a row of half-double crochet. I’m sure there are better ways to do this. I figured this was a great way to practice what I had learned and see if I could apply it by memory.

This is the pattern that I did. (Each step has a short video tutorial.):

Start: Slip Knot
Chain (ch) 250
Single Crochet (sc) into 2nd chain from hook
Half-Double Crochet (hdc) 245
Single Crochet (sc) last chain
End: Close stitch

The pom-poms are simple to make. Especially, if you have a pom-pom tool – it may save you some time. Since I didn’t have a tool at the time, I made one out of cardboard. Unfortunately, the cardboard was cheap and barely survived the number of pom-poms I made. If you do decide to go this route, make sure you have good sturdy cardboard. Otherwise, you may want to buy a tool. After I finished my project, my daughter found a pom-pom tool at the Dollar Tree – which I still haven’t tried. But I’ll be sure to share my experience once I do.

Below are the steps I followed to create pom-poms with cardboard.

came from my Spring into Summer flower arrangement.

Use a circular object to create the size of your desired pom-pom. I used a coffee pod. Then cut out your circles.

I added an inner circle by tracing a penny. Then I made two lines connecting both circles. This section will be cut out and doesn’t have to be too big.

I started with the orange yarn at the center only. This allowed for the color to stay only in that area. Then I added the yellow yarn over the orange yarn but extended the area within the center. Last I added the white yarn.

Cover the entire cardboard with your last color. I’m not sure how many times I went around. I just made sure it seemed thick and covered sufficiently. Then carefully cut the yarn on the outer circle. If you move too fast the cut yarn pieces may start to fall off. I just held on to the cut areas as I went around.

Carefully add a piece of yarn in between the two cardboard pieces but be careful not to pull them off. Make a tight knot and remove the cardboard pieces. There will be some long pieces of yarn sticking out. You can leave those for now.

Find a comb to comb out the pom-pom. I held on to half of the pom-pom while I carefully combed out the other half. Then I switched sides.

Once you reach desired fluffiness, you can carefully trim excess pieces.

These poor pieces of cardboard worked hard and barely made it. I did have to bandage (tape) one of them.

These are all the pieces needed for the garland: 11 pom-poms, two large leaves, 15 small leaves, one garland.