How to Make a Pom-Pom Rug

You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to create your own fluffy, cushy pom-pom rug — and how satisfyingly squishy it is to sink your toes into. With just yarn and a rug liner you can create a super soft, colorful piece to add a pop of color to any space.

Knitters, this DIY is a great way to use up all of that leftover yarn hiding in the closet. Even if you buy all of the materials new from the craft store, this project will only run you between $25 – $50, depending on the size of your rug and the type of yarn you use. (And if you’ve ever been rug shopping, you know that’s a steal.) The biggest investment is a little time — now’s your chance to binge watch that TV show you’ve been missing.

We arranged our pom-poms to create a ombré effect that blends from white to aqua, and we’re kind of obsessed with the way it looks like the ocean fading out from the foam to the horizon — but this is your chance to give your artistic expression free rein! You could create a rainbow rug, or arrange different colored pom-poms to spell out someone’s name or initials, or just go totally free-form and whimsical. We cut our rug liner in a rectangle, but any shape will work — circular (you could turn it into a smiley face) or heart-shaped would be super cute.

Once you become a pom-pom pro, just think of all the things you can decorate with those little puff-balls. But before you get too carried away, check out our video to see just how easy it is to make your own pom-pom rug:

Materials

  • Cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Yarn (We used 6 separate 1-pound skeins, but had yarn left over at the end. The amount you will need will depend on the size of your project and the thickness of your yarn.)
  • Non-slip mesh rug liner (Cut to your desired size and shape — ours was 2′ x 3′ rectangle.)

Tips before you get started:

  • The cardboard pom-pom maker tends to get worn out during the pom-pom making process, so it’s a good idea to have extra cardboard on hand so that you can make multiple pom-pom makers in case one breaks.
  • The thicker your yarn is, the fluffier your pom-poms will be.
  • You will create a lot of yarn confetti when trimming the pom-poms, so spread out newspaper or have a paper grocery bag handy to trim the pom-poms over.

Directions

  1. Make a cardboard pom-pom maker: cut a rectangle of cardboard about 3.5″ x 5″. (For smaller pom-poms, make it smaller; for larger pom-poms, make it larger.) Cut out a notch in the center of one of the short sides of the rectangle to make a square C-shape.
  2. Holding the pom-pom maker in one hand so that it looks like a C, wrap the yarn around the cardboard from top to bottom. We wrapped the yarn 120 times for each pom-pom — the more you wrap it, the fluffier your pom-pom will be. Try altering different sizes of pom-poms for a more multi-textural look. After you’ve finished wrapping the cardboard, snip off the end of the yarn.
  3. Cut a length of yarn for the tail, about 12 inches long. Thread one end of the tail behind the wrapped yarn and up through the cut-out notch in the cardboard, so that you’re tying a loop around all of the wrapped yarn. Cinch the yarn tight and double-knot it. You will end up with a bow shape of yarn wrapped around the cardboard.
  4. Cut through the loops of yarn on each end of the bow, and slide the pom-pom off of the cardboard.
  5. Shake and fluff the pom-pom to spread out the fibers. The pom-pom will be more ovular or rectangular at this point, so you’ll want to trim the ends to make it more spherical. (Make sure you don’t trim off the long tail.) The shorter you trim the yarn, the more fluffy and ball-shaped the pom-pom will be. (You can also leave the pom-pom untrimmed for more of a shag carpet look.)
  6. Repeat with the remaining yarn to make lots and lots of pom-poms. For our rug, we made about 150 pom-poms. It’s helpful to lay out the rug liner and arrange the finished pom-poms on top of it to gauge how many you will need to make.
  7. Attach all of the the pom-poms to the rug liner by tying the tails of yarn around the mesh. Double- or triple-knot the yarn, then trim the ends.
  8. Once all of the pom-poms are attached, flip over the mat, fluff up your pom-poms, kick off your shoes and sink your toes into your handmade pom-pom rug!