Cute DIY Pom Pom Pillow (Step-by-Step Instructions)

I often talk about the need for texture, for fluffiness, and for adding coziness to your home decor.

Well, if you are living with cats, that can be a problem. The other day I found one of my favorite throw pillows torn up to threads. Turns out my cats love fluffiness and texture too. One of the threads on that pillow case had come loose and they had started to play with it. Basically unraveling that cute pillow in one go.

It was one of my go-to pillows for adding that extra touch of texture to my couch.

So what was I to do?

Well make a new pillow case with even more texture and fluffiness and coziness, and keep it away from the cats.

I still hadn’t quite put away all of the yarns that I had been playing with when I made my wool-wrapped branches decor. So I took those as my starting point, I put on an English detective on the telly and started wrapping more yarn. This time I wrapped the yarn around a pom pom maker and turned it all in this cute DIY pom pom pillow.

It was a wonderfully relaxing DIY project that I finished in the course of one episode of my tv series. My favorite kind of DIY craft projects!

Related Reading: 53 DIY Ideas for Bohemian Decorating

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Granted, I used a shortcut, because I did not sew the pillow case (well not this time, I sewed it earlier). You can totally do this project with a ready-made pillow cover that just needs a little update (works great for hiding stains or damage on old pillow cases too).

(Oh, do you spot the little photo bomber there?!)

Here is the tutorial for making pompom pillows the easy way.

How to make DIY Pom Pom Pillow

Step 1 Make pom poms

I choose to make pom poms in various sizes. I used my thickest wool to make a giant pom pom with the biggest pom pom maker I have. I used up all my leftover wool so that my center pom pom would be as thick and fluffy as I could get.

I then made two sets of smaller pompoms to circle my big pom. I simply laid the design out on my craft table until I knew how many pom poms in each of the three sizes I needed.

Finish all your pom poms by giving them a trim with your scissors, but do not cut off the ties, you need those in the next step.

Step 2 Attach the pom poms to the pillow cover

Next is attaching the pom poms to the pillowcase. As I said I had made some pillowcases before that I never used. If you are making your own pillowcases for this project I recommend making an envelope pillowcase. It is a super easy beginner’s sewing project that only needs a sewing machine and one piece of fabric.

How to thread chunky wool?

For the next step, you have to thread both ends of the ties through a wide-eyed sewing needle. The only way I could do that was by using a threader tool (and my really chunky wool didn’t even work then I had to thread each strand separately).

How to sew pom poms to a pillow?

I found that the best way to attach pom poms to the pillows was to use the loose ends from the tie and thread it from above straight through the pompom into the fabric. By sewing through the pom pom from the top, the pom poms are strongly tied to the pillow.

It also has the added benefit that you can really see where you are placing the pom poms. You want the pom poms to be close together without gaps, and this is so much easier to do when you are working from the front end of the pillowcase.

Since for most of the yarns I was able to thread both ties into the needle, attaching the pom poms with a single stitch this way went really fast.

To tie those threads on the inside of the pillow case in a way that was strong, cat-resistant, and could not be pulled out again. I used buttons.

Simply thread the ends of the yarn through buttonholes and tie them into a knot. This was quick and easy and it makes the attachment of the pom poms to the pillow cover really strong.

Step 3 Insert a pillow into your pom pom pillow case and decorate

And that’s it. You are all done already. Time to display your new DIY pom pom pillow on your couch or bed.

I am really smitten with my new pillow. The fluffiness factor on this one is huge. And it was so cheap and easy to make.

In hindsight, I am really happy that my cats (don’t know which one is the true culprit) trashed my old throw pillow because it spurred me into action to create my own, custom, homemade and personal fluffy pillow.

But they’d better not trash this one!