How to Make a Pom Pom Blue Tit

Pom Pom Blue Tit

Proportions for wool colours

You will need...
3.5cm and 4.5cm pompom makers
White, black, blue, green and yellow wool
Blue, green, beige and pink felt
Pipecleaner in grey, black or white
25cm fine 3mm ribbon for hanging
25cm 12mm ribbon for the bow
Tiny mini pom pom or a little circle of white felt
Two 'holes' punched out of black card with a hole punch, for the eyes
Glue - UHU craft glue is great, but not the water based one
A bodkin or tapestry needle

Head pom pom

Head
On the 3.5cm pompom maker use the black, white and blue wool and wind it round in the proportions shown in the diagram. When it's really fat and full, snip around the edges with sharp scissors, and tie the pompom off firmly with the blue wool. Leave long strands of the tie-off wool at least 20cm long. These will be used later to attach the head to the body

Head pom pom with body on maker

Body
On the 4.5cm maker, wind the yellow and green wool as shown in the diagram. It's about 45% yellow, 55% green. When full, carefully snip around the edges with small sharp scissors. Tie the pom pom off, but don't take if off the maker just yet...

Body pom pom snipped open

Joining the head to the body
Using the long tail threads on the head, wrap them twice around the body pom pom while it's still on the maker. Tie the threads very tight, making sure that the head is securely tied to the body. Remove the body from the pom pom maker, and trim to shape. You can make it more bird-like if there is enough wool.

Attach head to body while still on maker

Head and body released from maker

Trimmed bird

Add legs and cut out felt pieces

Features
Part the wool at the bottom of the bird and wiggle the pipecleaner through underneath the tie-off wool. Make sure both legs are even in length and then shape them with a few bends. Cut out two wing shapes and a tail from dark blue felt. Cut a beak from beige felt, and a blossom flower in pinks with some green leaves. The eyes can be made using a hole punch, taking two of the small circles and colouring them with felt tip pens.

Glue the felt features in place

Finishing Off
Thread the fine ribbon onto a bodkin or tapestry needs, and post it underneath the tie-off wool of the body, just behind the head at the base of the neck. Tie it off with a small knot and trim the ends in a V or slant. Glue the felt features on with UHU craft glue. Lastly, use the wider ribbon to tie a bow on itself, then glue that at the base of the hanging ribbon on the bird's back.

Add a final bow on the back, and the two eyes

I first posted this as a 'Twitorial' on 9th March, but the instructions required a little more space, so here it is in full. One reason I've not used this blog for a while is that I cannot abide the new Blogger interface. I find it impossible to position pictures easily. My posts contain a lot of images so this has become very frustrating for me. Please excuse the erratic spacing and hopeless layout!

Enjoy!