Easy Pom-pom Garland Made Out of Up-cycled Yarn

Here's a great family friendly craft project that would also be a really good holiday gift idea.

  I love yarn but I don't know how to knit.  Yeah yeah, I know I could totally learn how to do it but ain't nobody got time for that.  So meanwhile I'm relegated to making pom-poms.  When I first attempted to make pom-poms I used the "card board disc" method.  Yikes!  My pom-poms looked like crap.  So I decided to shell out a few bucks for some pom-pom makers I found online by a company named Clover.

 Not only do they work but they're fun and gadget-y in a way that's appealing to kids.  Which was awesome because I initially came up with this idea for a holiday craft fundraiser at my daughters school a couple of years ago.  The kids seemed to really like it and cranked out those pom-pom balls like nobody's business. Although the younger kids (5-6 year olds) needed a bit of assistance.
  I was able to get a ton of yarn cheap at my local second hand art/craft/whatever store called Scrap.(http://scrappdx.org)  It's this awesome place where businesses, artists, and crafters can donate unused and leftover materials.  Keep it movin' people!  Also, in another one of my magical manifestation stories, when I had the original idea for this project but I was in a little bit of doubt about it, I came by a huge bag of colorful yarns.  Literally.  I was riding my bike and someone had put a large bag (about 20 or so skeins) of various colored yarn out on their curb. Which in Portland is the universal signal for "please take this off my hands, I have no use for it anymore". Anyhow, I think unwanted yarn is fairly easy to come by.

The base for your garland

  The other thing you will need is something to attach your pom-poms to.  Fortunately they now make these pre-knitted skeins of yarn.  If you can't find these, perhaps you can finger knit this part.  My 10 year old learned how to do this at school so there's a good chance you know a kid who has this skill.
  Making pom-poms is one of those rare wonderful, trance-inducing, meditative activities that is also enjoyable by the whole family.  At one point I had Rob, Ruby, and my dad all diligently focused on making them for the school fundraiser.  This is also a great activity to do while listening to audio-books.  (And avoiding "screen time")  Our absolute family favorite (we've gone through the series twice) is the Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett.  There are three books all together: We Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and The Wintersmith. http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/index.php/us/books/the-wee-free-men  
 They were available at our local library.  You will not be disappointed.

Pom-poms with their tails, all ready to
tie on to your garland

  Okay, so now that you have made a bunch of pom-poms with "tails" and haircuts to make them nice and round, all you have left to do is tie them to the pre-knit part.
  Cut the length of the pre-knit yarn the length you want your garland to be.  Lay-out the pom-poms in a manner that is pleasing to you.  IMPORTANT: if you have different sizes, make sure to balance the sizes.  For instance, the bigger balls should go towards the center to avoid having a lopsided garland, as they are heavier.
  Helpful tip: use a closed safety pin much like you would use a needle threader to thread the "tail" through the pre-knit yarn strand. 

  It's a great Christmas decoration but I think it can work all year long.