These pom pom dogs are so cute and fluffy, with tiny ears, wagging tails, and sweet little faces made from yarn! Each handmade puppy has its own personality; from floppy-eared pups to playful spotted dogs, you can customize them with different yarn colours to look just like your favourite breed.
This pom pom dog craft is a fun project for kids, teens, and adults who love making pom pom animals. They’re soft, playful, and surprisingly easy to put together with simple craft supplies. Make one adorable yarn puppy, or create a whole pack of pom pom dogs to display, gift, or use for pretend play!
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How to Make a Pom Pom Dog
Materials:
- Worsted weight yarn (dog colour)
- Felt (to match yarn & pink)
- Craft foam sheets (black)
Equipment:
- Latch hook tool (optional)
- Toothpick (optional)
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make the body pom pom
- Wrap the yarn around half of a 3-1/4 inch pom pom maker until it’s full.
- Cut the yarn and secure the yarn end.We used a latch hook tool, but you can also use a crochet hook or even the end of your scissors to tuck it in.
- Repeat, filling the other half of the pom pom maker with the same colour of yarn.How full you wrap the pom pom maker will determine the size of your dog’s body. So if you want a leaner dog, don’t wrap as many times.
- Cut an 18 inch piece of yarn (one long enough to wrap around the pom pom maker a couple times).
- Slide sharp scissors into the gap between the two sides of the pom pom maker and cut through the middle of the yarn.
- Insert the yarn piece into the center of the pom pom maker (where you just cut). Wrap it around the maker a couple times and secure it with a double knot.
- Unlatch the maker and remove the pom pom.
- Use sharp scissors to give the pom pom a “haircut”, trimming it down into an oval.Make sure to save a few of the smaller yarn scraps for later.
- Here’s what your pom pom should look like. It’s okay if it’s still a bit shaggy in places — you can trim more later.
Step 3: Make the head pom pom
- Wrap a 2-1/4 inch pom pom maker with the same colour of yarn.
- Follow the same steps above and remove your pom pom from the maker.
- This time as you trim the pom pom you should grab onto a section of the yarn and keep it long.
- Trim the pom pom down and make the long section into the dog’s muzzle. To do this you’ll want to shape the longer section so it’s rounded, and trim away excess yarn around it — especially where the eyes will sit.
- Here’s what our pom pom looks like from the top.
Step 4: Make the leg pom poms
- To make one of the dog’s legs, wrap the yarn around 2 fingers about 15 times.
- Slide a piece of yarn between your fingers and tie it loosely to secure the bundle.
- Then you can remove the yarn from your fingers and tie the yarn into a double knot.
- Repeat, making 3 more bundles the same size.
- Cut between the loops of yarn and trim them down to make little legs.You’ll want the end that connects to the body to be fairly flat, and the bottom to be gently rounded.
Step 5: Make the tail pom pom
- For the tail, wrap yarn 10 times around 1 finger. Secure the bundle and then repeat, making 2 more.
- Use the tails to tie the 3 bundles together, one on top of another.
- Cut the loops and then trim the pom pom into a tail that’s thinner on one end and comes to a bit of a point.
Step 6: Make the ears, nose, and tongue
- Cut 2 ears from a piece of felt that matches your yarn colour.
- Then add hot glue or tacky glue onto the ear.
- Attach pom pom trimmings into the glue. Repeat for the second ear.(It looks better if the pieces you add are the really fine bits. We actually re-did the ears later so they looked more like fur.)
- Next, cut a nose from black craft foam. Use the end of a pencil to create nostril dents and a line down the center of the nose.
- Finally, cut a little tongue from pink felt.
Step 7: Assemble the pom pom dog
- Here are all the pieces you’ll need to make your dog.(Minus the tongue! We forgot to add it here.)
- Use hot glue to attach the nose near the top front of the snout. Then use a pencil or scissors to create a little “trench” in the yarn for the tongue. Glue it in place, pressing the yarn back together around it.
- Glue black beads above the snout for the dog’s eyes.We found it helpful to pick up the beads with a toothpick to set them in place.
- Create little trenches on either side of the head, near the top, and glue the ears in place.
- Attach the head to the top front of the body and then glue the legs to the bottom of the body.Once the legs are glued in place you might want to trim the stomach down more so the legs show up better.
- Finally, glue the tail to the back of the body.
- Your pom pom dog is complete!
- Now have fun making all kinds of different pom pom pups. Keep reading below for more details!
Helpful Tips:
- Choose yarn colours to match your favourite dog breed: Use white, black, brown, tan, cream, or grey yarn to make your pom pom dog look like a poodle, spaniel, terrier, golden retriever, or any other puppy you love!
- Adjust the number of wraps based on your yarn thickness: The thickness of your yarn will affect how many times you need to wrap it around your fingers to make the legs and tail. Thicker yarn needs fewer wraps to create the same size pom pom, while thinner yarn may need more.
- Use sharp scissors for trimming: Fabric scissors or another pair of sharp scissors work best for cutting and shaping your pom pom dog. Regular scissors usually aren’t strong enough to cut through all the layers of yarn. Detail scissors with shorter blades are also helpful for trimming the face, legs, and ears more precisely.
Do I need a pom pom maker to make this dog craft?
No, you don’t need a pom pom maker to make a pom pom dog. You can also wrap the yarn around a piece of cardboard or even around your hand to make the pom poms.
A pom pom maker does make the process easier and more consistent, but it isn’t required. You can check out our guide on how to make a pom pom for more helpful tips!
How can I make a multi-coloured pom pom dog?
To make a pom pom dog with spots, wrap the accent colour around small sections of the pom pom maker, keeping the wraps in one area. Then cover those sections with the main yarn colour so the accent colour shows through as spots once the pom pom is cut and trimmed.
For a different coloured snout and the area between the eyes, wrap the accent colour around about one third of one half of the pom pom maker. Keep the accent colour in that section, then wrap the main colour around the remaining areas. When you trim the pom pom, the accent colour will help create the dog’s muzzle and face markings.
How can I make different types of pom pom dogs?
It’s really easy to make different styles of pom pom dogs, like you see in our pictures. We already explained above how to make dogs with multi-coloured fur, but here are some additional details to help you out:
Black and white dog
The first main difference with this dog is the yarn type. This dog is made from bulky (size 5) yarn, so it requires different numbers of wraps. The legs are only wrapped 10 times around 2 fingers, because of the thicker yarn.
The next big difference is the snout. Instead of shaping the head pom pom, we made a separate snout piece and glued it on. We wrapped yarn 5 times around 2 fingers to make this piece.
The ears and tail of this dog are done in a different style as well, more like a tassel than a pom pom. For the tail we wrapped yarn 5 times around 3 fingers, cut it, and tied it together in the center. For the ears we wrapped yarn 3 times around 2 fingers.
Triangle ears
For dogs that have ears that stand up from their head you want to make a little shaped pom pom instead of cutting them from felt.
For our brown and tan dog’s ears we wrapped worsted weight yarn 15 times around 1 finger, tied yarn around the bundle, cut the loops, and then trimmed them into a triangle shape.
These pom pom dogs are such a fun yarn craft, and they’re even cuter once you start giving each puppy its own personality. From fluffy dogs to spotted pups and floppy-eared friends, there are so many ways to customize this craft and make each little dog unique!
Make one pom pom dog or create a whole pack of adorable yarn puppies! You can even add a tiny ribbon collar to each dog for an extra-cute finishing touch.
Here’s even more pom pom craft ideas:
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72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
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