I have just finished my 3rd pouf and thought now it's time to share the recipe. The poufs are decorative in your living room, and very easy to make, the only thing you really need is a lot of patience. And a lot of yarn, it takes appx 2kgs to make a pouf. I'm using a fake spool-knitting technique that my mum taught me to turn thin yarn into thick cord.
For this project you will need;
2-2,5 kg of yarn
2 sock-knitting needles in a fitting size
For this project you will need;
2-2,5 kg of yarn
2 sock-knitting needles in a fitting size
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Signing UpStep 1: Choosing the right yarn
I have made all my poufs using industrial grades wool or wool-mixes. I have bought them all in the salvation shop or at factory outlets and they had no brand-names so I cannot share. But what I go after is "hard" wool, wool that has not been through softening processes and is maybe even mixed with some polyester to make it tough. I think I have used carpet-yarn, furniture-yarn or weaving-yarns. I use yarns that knit on needles 3,5mm - 5mm. I promise that if somebody finds a brand-name that I will share it with you all here.
If you cannot get hold of this kind of yarn or you are lazy you can also buy very thick wool (rather expensive) or cord and consequently skip step 2 - making a cord. The Norwegan Pickles sell a very thick yarn that can be used for a pouf; Pickles fat and happy.
You can use Zpaghetti, cut up old t-shirts yourself, or buy tube-yarn or felted cord. The last you can get
at Etsy (handmade) or as industrial grade felt i.e. at Filtmaatschappij Rotterdam (this is where Christien Meindersma got hers, I think) You can also use woven (cotton) cord i.e. from the Hema.
If you cannot get hold of this kind of yarn or you are lazy you can also buy very thick wool (rather expensive) or cord and consequently skip step 2 - making a cord. The Norwegan Pickles sell a very thick yarn that can be used for a pouf; Pickles fat and happy.
You can use Zpaghetti, cut up old t-shirts yourself, or buy tube-yarn or felted cord. The last you can get
at Etsy (handmade) or as industrial grade felt i.e. at Filtmaatschappij Rotterdam (this is where Christien Meindersma got hers, I think) You can also use woven (cotton) cord i.e. from the Hema.
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If you could make that work then it potentially makes it awesomely simple to spool-knit. Have not tried this one yet myself. Why? you might wonder. Well because all those plastic spool knitting machines look like toys that will break very easily. Perhaps one day I will post some instructions about how to actually make a spool knitting (machine/robot) our of more durable materials; like metal
A few additional ideas for this project:
- You could make your own crochet hook. Find a big enough twig or piece of wood from somewhere and carve it - doesn't have to be exact size. Crochet hook is quite easy to make. (And for anyone who needs ideas for what to make a loved one who likes to crochet... hooks are awesome) If you need step to step, http://www.wikihow.com/Carve-a-Crochet-Hook
- You could also use other materials instead of yarn. For instance old bed sheet or old t-shirts - first make a yarn out of them. Or even old jeans, if you have a pile of them.
For bed sheet, a long yarn with as few angles as possible, about 2/3 to 1 inch wide, 1,5-2,5 cm or even wider depending on how thin it is and how thick you want the yarn to be. Then just crochet.
For t-shirts, 1 inch yarn, then stretched is good but will give much thinner yarn - but that would look awesome if you make a braid of three strands of it, and then crochet with it, if it needs the extra bulky look... Or you could also make a no-crochet version of the pouf with the braided technique http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-braided-t-shirt-rug/ - a bit different look, but they'd look really good together. One with the mega-crochet technique, one with old bed sheet yarn, one with old t-shirts with either method.