Decorative Yarn Balls ~ A Crafty Tutorial

Create these fun decorative yarn balls using a little yarn, a little glue, and a balloon! Find out how to make this simple project in the following tutorial, but also other things that can be done using this technique. Be sure to pin this post to save it for later!

What you’ll need:

• Small Amounts of Yarn
• Balloons
• Mod Podge or Elmer’s Glue
• Scissors
• Bowl
• Newspaper (or something to protect your work surface)
• Paper Towels/Damp Rag (for clean up)
• Safety Pins (or something sharp to pop balloon)
• Optional: Toothpick (for mixing glue and water)
• Optional: All Purpose Paint Brush

Gather your supplies. This may get messy so newspaper or paper is recommended to protect your work surface. The bowl needs to be large enough to dunk yarn into it and coat it thoroughly.

Stretch balloon. Blow up your balloons. Tip: Using a large balloon but blowing it up only a little will result in an odd shape. For a circle balloon, use a small balloon.

Carefully wind yarn around fingers to keep it orderly and cut at desired length. If using glue, add a bit of water to thin it out. Put glue or Mod Podge into bowl. Just dipping a ‘wad’ of yarn may result in a tangled mess, winding a neat ball is recommended. Coat yarn thoroughly and squeeze out any excess.

Wind glue-dipped yarn around balloon trying to keep as little glue off the balloon as possible.

A little amount of yarn will result in a more holey yarn ball when complete, more yarn will result in more coverage on the balloon and less holey when complete. Tip: More is better. Wind more yarn than you think necessary. You can always cut excess yarn if you have too much but adding more will result in more tail ends.

Let dry completely. Not allowing it to dry will cause the yarn to loose shape when popping the balloon. 24 hours is recommended but more or less time may be needed. Once dry, prime the balloon by using your finger or another object to push inflated balloon away from yarn. Pulling the yarn while pushing the balloon away may be needed in really stuck on areas. Once most of the balloon is primed, use a sharp object to pop balloon and pull it out through the largest hole. Trim any extra glue that may have clung to the yarn.

Other things you can do with this technique:

Other items may be required for the following projects:

• Yarn bowl by covering just the upper half of the balloon.
• Hot air balloon
• Light bulb cover (use caution as yarn and glue may be a fire hazard)
• Decor: birthday party, wedding, etc
• Use a balloon stick with decorative yarn ball
• Yarn ball pumpkin
• Create a yarn ball spider
• Yarn ball ornament
• Use ribbon instead of yarn
• Have children decorate the yarn balls

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to see any projects you make. Be sure follow Get Creative With Us for a new fun project every week!