By 
Today’s newest addition to our endangered animal pom pom series is a fun one: the bonobo! Bonobos are very closely related to chimpanzees and actually weren’t recognized as their own separate species until 1929. Today we’re excited to be focusing on them with this cheerful pom pom made with all our favorite supplies from our friends over at Purl Soho. We’ll quit monkeying around and get to the point – keep on reading to learn how to make your very own bonobo pom pom below!
what you need:
- Pom Pom Maker Set (small + large)
- Line Weight in soft black, solid
- Wool felt (charcoal and black)
- Embroidery floss (black)
- Scissors
- Tacky glue
- Printable bonobo tag
how-to:
Step 1
First things first, you’ll need to wind your skein of yarn into a ball – Purl Soho’s tutorial shows exactly how to do this. If you’ve already made the Galapagos penguin pom pom, your line weight yarn will already be wound into balls. Once you have this ready, it’s time to make the pom pom! Wrap the yarn around the large pink pom pom maker for about 700-800 rotations to make sure you have a nice dense pom pom. You won’t use up the whole skein of Line Weight, so save the remaining yarn for other poms, like the penguin if you haven’t already made him!
Step 2
Once you’ve done all 700-800 rotations, cut a piece of embroidery thread about 18″ long. Thread one end through the U-shaped gap between the wrapped yarn and the pom pom maker. Bring that same end up and over the wrapped yarn and then back through that same U-shaped gap again. Bring the two ends of the embroidery floss together and make sure that the horizontal threads are nice and centered on the yarn wrap. Tie a surgeon’s knot but wrap the end through the loop twice. Pull the knot together but don’t pull it tight just yet.
Once you’ve done all 700-800 rotations, cut a piece of embroidery thread about 18″ long. Thread one end through the U-shaped gap between the wrapped yarn and the pom pom maker. Bring that same end up and over the wrapped yarn and then back through that same U-shaped gap again. Bring the two ends of the embroidery floss together and make sure that the horizontal threads are nice and centered on the yarn wrap. Tie a surgeon’s knot but wrap the end through the loop twice. Pull the knot together but don’t pull it tight just yet.
Step 3
Carefully slide the yarn off of the pom pom maker and pull the embroidery floss knot as tightly as you can. Use your finger to hold the surgeon’s knot tight in place and then tie a half granny knot on top to secure. Bring both ends of the floss to the other side of the wrap (make sure that you don’t catch any loops of yarn along the sides) and tie another tight surgeon’s knot, followed by another granny knot to tighten. Make sure that these knots feel very secure to prevent your pom pom from falling apart later.
Carefully slide the yarn off of the pom pom maker and pull the embroidery floss knot as tightly as you can. Use your finger to hold the surgeon’s knot tight in place and then tie a half granny knot on top to secure. Bring both ends of the floss to the other side of the wrap (make sure that you don’t catch any loops of yarn along the sides) and tie another tight surgeon’s knot, followed by another granny knot to tighten. Make sure that these knots feel very secure to prevent your pom pom from falling apart later.
Step 4
Use a pair of very sharp scissors to trim all the yarn loops. You will now have a large, almost shaggy pom pom like this.
Use a pair of very sharp scissors to trim all the yarn loops. You will now have a large, almost shaggy pom pom like this.
Step 5
Use your scissors to trim down the pom pom into an almost teardrop shaped circle – the narrow end will be the bonobo’s chin. The large pink pom pom trim guide will help you make your pom nice and even but remember to keep one end narrower as shown above.
Step 6
Cut charcoal felt into the bonobo’s face and ears, and then cut black felt into his eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Play with their shape and placement until you’re happy with it and then use tacky glue to secure in place. Let dry completely.
Cut charcoal felt into the bonobo’s face and ears, and then cut black felt into his eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Play with their shape and placement until you’re happy with it and then use tacky glue to secure in place. Let dry completely.
Your bonobo pom pom is all done! Learn all about bonobos here and what you can do to help protect them. Stay tuned for our next part of the endangered animal pom pom series coming soon!