TOOLS & SUPPLIES
- Raffia
- Twist tie or thin wire (Note: ribbon could also be used, but it'll be difficult to tie the raffia tightly in place with it)
- Scissors
DIRECTIONS
- (Optional) Prep your twist tie by bending it in half; I picked a clear one so it would blend in with the silver raffia. If you don't have a twist tie handy, cut out 4-5 inches of thin wire, bend it in half, and place it on the side.
- Start by loosely (but not too loose) wrapping the raffia around four fingers. I held the loose end between the sides of my thumb, index finger, and palm (that little area I don't know what to call), and flexed my fingers a bit so there's a little space between them when starting to wrap; it'll get a little tighter as you get into the wrapping groove, usually without you realizing it.
- I stopped wrapping when it felt like I had about a ribbon thickness of 1/2" between my thumb and index finger (in that nameless area). You could go thicker or thinner if you want to make it a sparser or denser flower. I felt this was the perfect size for the 2-1/2" to 2-3/4" length of ribbon in my hand.
- Loosen and move the cluster of ribbon far enough from your palm, about a 1/2" from where your fingers join your hand. Spread out your fingers to make gaps in between them, slip the twist tie (or thin wire) through the gap and around the ribbon cluster, and twist the wire about twice (or more if your cluster is dense) to tie them all together. This is where bending the twist tie (or thin wire) ahead of time helps to loop around the ribbon and bundle them together.
- Slip a scissor blade into the arch of each loop and cut through them to form two ribbons of about the same lengths. After cutting all the loops, your flower should look like this:
Originally, I wanted to make it look like a daisy by spreading out the ribbon loops, but the raffia just didn't move that way, so it evolved into a carnation. In hindsight, if I spread out the ribbon loops like I did to poof out the pom pom, it may have stayed a daisy. But I'll save this idea for another raffia day. - Hold one of those cut ribbons in between two fingers (of the same hand or of each hand) and spread them out. I used my thumbs and index fingers to lightly pull the ribbon apart and fan them.
- When all the ribbons have been fanned out, you'll find a puffed flower in your hand. Feel free to adjust the ribbons to fill in any gaps, especially ones around the twist tie (or thin wire) is holding the center of the flower together.
You should be holding a lovely flower like this in your hand. I'm holding onto the twist tie here. - Use the extra length of the twist tie (or thin wire) to attach your flower to the center of your ribbon. Or cut off the excess wire use them as independent decorations. Be sure to hide or smooth the sharp edges after cutting the wire to prevent it from pricking hands.
I looped the wires underneath the bow to simplify things for myself.
There's a lot of potential with this idea. So have fun! Make several of different sizes, colors, and densities to get a little garden of carnation pompoms. And don't forget to share your results in the comments below. I'd love to hear about your experience. And definitely feel free to spread the pompom love around by sharing this post.
