Puffball bunny

Shy rabbits hop along a field of tall shredded- paper grass, looking for veggies to bring to their picnic. If you don’t have a pom-pom maker small enough for a baby bunny, you can always make a larger pom-pom and trim it down to size.

To make a bunny

1. MAKE two light brown pom-poms, one for the body and the other smaller, for the head.

2. STITCH the head to the body using a needle and the tail of the embroidery floss used to tie it (or attach with tacky glue).

3. Use the templates (page 329) to CUT out ears from tan felt; CUT tiny eyes and a nose from black felt. CUT whiskers from white waxed thread. GLUE in place.

Tips

Follow the instructions on the pom-pom maker’s package, but also keep these suggestions in mind:

• The more times you wind the arched arms, the denser and fuller the results. (You may want to wrap four or five times for thicker yarns and at least six to eight times for thinner yarns.)
• It’s normal for a pom-pom to look imperfect when it comes out of the maker – trim it to give it a tighter appearance and to make it the proper size.
• Tie off the center with a length of the same yarn, if it’s strong enough to be pulled tightly. If not, choose a fine, strong yarn (or even embroidery floss).
• Once it’s knotted, you’ll have a two- strand tail – leave this long if you plan to attach the pom-pom to something like another pompom or a piece of fabric.
• You can use any kind of yarn you like when making pom-poms; silk, mohair, wool, acrylic, or a blend of these will work well, and each yields a different finished effect. In general, fuzzy, soft, lofty yarn is best. And the smaller you want the pom-pom to be, the thinner the yarn should be.

Originally published in Martha Stewart’s Favorite Crafts for Kids.