All over Instagram and Pinterest, you can find darling blankets and pillows with pom poms attached to the edges. I have loved these blankets, but I haven't loved their big price tags! There is a solution though: attach your own pom poms to blankets and pillows! Places like Amazon, Target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, and Ross are great places to find inexpensive throw blankets and pillows that are great for attaching your own pom poms or tassels. You only need a few items to customize these cozy accessories for your own home.

Materials

Handmade Pom Poms and/or tassels

Extra Yarn in coordinating Colors

Large Darning Needle - These are the ones I use

Plastic Yarn Needle - I really like these double ended needles

Chunky Blankets - This one and this one are perfect

Twin Sized Thin Blankets - I like this kind

Chunky Pillows - I love this one

Sewing Machine (If using the sew-in method)

How To: Sewing Machine Method

To create this double tassel blanket, I wanted the tassels to dangle from the inside of the blanket. I am no seamstress, but I discovered that thinner, twin-sized blankets make a great throw-sized blanket when folded in half. If I sewed around the edges, I could insert the tassels where I wanted them. This same technique can be used with pom poms as well.

I started by making a bunch of tassels. I then attached three pieces of yarn through the top of each tassel with a plastic yarn needle. I pulled them half-way through so that I had six strands at the top. I then braided the strands holding two strands at a time to make it thicker. I tied a knot at the very top of each braid.

I folded my blanket in half and pinned the tassels on the edges of the blanket. I whipped out my trusty sewing machine (that has never been used for anything other than sewing a few straight edges here and there!), and I got to work!

I sewed right through the tassels and went all around the blanket. I actually had to lift up the foot to go through the tassels because it was so thick with the folded blanket and braids. The sewing doesn't go right to the edge because the hem was too thick, but since this is a tassel blanket, I figured that it could be a little rustic. Tassels aren't neat and tidy, so the edges don't need to be either. (But they probably should line up! :)

Super easy, and pretty quick!

How to: Hand Sewing Method

To attach pom poms or tassels to pillows or blankets that have any material that is not a large stitch knit, you will want to use a hand stitch method. I use a large darning needle to do this. I find a yarn that is about the same color as the pom pom or tassel but that is slightly thinner. This will help you thread the needle and will go through the fabric more easily. I sew through the edge of the fabric, and pom pom or tassel, then tie a knot. The knots can then be slid around back to the pom pom or tassel to hide it. Sometimes it can be tricky to get the needle and thread pulled through the fabric, but it usually works if you wiggle it through. I made all of my pillows using this method.

How To: Tying Onto A Large Stitch Knit Blanket

If you find a cute, chunky, large stitch knit blanket, you can use another technique to attach your pom poms or tassels. Because the stitching is large, you can use the natural holes to tie your pom poms on. I like to leave the ends long on my pom poms so that I can easily find the center of each. This makes it easier for stringing yarn through and attaching to the blanket.

I use a plastic yarn needle because they have wide openings and go through the blanket and pom poms easily. First string through the center of the pom pom. This is when those pom pom ends come in handy. You can quickly find the center knot of the pom pom by following the end strings. String under this center knot and leave some string hanging. You will use the remainder for tying a knot.

To attach your pom pom to the blanket, figure out how far apart you want to space them on the edges. Count several stitches up from the bottom of the hem, to insert your plastic needle. The pom poms I made were very large and heavy, so I wanted to place them a little further up on the edge just to make sure they didn't pull out the stitches on the bottom row.

I strung the yarn through the third row of stitches from the bottom, then tied a knot in the yarn. I then repeated this same process with the same pom pom just two stitches to the left so that the pom pom would be attached with two knots.

You will want to trim the ends of your knots to make them about the same length as your pom pom strands. You also need to trim the ends of your pom pom center string. The two strings connecting the pom pom to the blanket can now be pulled down so that the knots are now lying against the pom pom. This hides the knots within the pom pom strands.

Continue attaching all of your pom poms in the same manner. If your pom poms aren't super heavy, you can actually use your center string of your pom pom to attach to the blanket. You will probably only need one knot with smaller pom poms, so just using the center string should be enough to connect the pom pom.

One thing to note with these pillows and blankets is that with the hand-tied pom poms, you will probably want to hand wash your blankets to protect the yarn from being pulled out of the pom poms. Little hands also find these pom poms irresistible (who doesn't!) so you will want to be careful with these around your little ones.

That's it! This is such a fun an easy way to customize your pillows and blankets. I now want to buy every pillow and blanket I see to turn them into pom pom pillows and blankets! I must warn you: once you start making these, you might get addicted! It's so much fun to think of new color and yarn combos. These also can make great gifts! Who can't use a cute, cozy blanket with pom poms? :)