I saw this idea at a friend's house while doing their newborn shoot. She said it was so easy, and it looked so amazing! I thought "ooh! I could do this to Maddie's room!" So I scoured Pinterest, blogs and figured out what formula I should use. For example, liquid starch .. elmer's glue ... cornstarch .. and the list goes on.
Here is my list of what not to do when making yarn balls.
1) First of all .... don't make them. I'm not kidding. They may look incredibly easy, but they're not. Sure yarn is cheap, balloons are cheap, and so is glue. Do not be swayed! Stay away from these balls! Go buy japanese lanterns instead!
2) If you decide you have to make these yarn balls, then don't use just elmer's glue & water. I tried this on my last three balls I made, and it did not work. The first three balls I made (I ran out of mixture), I used a combination of Elmer's glue, cornstarch & water. I think the ratio is like 4 oz glue, 1/2 c cornstarch and 1/4 c of water. When I realized that my yarn was not hardening up like the first batch did -- I had to run out to get even MORE glue, and did my mixture and paint it on while it was wrapped around the balloon. It did the trick, and hardened up after drying. Also note that you'll use even more glue than you think you will use. Stock up for this project.
3) Two people really need to be doing this -- one to dip the yarn in the mixture and one to wrap it around the balloon. I read somewhere someone said to place vaseline around the balloon, but I didn't do this. If I did, maybe it would have prevented a lot of frustration after I popped the balloon. I'll show you why in a second.... If it doesn't prevent what I'm about to show you, then I have no clue why they put vaseline around the balloons?
4) Again, don't make these yarn balls. They are a headache, I'll tell you! I'm totally doing ya a favor!
5) After you pop the balloons -- they will still stick to the yarn, and there will be lots of dried mixture that stays on the yarn. What a pain in the butt. I gave up after a few hours of scraping this off with a skewer -- I'm hoping no one take a close look when it's in her room.
6) I used a punch balloon for my large pink balloon -- however, do not buy a punch balloon that has ink on it ... like a princess. That transferred onto my yarn. *%#)@#!
7) I bought two different types of yarn. The thicker yarn was cheaper -- and it was harder to deal with and it doesn't look as nice as the thinner yard does (the pink). So, splurge a bit more and get the thinner yarn.
ouch ... sorry for the noise in that picture! High ISO = noise in my pictures!
8) When hanging the yarn balls in the ceiling over your daughter's bed, don't drop a tack on her bed. 'Nuf said. :/
and finally
9) Are you really sure you want to make these yarn balls??
My daughter is totally worth it -- but man alive I wish I did something else! (can you see the black ink in my large pink ball?!! FAIL!)
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Is it bad that I was laughing really hard while reading this? I think I will hold off trying those balls...they look cool, but if they cause that much stress no thank you.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Honestly though, they look adorable. Madison is lucky to have you.
ReplyDeleteI tried these balls.But when i popped the balloons after keeping them to dry with the yarn on for 24 hours.But the entire lantern shrivelled up and lost its shape.The threads had stuck to the balloon so much that the balloon on popping did not pop completely and was still stuck to many parts of the lanterns from inside.It has become like a birds nest and lost its shape.Can you suggest me something so that i can successfully complete my lantern and so that it does not lose its round shape even after popping the balloon.Please as fast as possible.It is urgent
ReplyDeleteI used a bouncy ball from Walmart. They have different sizes. If you have a basket ball pin to let out the air, it's better. Otherwise you will have to cut a hole in it. After letting out the air, gently push the ball away from the yarn, putting your finger into many of the open spaces. I did this after 2 days of drying. I found it wasn't totally hard so I rigged a hanger and put it in the opening and hung it for several more days until it was totally hard. I also have to remove all the extra dried glue. I'm sure that will be a pain in the butt but it looks sooooo cool. I think to avoid all the extra glue, fun the yarn between your fingers while taking it out of the bowl of glue, thus using less but still enough to make it hard when dried. I hope this works for anyone trying this.
DeleteI used a bouncy ball from Walmart. They have different sizes. If you have a basket ball pin to let out the air, it's better. Otherwise you will have to cut a hole in it. After letting out the air, gently push the ball away from the yarn, putting your finger into many of the open spaces. I did this after 2 days of drying. I found it wasn't totally hard so I rigged a hanger and put it in the opening and hung it for several more days until it was totally hard. I also have to remove all the extra dried glue. I'm sure that will be a pain in the butt but it looks sooooo cool. I think to avoid all the extra glue, fun the yarn between your fingers while taking it out of the bowl of glue, thus using less but still enough to make it hard when dried. I hope this works for anyone trying this.
DeleteI make these all the time especially for Easter because of the egg shape of the balloon. The trick is to use liquid starch without diluting What I do is pour thebstarch in a bowl then I unravel the yarn into the bowl in a kind of loose circle so it doesn't knot up. It's tricky at first but if you use enough yarn and its saturated with starch the shape will hold. Alsostarch doesn't leave the residue on the yarn that the glue mixtures do. I have pictures if anyone would like to see
DeleteThis may sound like a dumb question but what liquid starch did you use? I saw on another site someone insisted the stiffener used for laundry doesn't work
DeleteI didn't use liquid starch here. Just diluted elmer's glue.
DeleteUse a pencil to push the balloon away from the yarn before popping. It helps a bunch
ReplyDeleteMy balloons popped before they were dry and the yarn shriveled up. ..help
ReplyDeleteMy balloons popped before they were dry and the yarn shriveled up. ..help
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a pain in the ars. But I bought 4 beautiful bowls that these look adorable in. I kept one and the others will be Christmas gifts so I wanted to make extra balls for theirs. About half of what I made has worked out but it is a pain.
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