Tutorial: How to Create A Yarn Ball

I know how to draw, but I never consider myself an artsy person. Give me paper, scissors, and glue, I would make a mess. I'm simply not creative enough! Why am I saying this? Well, to encourage you, maybe, and convince you to also do this yarn ball project! It's so easy it's insulting! :-)

This is actually my sister's school project, but we had so much fun doing it that we had to do it again. It's so easy, swear!

Have you seen those Pinterest posts that feature beautiful yarn balls? I never would have thought how easy they are to make until my sister's teacher gave this assignment. At first, we thought it was a nonsense assignment. What skills would you learn by doing a yarn ball, ha? To be honest, until now, I still think it's pure nonsense. Nevertheless, it is fun to do!

Plus, the teacher didn't provide clear instructions. She didn't even provide the complete list of materials. I keep thinking she's never done a yarn ball before haha. Anyway, we gathered the materials we thought were complete. Here they are:

Balloons (The number depends on how many you want to make.)
Yarn (This also depends on how thick or dense you want the yarn balls to be.)
Glue (But the teacher required Zoy or gawgaw - the more economical choice)
Scissors for cutting yarn and a bowl to hold the Zoy or glue mixture
A secret ingredient below

I was the one who bought the yarns, so I chose the multicolored ones. Kikay!

Now, pay close attention. We had to do my sister's assignment twice. This is because, apparently, when you use glue alone, the balloon would stick to the yarn and would not create a yarn ball. Her wonderful teacher didn't have the sense to complete the list of materials, which resulted to a lot of wasted projects.

I thought there must be a barrier or something needed in between the balloon and the yarn. A quick Google search proved me right! It's a good thing my sister had me for a sister. Hahaha! Now, here's the secret ingredient to creating a successful yarn ball:

Good thing I had an unused tub of petroleum jelly in my room! I bought one on impulse in SM, but I was never able to use it. And that's the only available brand at that time. Sue me.

I wasn't able to take photos of the process because it is messy! You would have to rely on your imagination here - don't worry; it's not rocket science. Anyway, here are the steps that you need to do:

Create a glue mixture using glue (or Zoy) and water. Don't make it too watery!
Soak the yarn in glue. Be careful not to make them tangled.
Squeeze the excess glue mixture in the yarn and wrap it around the balloon. Make it random and create gaps in between for a better effect.
Tie the end of the yarn to keep everything from unraveling.
Remove the excess glue from the balloon.
Hang it under the sun and wait for the entire thing to be completely dry.

There was no sun when we first made the project because it was raining. We had to hang the balloon indoors, so the wait took longer than expected.

When the yarn becomes completely dry, you can pop the balloon na! I wasn't there when they popped the balloon (boo!), so I wasn't able to take a photo. However, this is the finished product:

It's so nice! It's even better in person haha. It reminds me of the ball they use in Sepak Takraw (do you know that Pinoy sport?). Also, it's very tough and can withstand weather. Well, I think that depends on how strong your glue is. Gawgaw is strong, methinks.

We're planning to make several red and green yarn balls to hang outdoors for Christmas!