Pom Pom Animals

When I was little, I remember seeing the cutest little Steiff ladybug in a toy shop. It was made out of pom poms, and I often wondered how it was made. These little guys were called "woolies", and Steiff began producing them in Germany in the 1930s and continued making them until the early 1980s. If you want to read more about them, read this neat article from Steiffgal's blog here.

These are a much older version of the one I saw as a kid. I can't find a picture of the 80s ladybug!

I had been searching around for vintage Steiff toy pictures to pin to my Vintage Toy Pinterest board (yes, I should have been doing something else but looking at pictures is more fun!) when I came across the most amazing Steiff woolie collection that had been auctioned off at Christie's London a few years ago. I am truly amazed by what they could make with pom poms! Here's some pics:

A bird wedding!

So I became super inspired and set out to learn how to make multicolor pom poms. I wanted to be able to make some little "woolies" of my own! I found a tutorial here which really helped. And the result is the little purplish blue birdie at the top of the page. I can't wait to try making more. You know a hedgehog is on my list!