Are you worried about washing your pomball? Don’t be. They’re at least as sturdy as a knit stuffie, after all.
Step 1) Soak it. I use lukewarm water and Soak, but do whatever you normally do with knitwear.
Step 2) Squeeze as much water as you can out of the hat. As with all knitting, you never want to twist. Just compress the knitting. When yarn is wet it’s weak, and twisting can really mess with your fabric and the longevity of your project.
Step 3) Lay it on a towel and roll it up.
Step 3b) No really, roll it all the way up, even the pomball itself.
Step 4) Step on the towel. Wait. Move your feet and wait some more. I recommend scrolling through Instagram or texting a loved one to keep enjoying yourself.
Step 5) Laugh at the pomball. It will be all squashed and you’re not worried.
Step 6) You’re not worried because you’re going to smoosh the pomball around and get it back into shape.
Step 7) Lay flat to dry. Theoretically these would survive a trip through the dryer (assuming you’ve used superwash), but I haven’t put this to the test yet. If you do, I’d love to hear from you about how it went.
Step 8) When it’s about 75% dry, come back and rearrange it. This way you won’t get a flat spot on the pomball or a sharp fold line on the hat. Smoosh the pomball a bit if needed.
Step 9) Have someone from the family claim it.
Step 10) Plan another one for yourself.
More Pomball Tutorials:
Try Knitting Your Colourwork Hats Inside-Out
Even more tutorials on the Knitting Tutorials page.