Pencil Top Duster

I very much wanted to make something useful out of this five-yard scrap of Vanna's Choice. Since the purpose of this project is to use up the Sample Skeins, I think it's a little unsporting to just make a series of appliqués or similar, which would sit unused in a box somewhere. A pile of yarn flowers tucked into a drawer is no improvement over a similar pile of swatches or skeins. Still, this particular scrap was a bit challenging; five yards is barely any yarn, and the colorway is not something I like well enough to make a bracelet or something for me to wear.

In the end I made this pom-pom pencil topper, a miniature version of a duster meant to go on top of a broom handle. If I put it next to my office plant, which is frighteningly dusty, I can call it a useful object. So there.

To make it pencil-sized, I reduced the stitch count of the tube from twelve to four. This is very snug, so it should certainly stay on the pencil.

That's at least three yards of yarn in that pom-pom, and it's still pretty skimpy. Pom-poms eat yarn!