Pom Poms

As I was walking around the fabric area of Chiang Mai, I kept seeing these brightly colored baskets of pom poms and necklaces like these.  I really didn't understand why there were so many and what in the world were they using them for.  This question was still in my mind as I shopped and I started seeing the poms poms on so many items.  There were used on purses, key chains, clothing, fobs,  purse handles and belts, to name a few.  Now I could hardly stand to keep walking past them because of all the beautiful colors.  When this happens, I know I have to find a way to use them, so I can buy them and share them with you.  (BTW this is usually how my decision to buy things start, but sometimes I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.) As I am contemplating the pom poms, I see this.

Oh my goodness!!! The pom poms are all made by hand and trimmed using scissors that children use in elementary school.  AND, those are not necklaces, but skeins of thread tied in sections, ready to trim.  You talk about a huge difference in perspective!  Now I know I have to buy them....I realized that these are made by the hill tribes, so they must use them for their traditional clothing.  Here are some ways that the pom poms are used.

The purpose of these are to bounce around when they are dancing.  The second picture is of Palin, the person who makes my applique.  She told me that it is a contest for the Hill Tribe New Year, to see which unmarried girl has the most pom pom streamers.  As the girls are making them, they keep very quiet about how many they have, so no one will make more to beat her!  

I hope you enjoy more details about the pom poms.  I hope you check out the website under Accessories for more ideas how to use them.  I would love to see what your creativity comes up with!