How to make liquorice allsorts pompoms

All the sweetness with none of the calories! Thanks to Christine at Sew Yeah, you can learn to make these licorice pompoms taken from her latest book PomPomMania. Over to you Christine…

Materials

Every year on the 12th April, a special day comes along. A day especially made for licorice lovers… Licorice Day! Whether you’re a fan of the flavor or not, you can join in the celebrations with this step-by-step tutorial to make some Liquorice Allsorts (a well-loved candy in the United Kingdom). Liquorice Allsorts are in my Top Five Sweets Of All Time. The yellow or pink coconut rolls are my faves. Guess what?! You can buy packets of just those. They should be called Liquorice Sorts.

Making the Allsorts

How to make the cute round one

1

step 1

Wind 20 wraps of black at center of one half of a 3.5cm (1 ⅜ in) maker, creating a wedge.

2

step 2

Wind 30 wraps of citron (or fondant) on both sides of black wedge.

3

step 3

Wind 30 wraps of citron evenly over entire maker. Fill other half of maker with citron. Complete and remove from maker.

4

step 4

With black spot top and bottom, trim pompom into a neat round, then trim top and base into a slightly flatter shape.

How to make the pretty stripey one


The most common of the Allsort family, this three-layer delicacy comes in various colorways but always with a center licorice stripe.

1

step 1

Wind 60 wraps of white 3 on a 3.5cm (1 ⅜ in) maker, leaving far edges empty. Wind 30 wraps of black, filling gaps at edges.

2

step 2

Repeat on other half
 of the maker using walnut (or fondant or aster) and black. Complete and remove from maker.

3

step 3

Flatten pompom with white and walnut top and bottom. Trim sides into a square. Trim top and base into a flatter shape.

How to make the super-size Allsort


You do not get many of these Allsorts per pack, but it is the sweetie that everyone wants as it is simply massive.

1

step 1

Wind 75 wraps of white on a 5.5cm (2 ⅛ in) maker, stopping before both edges. Wind 50 wraps of black, filling half of empty gaps at both edges.

2

step 2

Wind 30 wraps of pink over black, filling in rest of empty spaces on both sides. Repeat on other half of maker. Complete and remove from maker.

3

step 3

Flatten pompom with white top and bottom. Trim sides into a square. Trim top and base into a flatter shape.

Pro Tip

To make the nasty blue one (the one that gets left in the packet until you are desperate for something to eat) wind three shades of blue yarn together across 
a 3.5cm (1 ⅜ in) maker.