Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Juggling Balls


This is my first crochet pattern to include in this blog... and only the third one I've ever worked out. The other two were a washcloth (but it was based on another pattern) and I also wrote a pattern for a mummy finger puppet that I will be including in my next installment.

I know that there are probably thousands of patterns for crocheted juggling balls out there... and I'm sure that this one much different from others out there on the web... but when I was knitting these up I didn't have Internet access due to a broken computer... so I put this little pattern together and I thought I'd share it.

You can either use all one color for these... or mix it up however you like.

The first set of these I made I used cotton yarn... I love the look... but I found that when I stuffed with beans the filling sometimes came out the holes... Cotton stretches and a few loose stitches on the decreases and you will find beans all over the place. Only one of the balls leaked... so it might have been the brand of cotton I used (I love this cotton from hobby lobby).

The second set I made of these I used a bulkier yarn and I was much more pleased with the way they came out. I used a size F crochet hook for both versions... In the future I just might opt for a smaller needle size when using worsted weight cotton... OR I could just work on getting my stitch size more consistent on my decreases... I'll continue to experiment with this pattern and let you know what I come up with.

I stuffed the juggling balls with beans to give them the weight necessary to juggle... but I also made another set of these in cotton for my daughters that I stuffed with poly-fil. Many patterns I've seen suggest stuffing them with plastic pellets... but I was unable to find any pellets in my local craft stores that would work... they were all tiny and would have leaked through even the tightest stitch... the ones I did find were pretty expensive as well.


Make a ring and chain one.
Round 1- SC 6 into the ring.
Round 2- SC 2 stitches into each SC around (12)
Round 3- *SC, Increase (SC 2 times in one stitch)* repeat from * to* around (18)
Round 4- *SC, SC, Increase* repeat from* to * around (24)
Round 5- *SC, SC, SC, Increase* repeat from * to * around (30)
Round 6-11- SC around (30)
Round 12- *SC, SC, SC, Decrease (Single crochet two together)* repeat from * to * around (24)
Round 13- * SC, SC, Decrease* repeat from * to * around (18)
Round 14- *SC, Decrease* repeat from *to * around (12)
Round 15- Decrease around (6)
Fasten off and fill with beans or pellets for juggling balls or poly-fil for indoor balls.



Please let me know if you try this pattern (or any of my patterns) and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you so feel free to comment... or send me links to your projects on Ravelry (profile name lovecurry).


Jenn


4 comments:

  1. I really like these! And they could double perfectly as a hacky sack. Linking up at Tangled Happy next week. Thanks for sharing this fun pattern. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOOO HOOOO thanks! been looking for a ball pattern!

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  3. you can take and put the tiny plastic pellets inside a knee high before putting them in the ball, I do that when I want to make a weighted stuffed item. I am about to make these balls doing that as a christmas gift for my sister

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