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How to Sew a Ball / Sphere Sewing Pattern for a Nice Round Shape

Learn how to sew a ball out of fabric in just 7 easy steps. These soft fabric balls are great toys for toddlers, for big kids who’d love to play around the house or for your favorite fur baby. Use the free fabric ball pattern to make your own ball in a matter of minutes while getting rid of the fabric scraps. The size of the finished fabric ball is 4”/10 cm but you can make a ball or sphere in any size! Wonder how? Simply enlarge or shrink the free sphere sewing pattern. I’ll also show you the secret how to sew a sphere that is perfectly round. Have you attempted to sew a ball in the past and it came out a bit.. smooshed and not looking right? Well, at least I have. And after tweaking the pattern a lot and some late night sewing , I finally unearthed the secret to sewing a nice round ball. Read on to learn what it is!

how to make a fabric ball

Below you will find my step by step written tutorial how to sew a sphere or fabric ball with VIDEO instructions for all the visual learners.

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How to make a Ball

Supplies and tools to Sew a Sphere or a Ball

fabric ball supplies and  ball sewing pattern

DOWNLOAD: ball and sphere sewing pattern (Free PDF file)

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How to Sew a Sphere or a Ball

Watch the diy fabric ball video first and then follow the written step by step instructions below.
Please enjoy and don’t forget to Like and SUBSCRIBE over on YouTube to be kept up to date with new videos as they come out.

SOFT FABRIC BALL VIDEO TUTORIAL

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Prepare the ball sewing pattern

Download and print the free sphere sewing pattern at 100% (no scale, US letter or A4 paper. Do NOT print directly from your browser as it may skew the sphere template. Measure the line to ensure it printed correctly and trim the excess paper.

The ball pattern is only one size (~4”/10cm finished diameter, they you enlarge or shrink accordingly it if you’d like to sew a larger or smaller ball)

STEP 2: Cut the fabrics

You need to cut 6 identical pieces out of your chosen fabrics. I’d like to use a mix of 3 coordinating fabrics, but you can let your imagination go wild and/or use up what’s already in your stash. These cute fabric balls are a great scrapbuster project!

fabric ball - all six fabric pieces cut out

Now onto the secret to sewing the perfect round ball. The key is in the way you cut the fabric. You should cut all fabric pieces ON THE BIAS!

Cutting on the grain vs cutting on the bias

Fabrics have straight grain (parallel to the selvage) and cross grain (runs from one selvage to the other, perpendicular to the straight grain), and the bias that runs at 45 angles to those two. Here’s a little visual

And a more detailed explanation of these sewing terms in my illustrated dictionary

TIP: Don’t cut the fabrics one by one. To speed up the cutting process stack the fabrics and use a rotary cutter to cut multiple pieces at once. Depending on the thickness of your fabric you can cut 4 to 6 pieces at once.

STEP 3: Arrange the fabrics

Take your time to arrange the little pieces of fabric in the order they like them to be on the ball.

diy fabric ball arrange fabrics

STEP 4: Sewing the ball

  1. Place the first two fabric pieces together with their right sides facing each other and pin.
  2. Stitch from top right to the bottom right using ¼” (6mm) seam allowance, backstitching at the beginning and the end.
    diy fabric ball sewing first two pieces
  3. Open up the fabrics and place the third piece of fabric on top of the second piece, again with their right sides facing each other. Make sure to carefully match the points and the edges. Pin and stitch as you did previously.
  4. Repeat for all the other pieces (open up the fabrics, place next piece on top of the last one with right sides facing, match all edges, sew).
    diy fabric ball sewing last piece to the rest
  5. Just leave a 2 inch (5cm) gap in the middle of the seam when sewing the first and the last pieces together

Tip: If you want to be extra precise, match up the dots on the sewing pattern and sew from dot to dot, but it’s easier to sew from top to bottom and just carefully match the edges.

STEP 5: Turn the fabric sphere around

Clip all curves ½ inch (1.25cm) apart. Turn the diy fabric ball around through the gap

STEP 6: Stuff the ball

Take a handful of the polyester stuffing, roll it between your hands and start stuffing the ball through the gap bit by bit. Stuff to your preferred hardness (soft, medium or hard). Stuffed toys require a LOT of stuffing (it’s more than you think).

fabric ball stuffing

STEP 7: Handstitch the gap

The last step is to sew the opening for turning closed with some handstitching. I’d like to use the invisible (ladder stitch) as it gives a neat finish to the seam. Take a needle and thread, knot the end and sew the gap closed.

fabric ball stitching the gap

That’s it! The soft fabric ball is ready for some fun play!

Ball Sewing OPTIONS:

  1. Add ribbons – if you are sewing for toddlers, you can add small grossgrain ribbon pieces, folded in half in between the seams of the ball
  2. Add a rattle – add a small rattle inside the ball

SEWING A SPHERE FAQs:

Q: How do you make a ball shape out of fabric?

A: Download the ball sewing pattern, cut out 6 identical pieces of fabric according to the template, stitch them together and stuff the ball with polyester stuffing. To get the perfect sphere you need to make sure you cut the fabric ON THE BIAS. This allows it to stretch a bit and give you a nice round ball shape

Q: Can I sew a ball toy for my dog or cat?

Sure, your fur baby will love it! Just make sure to supervise the play at all times, especially if your dog is a strong chewer.

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Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 10 comments
Dianne - June 19, 2021

I loved making this fabric ball! I have 4 great grandchildren. When they see me they say “ Hi Great Grandma, did you make something for me?” They now want to learn to sew too. I really appreciate your simple and quick projects!!

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Patricia - June 29, 2021

Gracias por compartir todos tus maravillosos consejos que Dios te bendiga

Reply
CottonNutty - July 3, 2021

Hey! Omg, right on time. I was looking for something like this for my niece! Love it! thanks 🙂

CottonNutty
Dare to Share Saturday, #20 & 21

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Linda On Poinsettia Drive - July 10, 2021

Great idea Thank you for sharing on the Classy Flamingos blog party.
poinsettiadr.com

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calej - July 11, 2021

I love this tutorial! It reminded me of my little battery operated sweeper ball. This would be a much nicer cover for it. Keep posting thanks!

Reply
Sarita - July 14, 2021

Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop!

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Melynda Brown - July 14, 2021

Hello, this is one of my personal favorites for last week’s Encouraging Hearts and Home. I hope you stop by and say hello, this post has also been pinned to the Encouraging Hearts and Home board! Thank you for being a part of Encouraging Hearts and Home, we appreciate all that you share. Have a great week ahead!

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Shelbee on the Edge - July 15, 2021

Aw cute! I still don’t have a sewing machine, but it is yard sale season so I need to go hunting! Thanks for linking.

Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    Helen - July 16, 2021

    Hahah, you’ll need to catch up on all the sewing once you score a machine!

    Reply
Michelle - July 25, 2021

I bet toddlers and pets would love these! Pinning!

Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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