Make your own!
On this next page of my experiments with making these I have an easy template to work with.
Ball – cloth covered ball – click on template pic to open up for printing.
- Cover fabric
- Filling
- Scissors, needle & thread
- Choose your cover & filling materials from the lists below. (For in-depth info on this see page here: http://wp.me/P64CxW-d)
- Cut two of the circle, one of the long piece.
- Mark seam allowances on the wrong side.
- Stitch long piece to one circle, all the way around, leaving the end seam allowance free. You may have more of the long piece than the circle (better more than not enough!)
- Stitch the long piece to the other circle, again leaving the end seam allowance free, stitching in the same direction around the circle. This means that the ball will not twist in the stitching, iow it will stretch in the same direction.
- Turn right side out. Trim the too-long end piece even with the other seam allowance.
- Fill tightly.
- Turn seam ends to the inside and blind-stitch closed. This can be difficult with leather unless you make a large ball and use a curved needle.
This ball is the one on the right. No, I don’t understand the slit, either, but it shows up on a lot of period balls.
Cover Materials
- Light canvas
- Poplin or other bottom-weight fabrics
- Medium-weight wool
- Denim
- Leathers, up to 3 oz.
- Heavy felt
Filling Materials
- Moss
- Linen and hemp waste
- Spoiled wool
- Horsehair or other hair, even clippings from human or animal
- Pebbles
- sand
- feathers
- Lentils or small beans (not in period unless they were moldy or spoiled)
- dryer lint
- thread clippings
- fabric bits
- larger fabric pieces
- doll beans
- cut up loofah or cellulose sponge
If you need step-by-step pictures there are more of mine on this page: http://wp.me/P64CxW-6o
Page Created 5/14/15, published 6/2/15 (C)M. Bartlett
Last Update 6/30/15
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