Sew a basket full of soft rattle balls in a rainbow of colors (or do all black and white!). These are a great toddler toy, and they’re also fun juggling balls for older kids.
To make a soft rattle ball you’ll need:
- two 8″ x 5″ scraps of fabric (I used fleece, but almost any sort of fabric will work)
- fiberfill stuffing
- all-purpose thread
- chalk for marking
- a rattle insert (optional, but fun!)
These balls are constructed just like real baseballs. The template is in my book, Stuffed Animals, and you can download all of the templates from the book right here for free. You’ll find the softball on page 4 at the bottom.
Trace the template onto the two pieces of fabric and cut them out. Transfer the markings to the fabric with chalk.
Align the two pieces at the markings. Place a pin at the intersection. Then begin pinning the edges together. Keep going, pinning all the way around.
Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch around the entire shape. Be sure to leave an inch unstitched for turning and stuffing. Clip the seam allowance.
Turn the ball right side out. I love hemostats for this job, but you can use a chopstick or your fingers. Now stuff the ball firmly.
To make it rattle, slide a rattle insert inside while you’re stuffing. Push bits of stuffing all around it to pad it and keep it from shifting. Close the opening with ladder stitch.
Make a bunch more. Have fun!
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Very cute! I like the colors you chose. I still have a couple of rattle inserts so I’ll have to try this out.
oh, wow! these are wonderful! Love the colorful balls 🙂
What a cute idea for a soft toy for a small child. I am looking forward to making these colourful balls.
Love the shape of this ball – like a tennis ball, but more kid-friendly and prettier! Didn’t know we could download the book templates online. Thanks for sharing! Hope your book is doing well!
These are SOOOO adorable!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later today that links to your tutorial:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-soft-rattle-ball-baby-toy/2014/05/29/
–Anne
Where did you get the rattle inserts? Thanks! Love the tutorial.
I sell them here in my shop: https://whileshenaps.com/product-category/fabric-supplies
Thank you so much for the pattern book, it’s very generous of you 🙂 I was looking for a ball pattern.
Regards
Anne
Enjoy, Anne!
Hi, I love this pattern and have made a couple. Just wanted to ask, what stitch did you use to sew up the seams on the inside? I used back stitch to ensure they don’t come apart but some of the stitches do show when I turned it inside out and filled it. They still look nice but I want them to look as perfect as yours! Thanks
I use ladder stitch. Here’s a 2-minute video tutorial I made showing how: https://whileshenaps.com/2013/10/how-to-ladder-stitch-joining-softie-parts-with-invisible-stitches.html
Hi, thanks for this but I meant on the inside before you turn them the right way. I used ladder to close up which was great.
Oh, sorry! It’s just a whipstitch.
Thank you for the free pattern. I have pinned this to my Making Baby Things Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/thelostapron/making-baby-things/
What size ball does this pattern make?
It’s about the size of a real baseball.
I used the pattern to make “snowballs” for our Cub Scout pack. Thank you for sharing your pattern. It was the perfect size for my project. I used a discarded white t-shirt and a throw pillow we no longer used, so it was a great thrifty project. The boys loved their indoor snowball fight.
Oh how awesome!
Thank you for your free pattern. We are planning on making hundreds of these to go into the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. A wonderful charity that spreads the gospel to children all over the world.
Thank you, Mary.