Amish Puzzle Ball Sewing Pattern a tutorial by Allison Dey Malacaria/ SweaterDoll 2013
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About this pattern ABOUT FABRICS
ABOUT PUZZLE BALLS Puzzle balls have long delighted young children. The ball is designed to be an educational toy stimulating critical thinking and fine motor skills. Many puzzle ball tutorials skip this important feature and give instructions for making a ball but no puzzle!
These balls can be made from new or repurposed fabrics such as:
The secret of the puzzle ball is in its design. The puzzle ball is made of 12 segments sewn together into 3 rings which fit together to make the whole ball.
quilting cotton calico (AU)/ unbleached muslin (US) linen flannel lightweight wool lighter weight corduroy
Enjoy your pattern and be sure to share photos of your creations with me! I really want to see them!
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ABOUT TOY STUFFING
ABOUT LAUNDRY SOAP
Polyester fiberfill is a plastic oil-waste derivative listed in the US Toxic Substances Control Act. Please be aware that ingesting or breathing in even a few fibers can cause respiratory or intestinal tissue damage.
If you use natural materials, you will want to use laundry soap products suited to the fibers. Please consult your local fabric store or the product's manufacturer for recommendations. The only contraindication I am aware of is that wool fleece, felt, suiting, and blanket should never be washed with borax or washing soda, two common ingredients in homemade laundry powder and liquid.
All naturally filled dolls are capable of being cleaned through hand washing and air drying. For successful machine washing and drying try nonGMO corn stuffing, kapok, cotton, and eucalyptus (Tercel). Kapok and cotton stuffed dolls require a longer drying time. Corn stuffing feels most like plastic fiberfill, but you must check with the manufacturer to determine its GMO or non-GMO origins.
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Materials & Info MATERIALS NEEDED
GENERAL INFO & TIPS
Fabric : Wedges: 18” x 12” (46cm x 31cm) Ellipses (outer edges): 12” sq (31cm sq)
Fabrics may be new or upcycled/ reused. When using new fabrics, always wash and dry before using. Iron if needed.
Embroidery floss or heavy duty thread Stuffing Cardboard or paper for templates
In using this pattern, you agree not to reproduce, distribute, or sell the pattern without permission of the author. Products made from the pattern may be used for in your home, as gifts, or to sell through your home business. Mass production is prohibited. If you sell the items, you agree to credit 'SweaterDoll/ Allison Dey Malacaria' on the item tag.
Basic sewing supplies Scissors Pins Sewing needle Matching or coordinating thread Fabric marking pen or pencil Chopstick or other blunt turning tool Iron Sewing machine (optional – ball can be hand sewn also)
Toy safety standards differ around the world. Please adjust this pattern to meet the safety standards in your area. SweaterDoll takes no responsibility for how you use this pattern.
TEMPLATE INFO & TIPS Pattern pieces requiring a seam allowance will be marked as such. If no seam allowance is noted, other instructions for marking and cutting are provided. Always trace pattern pieces onto the wrong side of the fabric. Always sew with right sides together unless otherwise noted.
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Helpful Stitches
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Use the templates provided or make a ball to your own size preference. To make your own pattern, trace two of the same circle (dish, embroidery hoop, jar lid) the size you want. Here a 5” embroidery hoop was used. This made a 4” diameter ball. Cut out both circles and set one aside as a template. Fold the second in half and in hald again to create a wedge shape. Trace the curved edge onto the paper. Match up the corners and trace the curved edge in reverse to create an eye-shape, or ellipse. Cut out this ellipse to use as a template.
Trace 6 circles on the wrong side of the fabric. Cut out the circles. Cut the circles in half and then in half again to make 4 wedges from each circle; 24 wedge-shaped pieces in total. Trace and cut 12 of the eye-shaped ellipses from the fabric.
With right sides together, match the round edge of one side of an ellipse with one round edge of a wedge. (1) Sew together using a 3/8 inch seam allowance. (2) Sew the other side of the ellipse to a second wedge. Your sewing now looks a bit like a bird beak. (3) Sew one side of the wedge together and halfway down the other side. Turn this piece right side out. (4)
Sew 11 more wedges in the same way and turn them all right side out. Stuff each wedge fairly solidly. Whipstitch or ladder stitch each wedge closed.
Use heavy coat button thread, quilting thread, or embroidery floss to join the ellipse corners together to make a circle of 4 wedges. You want to sew the wedges together tightly enough to keep the pieces touching but loosely enough that the wedges are not smashed together.
Here is the secret of the puzzle! 1. Leave one of the wedge circles as is with only the outer edges joined. 2. Take the second circle and imagining the inner points numbered 1 through 4, sew points 1 and 2 together and sew points 3 and 4 together. That circle now looks like a mouth opening. 3. Take the third circle and sew all the inner points together closing the circle.
To put the puzzle ball together, work the 'mouth' circle over the fully closed circle, like a rubber band. Point all the inner points to the inside center of the ball. Next work the open circle of wedges over the combined circles. Point all the inner points to the inside center of the ball.
When the ball is put together is doesn't look or feel like it can be taken apart. And when it is in pieces it doesn't look like a ball at all. That's the puzzle of the puzzle ball.
