Easy Crochet Soccer Ball - free

Free Soccer Ball Crochet Pattern

Beginner to Intermediate Crochet Pattern by Sarita Kumar

Available on Ravelry as PDF download here

My child loves soccer but i don’t allow him to play with his regular ball inside the house. I created this pattern to allow for a “softer” option for him to play with inside.
I prefer not to use a gauge if i can avoid it. This pattern will result in the size that works with your gauge.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn for this particular picture, but i have created the same ball using Cotton yarns and other types of yarns with the same success. You will need about one skein each of two different colors to complete the pattern as shown. But, there is always room for imagination and improvement to personalize this as you wish!
This pattern is what i would call a beginner pattern. This is because the pattern uses only the Slip Stitch and Single Crochet.
It also helps with practicing skills such as magic circle, creating basic hexagon and pentagon shapes and learning how to join fewer parts than say an afghan would require!

Materials:

I used Red Heart Super Saver in Off-White and Black colors. I created 20 Hexagons in the Off-White color and 12 pentagons in the Black color. I have made other balls using Lily ‘n Cream yarn for younger kids, so feel free to experiment.

I used Size G and H hooks, because I wanted to make the ball as “stiff” and “un-holey” as possible to allow for stuffing.

Stuffing for the completed ball – your choice. I use poly-fiber available from most craft stores. But, you can also use fabric pieces or foam if desired. 

Hooks:

G and H (U.S. sizes). Make sure you use the different smaller hook for the Hexagons and larger hook for the pentagons to make it easy to join them together at the end.

Gauge: I don’t think gauge is essential for this project as long as you are creating all the pieces yourself. The size of the ball will depend on your own gauge, hooks, yarn, and crochet style.

Stitches: SS = slip stitch; SC = single crochet

Other skills:

You need to have a method you are comfortable with for joining parts together. I have used a yarn needle to attach some that I created when I first started out. Over time, I have switched to joining the pieces using a slip stitch method with a size G hook and black yarn.

Other information:

It helped me to create 4 hexagons and 3 pentagons first (see joining instructions below) to make sure that my pieces were all lining up correctly.

Pattern for Hexagon - Size G hook. (Make 20)

1.       Start with a Magic ring. If you are not comfortable with the Magic Ring method, then Chain 2 and SC 5 in the second loop from the hook; join with SS to the initial second chain; skip Round 1 shown in the next step.

2.       Round 1: 6 SC in ring. Join with SS. Turn.

3.       Round 2: ch 1, 2 SC in each SC. Join with SS to the ch 1. (12 stitches)

4.       Round 3: Ch 1. *1 SC, 3 SC* all around. join with SS. (24 stitches)

5.       Round 4: Ch 1. 1 SC in each stitch. Join with SS.

6.       Round 5: Ch 1; 1 SC, 1 SC, 3 SC; *1 SC, 1 SC, 1 SC, 3 SC*. Repeat from * to * for all stitches. Join with SS and bind off. Don’t worry about weaving in yarn ends at this time, since they can be hidden when joining the pieces.

Pattern for Pentagon: - Size H hook. (Make 12)

1.       Start with a Magic ring. If you are not comfortable with the Magic Ring method, then Chain 2 and SC 4 in the second loop from the hook; join with SS to the initial second chain; skip Round 1 shown in the next step.

2.       Round 1: 5 SC in ring. Join with SS. Turn.

3.       Round 2: Ch 1; 2 SC in each stitch. Join with SS. (10 stitches)

4.       Round 3: Ch 1. *1 SC, 3 SC* Repeat * to * all the way around. (20 stitches). Join with SS.

5.       Round 4: Ch 1. 1 SC in each stitch. Join with SS.

6.       Round 5: ch 1; 1 SC twice, 3 SC; *1 SC three times, 3 SC*. Repeat from * to * until you reach the ch 1 and join with SS. Bind off. Leave a long end (I leave about 12 inches). This will help when joining pieces together.

Joining the parts:

If you see the picture above, you will see that the rule for attaching parts of a soccer ball are simple. Each Pentagon has 5 hexagons attached to it; and each Hexagon has 3 Hexagons attached on alternate sides and 3 pentagons attached on the remaining 3 sides.

I like to start with a Hexagon and build the 6 sides up with alternating Hexagons and Pentagons first. Then, I proceed from there.

Once you have all but the last TWO pieces remaining attached, turn the ball inside out (I like the clean finish on the outside) and stuff the ball. Whip stitch the last two pieces carefully and make sure the ball is firm before you finish off.

For those of you, who are more visually inclined to join parts, here is a visual pattern that I found on Crochetbug.com. This set up will assist you in joining parts of the soccer ball correctly as long as you keep the pentagons and hexagons in the correct order and be careful about stitching parts as shown below.