How to crochet a ball (a free sphere pattern in any size)

You want a ball for a toy, a cat, or the head of an amigurumi, and the last one came out lumpy or shaped like an egg. Here is how to crochet a ball that comes out round: a full crochet ball pattern, round by round with the stitch totals, a chart to make the sphere bigger or smaller, and how to stuff and close it neatly.

What you need

• Any smooth yarn. Worsted weight cotton or acrylic is easy to see and count.
• A hook a size or two smaller than the yarn label suggests. A tight fabric keeps the stuffing from showing through the stitches.
• Stuffing, like polyester fiberfill.
• A stitch marker and a yarn needle.

How to crochet a ball: the pattern

This pattern uses US terms. In UK terms a single crochet is a double crochet (dc), a half double is a half treble (htr) and a double crochet is a treble (tr). The full table is in crochet terms and abbreviations: a US and UK chart.

Work in continuous rounds: don't join, and don't chain at the start of a round. Put a marker in the first stitch of round 1 and move it up every round.

• inc: 2 sc in the same stitch.
• dec: single crochet 2 together, or an invisible decrease. Both turn two stitches into one.

The ball:

• Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring. (6 sts)
• Rnd 2: inc in each st around. (12 sts)
• Rnd 3: (sc in next st, inc) x 6. (18 sts)
• Rnd 4: (sc in next 2 sts, inc) x 6. (24 sts)
• Rnd 5: (sc in next 3 sts, inc) x 6. (30 sts)
• Rnd 6: (sc in next 4 sts, inc) x 6. (36 sts)
• Rnds 7 to 12: sc in each st around. (36 sts)
• Rnd 13: (sc in next 4 sts, dec) x 6. (30 sts)
• Rnd 14: (sc in next 3 sts, dec) x 6. (24 sts)
• Rnd 15: (sc in next 2 sts, dec) x 6. (18 sts)
• Stuff the ball firmly now, while the opening is wide.
• Rnd 16: (sc in next st, dec) x 6. (12 sts)
• Top up the stuffing.
• Rnd 17: dec x 6. (6 sts)
• Fasten off, leaving a tail of about 8 inches, and close the ball (steps below).

If the magic ring is new to you, the steps are in how to make a magic ring. For more on the increase rounds, see how to increase in crochet and how to crochet a circle; the decrease rounds, including the invisible decrease, are in how to decrease in crochet.

How the ball pattern works

A ball is three parts.

1. The increase rounds make a flat circle, adding 6 stitches each round, until you reach the widest round.
2. The even rounds keep the same stitch count, so the sides grow straight up.
3. The decrease rounds take 6 stitches away each round, the increase rounds in reverse, until the top closes.

Look at the totals and you can see the mirror: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, then seven rounds of 36 (round 6 plus the six even rounds), then 30, 24, 18, 12, 6. Every decrease round uses all the stitches of the round before. Round 13, for example, uses 6 stitches six times, which is all 36, and makes 5 six times, which is 30.

How to make the ball bigger or smaller

Pick the widest round, then work as many even rounds as you had increase rounds. The decreases always run back down to 6.

The pattern is the same at every size. The increase rounds follow the flat circle (round 7 is (sc in next 5 sts, inc) x 6, round 8 is (sc in next 6 sts, inc) x 6), and the first decrease round has one fewer plain stitch than the last increase round. For the 48 stitch ball, that is (sc in next 6 sts, dec) x 6, which ends with 42.

To shape it a little:

• One or two fewer even rounds gives a flatter ball, like a bun.
• One or two more gives an egg.

How big will it be?

That depends on your yarn, hook and tension, so count your own stitches. If you get 5 single crochet to the inch, a 36 stitch round is about 36 divided by 5, or 7.2 inches around. Divide that by 3.14 and the ball is about 2.3 inches across. Stuffing stretches it a little.

How to stuff a crochet ball

• Start stuffing when the opening is still wide, here after round 15.
• Pull the stuffing apart into small tufts and add it a bit at a time. One big wad makes lumps.
• Push it out into the sides first, then fill the middle.
• Stuff more firmly than feels right. Stuffing settles, and a soft ball loses its shape.
• Add a last bit before the final round, while you can still get a finger in.

If the stitches stretch open and the stuffing shows, the fabric is too loose for the size. Next time, go down a hook size.

How to close a crochet ball

1. Cut the yarn after round 17, leaving a tail of about 8 inches, and pull it through the loop on your hook.
2. Thread the tail on a yarn needle.
3. Pass the needle through the front loop of each of the 6 stitches, going all the way around.
4. Pull the tail firmly. The 6 stitches gather together and the hole closes.
5. Push the needle into the ball next to the closed spot and out somewhere on the other side.
6. Pull gently, snip the tail close to the fabric, and let the end sink back inside.

Weave in the tail from the magic ring on the inside of the ball before you stuff it.

Tips for a rounder ball

• Use the invisible decrease. It leaves smaller bumps than sc2tog.
• Stagger the increases and decreases so they don't stack into lines. Start a round with about half the plain stitches, put the increase in, and end it with the other half.
• Roll the finished ball between your hands to settle the stuffing.

Frequently asked questions

How many rounds does it take to crochet a ball?

For the 36 stitch ball in this pattern, 17 rounds: 6 increase rounds, 6 even rounds and 5 decrease rounds. Smaller and bigger balls follow the chart above.

What size hook should I use for a crochet ball?

A size or two smaller than the yarn label suggests. The fabric comes out tighter, so the stuffing stays hidden and the ball holds its shape.

Why is my crochet ball not round?

Usually the number of even rounds is off. Too many and it turns into an egg, too few and it flattens. Lumps tend to come from stuffing added in large pieces or stuffed too loosely.

How do you close the end of a crochet ball?

Weave the yarn tail through the front loop of each of the last 6 stitches with a yarn needle, then pull it tight like a drawstring and hide the end inside the ball.

Where Rowpin helps

The middle of a ball is the easy part to lose track of. Rounds 7 to 12 are all the same, "sc in each st around", and one round too many or too few is exactly what turns a ball into an egg or a bun. The stitch count stays at 36 the whole time, so it can't tell you which of those rounds you are on.

Rowpin, the iPhone and iPad row counter app i built for crochet and knitting, keeps that count. You open your own pattern, a PDF, a photo, a scan or a web page, and Rowpin finds the numbered rows and rounds on it, right on your device, with no AI. As you tap + the round you are on is highlighted on your pattern, and when the pattern gives a stitch count for the round, Rowpin shows it. With stuffing in one hand and the ball in the other, you can count from the Lock Screen or a Home Screen widget without unlocking your phone.

Rowpin is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. It needs Rowpin Plus, a subscription with a 7-day free trial.

Rowpin is not in the EU yet. Join the list to hear when it is. There is also a free row counter that works in your browser today.

Thank you for reading. Tschüss 🤓