Footballs

And I’m back! I had a nice break. I got a few projects done and have some in the works! You can now buy completed crafty items through my Facebook page! And… Since I’ve scrapped The Craft Frog Teaches Crochet (I just couldn’t get enough time to do it in as much detail as I wanted), I’m going to make a post with a list of links and videos that teach crochet, so if you have any favorites let me know!

I also have a new email address (thecraftfrog@hotmail.com) so if you want to contact me you can do so there!

And now… Today’s pattern! It’s coming up to Superbowl time and I wanted to get this done before football season was over completely. This is a toddler-sized football, but it can be made bigger if you just follow the pattern to increase stitches on each round. It starts out kind of blocky, but it’ll round out when it’s stuffed.

Materials:

• I used worsted weight white, black and medium brown, and sport weight yellow.
• G-sized crochet hook. It’s not the size that’s important so I’m not including a gauge. I crochet pretty tightly, if your stitches are looser you may want to use a smaller hook. The important thing is to make sure that the stitches are tight enough to hold in the stuffing. (I used an H crochet hook for the yellow, but because you will probably be using the same weight of yarn, don’t switch hook size.)
• I used polyfiber stuffing, but any stuffing will do.
• Scissors to cut the yarn.
• A needle with an eye big enough for yarn.

Football
1) ch 2, sc 4 in 2nd ch from hook, join with sl st (4)
2) ch 1, 2 sc in each sc around, join with sl st (8)
3) ch 1, *sc, 2 sc in next sc around*, join with sl st (12)
4) ch 1, *sc2, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (16)
5) ch 1, *sc3, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (20)
6) ch 1, *sc4, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (24)
7) ch 1, *sc5, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (28)
8) ch 1, *sc6, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (32)
9) ch 1, *sc7, 2 sc in next sc* around, join with sl st (36)
10-18) ch 1, sc in each sc around, join with sl st (36)
19) ch 1, *sc7, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (32)
20) ch 1, *sc6, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (28)
embroider laces, then stuff as you go
21) ch 1, *sc5, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (24)
22) ch 1, *sc4, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (20)
23) ch 1, *sc3, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (16)
24) ch 1, *sc2, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (12)
25) ch 1, *sc, dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (8)
26) ch 1, *dec over 2 sc* around, join with sl st (4)
break yarn, finish off

If you want to have the bands of different colours, simply make rows 8-9 and 19-20 in your secondary color. For example, if you were a Steelers fan… The ball would be done in black and the bands would be done in yellow. 😉

Make sure to stuff it firmly. I didn’t put quite enough stuffing in my black and yellow ball, so it still looks a little chunky.