How to sew a patchwork baby ball

Welcome a newborn into the world with this sweet gift idea, designed by Jessica Entwistle, sewn in super-soft flannel or knit fabrics. Read on for our free tutorial…

You will need

• Four fabrics: 36x36cm (15x15in) of each, knit or flannel
• Polyester fibrefill
• Matching sewing thread
• Erasable fabric pen
• Basic sewing kit

Fabrics used

We’ve used fabrics from Field Day by Elizabeth Olwen for Cloud9 Fabrics.

Notes

• This project uses our patchwork ball template from our Simply Sewing Templates from issue 39
• Use a 5mm (¹⁄₄in) seam allowance.

Cutting out

Step one: Download our templates (you’ll need the patchwork ball shape on page 11).

Step two: Cut out 12 pentagons using the template. We cut three pentagons each from four fabrics.

Piecing the pentagons

Step three: Mark on the wrong side (WS) of each pentagon the 5mm (¹⁄₄in) seam allowance inside the raw edges as this makes it easier to sew them together.

Step four: Decide on the pattern for your ball and lay out the pentagons accordingly.

Step five: Take two pentagons and place them right sides (RS) together.

Step six: Sew together along one of the marked lines from where the lines cross so you are starting and finishing 5mm (¹⁄₄in) from each end. Backstitch at either end of the seam to secure the stitching.

Step seven: Add another pentagon to the two pentagons you’ve just stitched to join them up and create a slightly curved trio. Make sure you don’t stitch into the previous seam but just up to it for a flat finish.

Step eight: Continue adding pentagons around the central pentagon until you have six sewn pentagons and a bowl shape.

Step nine: Repeat this with the other six pentagons to create two fabric ‘bowl’ shapes.

Assembling the ball

Step ten: Sew the two fabric ‘bowls’ together, making sure the seams line up and the pentagons match, to make a ball.

Step eleven: Leave one unsewn seam to use for a turning gap.

Step twelve: Turn the ball RS out through the turning gap and stuff firmly.

Step thirteen: Slipstitch the turning gap closed to finish. It’s worth stitching this twice to make it extra secure and prevent the filling escaping.