I wanted to make Sonya a fabric soccer ball. (For Rice alums and chemistry nerds, it’s a buckminsterfullerene molecule or “buckyball“).
While I know that other people have surely made these before, I couldn’t find any online tutorials, so I made my own template, which you can download here.
First order of business: cut out 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons from a variety of fabric scraps. (I glued the template shapes to cardboard in order to make them sturdier for repeated tracing).
Then, I used tailor’s chalk to outline my 1/4 inch seam allowance on the wrong side of all the beautiful shapes. I just happened to have a stack of purple batik print fat quarters in my craft drawer for years, waiting for this project!
Then I carefully started piecing the shapes together, using my marks for the seam allowance to start and stop 1/4 inch from each edge. I used a really short stitch length (1.6 was the smallest my machine does), and I slooooowed down the speed.
First, I sewed a pentagon and a hexagon, right sides together. Then I opened those up, and started going around attaching hexagons until I had a flower— a pentagon center with five hexagon petals.
The first trick to making a soccer ball is to add new shapes from left to right. For example, after attaching the first hexagon petal, attach the second petal to the first hexagon, then to the pentagon center. When you sew the second petal to the pentagon, you fold the first hexagon corner inwards and sew carefully on the marked line you drew for the seam allowance to make a nice, sharp corner where the three shapes meet.
The second trick is to have the pieced-together shapes right side up, and then whichever shape is being sewn next should be placed wrong side up so that you can see the drawn line for the seam allowance. It sounds complicated, but it makes sense after you do it for awhile—
Whenever I had to attach a pentagon, I started with the left petal, then worked my way around, always creasing the previous petal inwards to make the next 1/4-inch seam. I just chose pieces at random, trying not to have two shapes cut out of the same fabric touch, but if you wanted to plan out how the fabric pieces attach, this is how a soccer ball looks unfolded:
Eventually, the project became 3D! I could see the makings of a deflated sphere! And I kept adding pieces until I came to the last tricky-to-attach pentagon. Then I sewed up three sides of this last shape on the machine and then gently stuffed the ball with polyfill.
To finish up the ball, I found this great tutorial. I had to use a few pins to hold the seams in place, but my ladder stitch was nearly invisible. Drex had to turn the ball over in his hands a few times before he found the last pentagon.
Hooray! It turned out beautifully! The finished ball measures 30 inches in circumference, or roughly 19 inches in diameter.
44 days until the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa!
Super cool!! I just may have to get me a sewing machine…you make it look so good!
Melissa, I think you should definitely get a sewing machine! It will open a world of possibilities to your creative spirit. I bought a relatively inexpensive model online (Brother CS6000i), and I am really happy with its ease of use and reliable performance.
My brother and I were sent here simply because this particular article was tweeted by a girl I had been following and feel very glad I made it here.
I made a 4 and one half inch wooden ball . I want to make a soccer ball. What size pentagons and hexagons do i make?. Thank you.
Art, the soccer ball template I’ve made creates a soccer ball about a foot across, so as long as you don’t need to have a ball *exactly* 4 and a half inches across, you can shrink the template by about a third and get a ball nearly the size you want, although sewing the small pieces together might be tricky. If you do wind up making one, I’ll be interested in seeing the results!
Awesome directions! I just started making baby balls and a friend asked me if I could make her a soccer ball so I did a google and found your tutorial. Approximately how long did it take you to sew yours?
Beverley M, it took me two afternoons, but I had a little baby roaming underfoot. I think it could be done in there to four hours from start to finish if you’re an experienced sewer. Once you’ve finished cutting the shapes, then piecing it with a machine doesn’t take too terribly long. Please send me a picture if you make one! I’d love to see it!
Thanks for the reply! I’m a bit slow still so I think it would probably take 5-6 for me. I timed myself doing a cube (12 seams) and a ball (6 seams) and I seem to average about 3 minutes per seam. I lost count trying to figure it out, but I think there are 85 seams in a soccer ball. Yikes! Definitely a labour of love!
Awesome! I’ve seen instructions for making a ball out of pentagons-only, but I’ve been keeping an eye open for a tutorial for how to make a soccer ball with pentagons AND hexagons, like a real soccer ball. This is great. THANKS!
Thanks Susie! By the way, just visited your blog. All that English paper piecing! You have so much patience.
Thank you for this tutorial! I followed it, but I’ve gotten stuck as I try to bring the sides together. Should I take it apart and sew it like your diagram? I was just making “flowers” and it seemed to be coming together, but then the “petals” didn’t fit together.
Betsy, after making the first petal, you have to continue building your ball off of that just like the diagram. As you add more units, try forming it into a ball as you go along, so that you can see how it comes together. Hope you don’t have to take apart too many seams. Once you finish your ball, please share a picture! I love to see other finished soccer balls!
AWESOME. my friend has this project where u have to make a mini soccer ball, and out of curiosity i searched and found this. i myself don’t make fabric balls, instead i make origami ones. quite fun too!
O dear,
Great job you have done. I have 20 year experience in his field I have seen most of the customer from Europe who have their own business they did not know how many how many pentagon and hexagon involved in 32 panel ball.
So nice of your work.
I you need any more thing please inform.
Hi, I’ve been making the baby soccer ball using your template, and
I am up to the last pentagon. I am so confused as to how i’m supposed to sew the last one. I’ve been working on this for 2 months, since i’m sewing my hand.
by*
Allen,
I am so excited that you’re nearly done with your soccer ball! It’s especially impressive that you’ve been sewing it by hand. For the last pentagon, you will need to use this tutorial:
http://gratzindustries.blogspot.ca/2007/12/tutorial-finishing-stuffed-toys.html
It will make a beautiful invisible seam. You’ll have to look very hard to find it afterwards! Please send me a picture of your finished ball. I would love to see it!
Warm regards,
Mitali
It looks so cool! I was looking for exactly what you have written. I’m attempting to do the same thing out of capri sun packages!
Mikay, that sounds really interesting! Let me know how your project turns out!
The hardest part was doing the last 2 patches, but it turned out great! The stuffing I used is making it a little lumpy and its much harder to make the seams even using Capri Suns, but it still is awesome for my purposes. Thanks so much!
This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for a great tutorial. I made one this weekend for my nephew’s first birthday and I know I will be making more for other babies. I have posted a picture on #vmqg flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/53880925@N04/8613455821/in/pool-vancouvermodernquiltguild
Thanks for sharing Arita! Your soccer ball looks fantastic!