The puzzle ball. Grab ball. Call it what you will. The story for me begins alongside the family tradition of a new quilt for each new baby. With the leftover quilt fabric, someone usually made a little, stuffed grab ball for baby. I had one, my kids have them, and I’ve made them for others. It’s a fairly simple pattern that can be adjusted to whatever size you like.

When my older son was a toddler, I decided to make him a ball with leftover fabric from pajamas I had made for him. Only this time it wasn’t to be a grab ball for a baby, it was to be a tiny ball that could be hung on our Christmas tree - an ornament that he could take off, play with, take apart, and put back together.

Fast forward several years and I have no need for more baby or toddler toys. But the design of this ball is still cool! So, I made a more grown-up sized ball for myself. A footrest…a headrest while lying on the floor? If nothing else, it’s a fun home decor piece.

The ball consists of twelve sort-of football shaped wedges that are sewn together into three rings that then intertwine to form a ball. You can choose to stitch the three rings together or leave them loose so that the ball can be taken apart and reassembled at will. And just like a quilt, you can play around with colors and patterns as you design your ball.

I used four prints from the Mustang, August, and Hatbox collections from Cotton+Steel (all currently in the shop).

I kind of wish I had made this twice as big as it is (someone please make a really huge one and share it!). Be warned that if you have kids around, they are gonna dig it - I haven’t decided if that is a positive or a negative!

Has anyone else made one of these?