A few months ago my dad asked if I could crochet juggling balls, and I was happy to oblige. They were easy and fun to make especially with this colorful sock yarn I had in my stash. I filled them with rice to make them heavy enough for juggling balls. Since juggling balls are easy to misplace I made a mesh bag to keep track of them. My dad was delighted with his Christmas present, which now lives on his desk at work much to the amusement of his coworkers, who sometimes stop by to juggle. Why not make a set for someone you know who could use a new hobby?

Skill Level:

Finished Size: Juggling balls are approximately 2.5″ (6 cm) in diameter, bag is approximately 7.5″ (19 cm) long unstretched.

Materials: Super Fine Weight Yarn (approximately 150 yards): I used a self-striping sock yarn to give the juggling balls stripes without manually changing colors. Crochet Hook D (3.25 mm) About 1/2 cup of rice per juggling ball (alternatively, poly pellets can be used) Old nylons, tights, or socks to hold the rice so it doesn’t poke through the crochet Optional: 2 beads with large holes to decorate the ends of the bag drawstring

Gauge:
Rounds 1-5 in juggling ball measure approximately 1.5″ (4 cm) in diameter. Gauge is unimportant as long as the fabric is tight and doesn’t have holes in it.

Need help understanding the abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Note: Both the juggling balls and the carrying case are worked in a continuous round without joining. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch and move it up with each round.

Crochet Pattern: Juggling Balls
Round 1: ch 2, 6 sc in second ch from hook, place marker: 6 sc
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around: 12 sc
Round 3: (sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 18 sc
Round 4: (sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 24 sc
Round 5: (sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 30 sc
Round 6: (sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 36 sc
Round 7: (sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 42 sc
Round 8: (sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 48 sc
Round 9: (sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 54 sc
Round 10: (sc in next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around: 60 sc
Round 11-20: sc in each sc around: 60 sc
Round 21: (sc in next 8 sc, sc2tog) around: 54 sc
Round 22: (sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog) around: 48 sc
Round 23: (sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog) around: 42 sc
Round 24: (sc in next 5 sc, sc2tog) around: 36 sc
Round 25: (sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog) around: 30 sc

Insert filling:
Place the toe of a nylon or sock into the juggling ball, then fill it with rice. The amount of rice depends on how firmly you want the ball to be stuffed. It’s best for it to be a bit squishy but still fairly heavy. When it’s stuffed, cut off the nylon and tie the end into a knot to seal the rice inside. Stuff the knot into the body of the juggling ball, then continue crocheting. It may feel awkward to finish the last 4 rounds, but just take your time and it will work.

Round 26: (sc in next 3 sc, sc2tog) around: 24 sc
Round 27: (sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog) around: 18 sc
Round 28: (sc in next sc, sc2tog) around: 12 sc
Round 29: sc2tog 6 times: 6 sc
Sl st into next sc and finish off.

Carrying Case
Pattern is designed to fit 3 juggling balls.

Round 1: ch 4, sl st to first ch, (ch 6, sc in ring) 5 times, ch 3, dc in ring forming a sixth loop, place marker into this last loop: 6 ch-6 spaces
Round 2: (ch 6, sc) 2 times in each loop around, move marker up with each round: 12 ch-6 spaces
Round 3: *ch 6, sc in next loop, (ch 6, sc) 2 times in next loop, repeat from * 5 more times: 18 ch-6 spaces
Round 4-19: (ch 6, sc in next loop) around: 18 ch-6 spaces
Round 20: (ch 4, sc in next loop) around: 18 ch-4 spaces
Round 21: ch 2, 3 dc in each loop around, sl st in first dc: 54 dc
Round 22-23: ch 2, dc in each dc around, sl st in first dc: 54 dc
Finish off.

Drawstring
Make a chain as long as you’d like the drawstring to be. My chain was about 12 inches long. Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. Finish off. I tied a bead onto each end. Simply weave the drawstring between the ch-6 loops of Round 19 and 20 to cinch the bag closed.

Need help while crocheting? Feel free to leave a comment below and I’d be happy to help! Juggling help, on the other hand, I’m afraid I can’t help you with…my knowledge stops at crochet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 17th, 2019 at 12:00 AM by Claire Golden and is filed under Free Crochet Patterns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.