Crochet Amish Puzzle Ball

Another Random Crochet Pattern by Dedri Uys

My mother’s best friend sent me a link to a site that shows you how to make this ball out of fabric. I couldn’t be bothered to lug the
sewing machine out from its hiding place, so I crocheted one instead. Here, for your hooking pleasure, is the resulting pattern.

The ball comes apart into 3 segments that can be assembled and taken apart at will. You can always sew the segments together so that
little hands can’t break them, but to my mind that would defeat the purpose.

Have fun!

Dedri

Materials
Abbreviations
4 mm Crochet Hook
US Terminology used.
Double knit yarn in contrasting colours
Yarn needle Ch Chain

Stuffing Sc Single Crochet

Sc inc Single Crochet Increase – work 2 sc’s in the same
stitch.
St Stitch
Sc2tog Single crochet 2 together (sc decrease)

I hope you enjoy making—and playing with—your Crochet Amish dedri@lookatwhatimade.net

Puzzle Ball. Please feel free to contact me should you have any
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questions!
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Dedri
©Dedri Uys 2011. All Rights Reserved.
Instructions
The initial ch-1’s in each round/row are NOT counted as a stitch.

Wedges
(Make 12)

1. Ch 2. Sc x 3 in 2nd ch from hook. Ch 1 and turn. (3)

2. Sc inc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (6)
3. * Sc inc, sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (9)
4. * Sc inc, 2 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (12)
5. * Sc inc, 3 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (15)
6. * Sc inc, 4 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (18)
7. * Sc inc, 5 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (21)
8. * Sc inc, 6 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (24)
9. * Sc inc, 7 x sc* x 3. Ch 1 and turn. (27)
10. * Sc inc, 8 x sc* x 3. Ch 1. (30)

Fold the half-circle in half and join the open side of the resulting wedge together by making 9 sc’s along this edge. You will effectively
be working one sc through both layers of each row. When you get to the end, ch 1 and bind off.

If you want to, you can turn the resulting wedge inside-out so that you don’t end up with a seam. I personally prefer (and recom-
mend) the seam as it helps the Puzzle Ball to interlock better when assembled.

Alternative way to make the wedges:

If you don’t want a seam at all, work the wedges in a spiral. To do this, simply skip the ch-1 and turn at the end of each round and
make the first st of the next round in the first st of the current one. I would suggest using a piece of yarn as a running stitch marker to
make sure that you know when every new round begins. When you get to the end of round 10, sl st in the next st and bind off.

Chain of “lids”
(Make 3)

1. Ch 2. Sc inc in 2nd ch from hook. Ch 1 and turn (2)

2. Sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (2)
3. Sc inc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (4)
4. Sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (4)
5. Sc inc, 2 x sc, sc inc. Ch 1 and turn. (6) Now repeat rows 1 – 14 THREE more times. This will give you a
6-9. Sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (6) chain of 4 “lids”. On the very last “lid” of the chain, ch 1 and bind
10. Sc2tog, 2 x sc, sc2tog. Ch 1 and turn. (4) off.
11. Sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (4)
Hint: If you are going to use the “lid” colour (so the same colour)
12. Sc2tog x 2. Ch 1 and turn. (2)
to attach the wedges to the lids, don’t bind off. Just continue with
13. Sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (2)
the assembly instructions below. It just saves having to work away
14. Sc2tog.
another tail of yarn.
 Assembling the segments
Use the yarn you used for the wedges or a third, different colour if you prefer. If you are
using a new colour, start with a slipknot already on your hook.

You will be attaching 4 wedges to each chain of lids, working up the chain of lids on one
side and down the other side, stuffing as you go.

You will be working into each st of the wedge opening and each row of the chain of lids.

So, place your first wedge behind the first lid on the left (with the sc seam of the wedge
to your right) and insert your crochet hook through the first st of the chain of “lids” and the first st of the opening of
one of the wedges. {If you have turned your wedge inside out, or you have worked it in a spiral, start on any st
around the top of the wedge.} Work a sc through both layers. Continue working through each row and st of both
layers in this way until you have worked 15 sc’s.

Join the next wedge to its lid in the same way and continue until you have worked one side of all 4 wedges and lids.

Now you will be “closing” the wedges. Insert your hook into the same (last) st of the 4th lid and the next st of the 4th
wedge and make a sc. Continue working through each row and st, stuffing (see below) as you go, and making 15 sc’s
along the other side of each of the 4 wedges. When you reach the last st, of the 1 st wedge, join to the first st with a sl
st and bind off. Use the tail to join the tips of the first and last wedges together. Alternatively you can sl st them to-
gether before binding off, which is what I prefer. To do that, simply sl st in st’s 16 and 15 of the st’s around the top of
the 4th wedge (in that order), so the stitches at the pointy end, and then sl st in the first and second st’s of the first
wedge. Bind off and work away your tails.

Repeat this whole procedure for all 3 groups of 4 wedges.

When your segments are all nicely stuffed and neatly finished off, use them to build your puzzle ball!

A word about Stuffing

This ball EATS stuffing! And I have noticed that people tend to think they have overstuffed the ball because the wedges are quite fat
and the segments super snug…But the ball will stretch over time and to get the best results you want to stuff it nice and full! If you
use too little stuffing the segments won’t sit together as well and the ball is more likely to become lifeless after a lot of playing. Just
don’t stuff it so much that it becomes “holey”.

Building your Crochet Amish Puzzle Ball

Now, because this is a puzzle, I am not going to explain how you assemble the ball. But I have included a photo of how the first 2 seg-
ments should interlock and a photo of what the ball should look like once assembled.

All you have to do is figure out where the third segment goes. If you really get stuck, Google it :)