DIY: Ball rug of felt balls

Ball rugs have become very popular in the past year - how to make your own

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What you need to make a ball rug (about 70 cm diameter)

If you want to make the ball rug in different diameter, you will need the following number of round balls in 20mm:

  • 20 cm approx. 85 pcs. (mats)
  • 40 cm approx. 350 pcs. (cushions)
  • 70 cm approx. 1065 pcs.
  • 90 cm approx. 1750 pcs.
  • 100 cm approx. 2150 pcs.
  • 110 cm approx. 2650 pcs.
  • 120 cm approx. 3175 pcs.
  • 140 cm approx. 4250 pcs.
  • 160 cm approx. 5500 pcs.
  • 180 cm approx. 7000 pcs.
  • 200 cm approx. 8650 pcs.

 

The felt balls can be purchased here Ritohobby.co.uk. There you have the opportunity to get a good quantity discount, which is quite important as you need at least 1000 balls for a rug. In my opinion and experience, it is important not to compromise on the quality of the balls. Especially if you want to use them for a project such as a rug or a dog basket, both are things that are worn heavily, as they are used every single day. To ensure good quality, Rito.dk imports the balls directly from Nepal, where there is a guarantee that the balls are made of 100% wool and durable nylon, which ensures the balls a long life.

Course of action

There are many ways to sew a ball rug, just to let you know that what I'm going to show you now, is not the only way. Subsequently, I have also tried to sew all the balls on a long string, similar to how you do with beads, and thereby attach them to each other. But this method I now want to show you have worked best for me so far.

As it is not quite easy to explain solely using words, I will try to guide you through pictures that I have taken along the way.

1. A recommendation is to sow the rug with a double thread. In this way, you know that the stitching is even stronger.

2. Sew with a thread length of about 1 meter at a time. This way you avoid knots being threaded.

3. Start by making a strong knot, preferably tie three to four knots into one. That way you avoid the knot slipping through the balls when you pull it.

4. Here's how:

As a starting point, you must choose a pattern to sew, in this case, grey - pink - sand coloured, in this way you get the colours distributed in the best possible way. As you move further into the rug, you can choose to break with the pattern and instead choose the colour that you think is missing. In this way, you avoid long stripes in one colour, which will create more life in your ball rug.

5. You start by sewing with the curved needle, it is used for about 90% of the rug. The straight needle should be used to tighten the rug. It is advantageous to use the straight needle when the rug is to be tightened because with the straight needle it is easier to get directly through the balls.

You start your pattern using the curved needle. Enter the ball and out at about 45 degrees. Then repeat the same process with the next ball.

6. The first collection of the balls is slightly different from the upcoming ones.  

By using arrows, you can see how the balls are sewn together. It doesn't matter that you can see the thread, because it becomes completely hidden when more balls are added on.

7. The grey ball on this image forms the centre and is thus the inner "circle". When the third ball is to be sewn on, it is important to make sure that it is attached to the ball by both the ball next to it (the red ball), and at the same time, the ball must be attached to the centre of the rug (the grey ball).

A good piece of advice is that you use the stitches you have already made in order to have a result with the least visible thread.

You sew through the grey ball, into the pink and back again - then sew again into the pink and out at an angle of 45 degrees and then straight through the sandy colour.

8. Then sew from the sand-coloured, down into it out and out again, as close to the sand-coloured ball as you can. Then you sew through the sand-coloured ball again and exit at about 45 degrees.

9. The pattern goes back to every ball.

On the upcoming pictures, I have tried to make an even clearer guide for the fourth ball.

10. Then sew through the "new" ball and out at an angle of 45 degrees and when the cord is out on the other side, pull it in so it looks like this:

11. Finish a circle this way

It is important that the last ball in each circle connects to the balls on both sides.

You can, therefore, sew right through the "new" ball, and into the side of the ball, you started the round with.  

Then you sew into the "inner circle" and directly through the "new" ball. So it's going to look like this:

12. Then I continue the pattern as in the first circle.

13. This pattern is a good starting point to apply throughout your rug.  

In this way, you know for sure that all balls are stuck firmly in the rug.  

14. It is important that you do not tighten the thread too much, because then there will be dents in the rug when it gets bigger, and you will therefore not be able to make it lie flat on the floor.

15. In relation to the pattern, I also have another way to show you how it will look when sewing this way.  

At Rito.dk it is called a "flower pattern", which makes it easy to see how the balls will fit next to each other.  

I have marked it with two circles.

16. When changing the thread

17. When you need to change the thread, be sure to sew right through a ball is already sewn through. In this way, you can tie a strong knot so that it attaches to the thread. Tie 3-4 knots on top of each other, so the knot gets the size shown in the second image. Then cut the thread right at the knot and then hide the knot between two balls.

18.   Here is the result of the finished ball rug 

 19. Details  

See also our guide on how you can make a star of felt balls, here.

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