Stuffed Ball

Sewing a stuffed fabric ball is a fun, hands-on project perfect for young beginners who are just learning how to stitch. Using only six simple fleece pieces, kids can create a soft, colorful ball that's great for playing, tossing, or using as the base for adorable stuffed animal creations. This project teaches important sewing skills- pinning, stitching curved edges, stuffing, and hand-sewing an opening closed- all while giving kids the freedom to choose colors, textures, and even turn their ball into a unique character. It's an easy, confidence-building sewing activity that grows right along with their creativity!

First step for this stuffed ball project is to create a ball pattern piece. Using a piece of paper, create an oval shape with a pointed end. The length should be about 6 1/2 inches from tip to tip. You can fold your paper in half and use the fold line to create the bottom half of your pattern. After it is cut out you can unfold your paper and have a whole piece.

After cutting out your pattern, use the pattern to cut out 6 pieces from your material. I will take you through the directions with pictures now.

Sewing Materials Available

Stuffed Ball Sewing Project

You will need:

Fleece material~ For fun, you can try 2 coordinating colors of material.

Pin two shapes together and sew along edges.

pinned pieces

Continue with one more piece until you have 3 pieces sewn together. Set aside. Using the 3 other pieces, sew together as done previously. Now you will have two halves of the ball.

sew half ball

Sew two ball halves together down edges. On the final side leave a small opening in the middle for stuffing, as shown above.

Stuff ball with batting or old pieces of material then hand sew opening closed.

Leave your ball as is to play with or it is a good starter for children to create their own stuffed animal sewing project.

Turning Your 6-Piece Stuffed Ball Into Stuffed Animals

Once kids learn how to sew the basic 6-piece fleece ball, they can take the project to the next level by transforming their ball into a cute stuffed animal! Every animal begins the same way- with six curved fleece pieces sewn together to form a sphere. Then kids add fun features like ears, arms, feet, tails, or faces. It's an exciting way to stretch creativity and build sewing confidence!
Use this guide to help kids design their own ball-shaped animals. stuffed ball animals

1. Start With the Standard 6-Piece Ball

Make the ball exactly as described in the stuffed ball sewing directions:

Cut 6 football-shaped fleece pieces.
Sew 3 pieces together to make one half of the ball.
Sew the other 3 pieces together to make the second half.
Sew the two halves together, leaving a small opening.
Stuff the ball and hand sew the opening closed.

This round shape becomes the body of the animal.

2. Choose What Kind of Animal to Make

Kids can design any creature they imagine! Some ideas include:

Bear
Bunny
Fox
Dog or Cat
Mouse
Monster
Penguin or Owl
Unicorn

The simplest animals use only a few extra felt pieces.

3. Add Felt Ears

Cut small shapes from fleece or felt and sew them into the seam as you sew the top pieces together, or hand sew them on afterward.
Examples:

Bear → small round ears
Fox → triangle ears
Bunny → long oval ears
Mouse → big circles

4. Add Arms, Feet, or Wings

These can be sewn like tiny stuffed shapes or made from flat felt.

Flat oval arms stitched to the sides
Small round feet attached at the bottom
Little wings for a bird or bat
A fluffy tail or pointy fox tail

Kids can mix and match designs however they like!

5. Add a Face

You can create faces using:

Safety eyes
Felt circles and noses
Simple embroidery for mouths and whiskers
Fabric markers for extra details

Simple is best- just two eyes and a smile can make the cutest animals!

6. Sew All Extra Pieces Before Stuffing

If you add ears or tails into seams, insert them between fleece layers before sewing the two ball halves together. For arms, feet, or decorations on the surface, it works best to stuff the ball, close the opening, and then hand sew these features onto the outside.

7. Stuff and Finish Your Animal

Once all pieces are attached:

Stuff the body with fiberfill.
Hand stitch the final opening closed.
Gently shape the ball with your hands for a smooth look.

You now have a round, huggable stuffed animal made from the same 6-piece ball pattern!

Why Kids Love This Project

The 6-piece ball becomes a perfect blank canvas-kids can create animals that are cute, silly, colorful, or totally imaginative. Each one turns out unique, and the pattern is simple enough that they can make a whole collection of their own stuffed "fatties" or ball-shaped animals.