Amish Segment Ball

Everything old is new again! Some people call this an Amish Puzzle Ball. This unique colorful ball makes a wonderful toy for kids and cats. It's got 12 different sections that can all be made out of the same fabric or use your scraps and make one with different colors and patterns. I tucked "jingle bells" into each segment along with the stuffing so it rattles when shaken.

This cute ball does take a while to make, approximately 6 or 7 hours total, but the finished product is worth it.

Since this ball is made out of small pieces, this is a good scrap buster project.

Let's get started!

For this project you will need the following:

sewing machine

cotton fabric scraps- solids and prints

Poly-fil stuffing

needle and thread

24 jingle bells

Scissors

Thimble

Paper for pattern

12" piece of 1/8" or 1/4" wide elastic

Small package of catnip (optional)

For the pattern, cut a 7" circle out of paper.

Fold the circle in fourths and draw a line on the fold lines. Cut on the lines into 4 pieces.

Toss 2 of these pieces.

One of the quarters will be the pattern for the sides of the segments. Cut 24 out of the print fabric.

On the remaining paper triangle, draw a line from one of the corners on the rounded edge to the other.

Fold the paper on this line. Trace around the rounded edge. Open the paper and cut out on the rounded edges.

Cut 12 out of the solid fabric, I had 6 colors so I cut 2 of each color.

For one segment you will need 3 pieces, 2 of the print triangle pieces and 1 of the long narrow solid pieces.

Place one of the triangle shapes on the narrow solid piece, right sides together. Sew along the curved edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. Open this and place the other triangle shape on the other side of the long solid shape, sew the curved edge.

Sew one of the sides.

Turn right side out.

Repeat with remaining segments.

Tie 2 jingle bells together with strong thread. Repeat with remaining bells. There will be 2 bells in each segment.

Place the poly-fil in each section, placing a pair of bells in each one. Add more poly-fil. Hand stitch the side with needle and thread sewing with very small stitches and reinforcing.

If you want to put a small amount of catnip in each segment, roll it up in a 3" square of cotton fabric first and then put it in each segment along with the stuffing and bells.

Sew the sections together in pairs.

Sew two pairs together in the center as shown. You will now have 3 sections with 4 segments each.

Place one group of 4 segments on top of another. Bring a piece of elastic underneath. Bring the elastic up between segments. Lay the 3rd group of 4 segments on top and bring the elastic up and in between segments.

Tie the elastic very tightly into a knot, connecting all 3 groups together.

Trim excess elastic.

Bring 4 pointed ends together. With needle and thread, stitch these together.

On opposite side, bring 4 pointed ends together and stitch together.

On the sides of the ball, continue to bring 4 pointed ends together until there are no more loose segments.

You can make these toys in many different color combinations and with or without the jingle bells.

If the ball gets dirty, you can just toss it in the washing machine!

You can make a slightly smaller ball using a 6" circle for the pattern or a slightly larger ball with an 8" circle.