Today would have been the NCAA basketball national championship. It is difficult for me to put into words how sad this has made me. With all that is going on around us, it is just a drop in the bucket. However, I still felt the need to recognize this day, somehow. I made a basketball key chain to cheer myself up.
I have tried, multiple times, to pour my heart out to you through this keyboard, but I still can’t seem to put into reasonable words, how much basketball means to me, and my family.
People who say, “it’s just a game,” don’t understand how untrue that is for the people who love it. Basketball, for me, was never just a game. It was time spent with my dad, and memories made with my family. Love for basketball was a common bond that pulled my father and I together during a time in my teen years, when other things might have pulled us apart. Basketball was family vacations, road trips, the friends I met along the way, a childhood dream. This game was an education, in more ways than one.
Basketball taught me life lessons from how to recover from mistakes to how to work as a unit with my family. It taught me about different perspectives, and finding common ground among those you have core differences with.
Basketball was never just a game.
Crochet and Basketball
Somewhat ironically, crochet is where I turned for comfort when my college basketball career came to an abrupt end. I feel deeply for these athletes with no closure, who had their dreams literally cancelled, before their eyes. I sympathize with them because I never knew my last time on the court, was my last time on the court. I went from a little girl with a dream, to an adult who had no idea what to do with the rest of her life, in the blink of an eye.
Crochet is still a place of great comfort for me during difficult or uncertain times. It gives me a sense of peace as well as produtivity. Crochet challenges me to learn new things, and to improve my skills; something that only basketball had done previously.
When you make your own basketball key chain, I hope you will think of my love for this game. I hope you will remember those kids with big dreams. My hope is that this very simple pattern will bring someone you know, great joy; a reminder of a passion they once had, or a dream they once strived for.
You can purchase a printer-friendly PDF of this pattern from my Ravelry or Etsy shops to help support my business! Thank you!
Basketball Key Chain Pattern
Notes:
This is a very basic pattern, and works up quickly! It is made in continuous rnds with no joining. The increases are done in such a way as to disperse them evenly, so each row the pattern is slightly different. The black lines are sewn onto the ball with black yarn. All pattern process pictures can be found on the last page. Link to video instruction for the sewing of the lines is provided.
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Materials:
The Hook Nook Main Squeeze Yarn (Worsted) – Marigold Fields
The Hook Nook Small Stuff Yarn (DK) – Tattoo Ink
Crochet hook – B 2.25mm
Metal Pull Ring Rivets with Screws
Metal Lobster Claw Clasp and Split Key Rings
Fabri-Tac, Permanent Adhesive, Fabric Glue
Polyester Fiberfill
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts into the same st
invsc2tog – invisible single crochet 2 together, this is essentially a decrease, but done in such a way as to make the continuous stitching smoother, and the decrease not as noticeable.
Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
Insert hook into front loop of second st.
Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops.
Yarn over and pull through last 2 loops.
Pattern
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: (inc, sc in next st)6x; 18 sts
Rnd 4: (sc in next 2 sts, inc)6x; 24 sts
Rnd 5: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)6x; 30 sts
Rnds 6-12: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Stop here to attach the metal pull rivet and screw. Put the screw through from the inside of the basketball, through the top, center of rnd 1. With the screw poking out of the top of the basketball, dab some of your Fabri-Tac onto the top of the screw. Then quickly screw the metal pull rivet to the screw. The glue helps to keep in from unscrewing during use!
Rnd 13: (invsc2tog, sc in next 3 sts)6x; 24 sts
Rnd 14: (sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog)6x; 18 sts
Stuff firmly and continue to close.
Rnd 15: (invsc2tog, sc in next st)6x; 12 sts
Rnd 16: (sc in next st, invsc2tog)4x; 8 sts
*Note: I did not decrease down to 6 sts in the final rnd because they become too tight, and then protrude during closing, instead of a smooth, round finish. Use your needle and ending strand to sew the bottom closed. Weave in ends.
The lines of the basketball key chain are sewn on with the black yarn. You need approximately 2 yds of black yarn to cover over the ball. The lines go around from top, to the other side of the top, then across the middle. The curved parts are a bit trickier. They make an hour glass type shape, across the center of the ball. The video below will provide you with the knowledge to do it!
Here are some other basketball patterns you might enjoy!
I got my hands on some of the new larger Clover Amour Crochet Hooks and they are so fun to work with and pair perfectly with super chunky yarn! I created a quick and easy basketball rug from my sons sports themed room using two strands of bulky yarn and the P/Q 15mm hook. Much larger than your typical hook, but so comfortable and light! This project works up extremely quickly and there are so many options for embellishments. Think baseball, soccer, or just a fun multi-colored circle rug. Stay tuned for a girly version for my daughters room!
Materials:
– Clover Amour P/Q 15mm Crochet Hook <– click to purchase from clover-usa.com
– Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in pumpkin orange (4 skeins) and one skein of black for border and embellishments.
With two strands of orange yarn (its best to pull from two separate skeins)
Magic Ring, chain 1 and make 10 SC in ring, do not join, continue to crochet in rounds
Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (20 SC)
Round 3: SC in each stitch around (20 SC)
Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (30 SC)
Round 5: SC in each stitch around (30 SC)
Round 6: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (40 SC)
Round 7: SC in each stitch around (40 SC)
Round 8: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (50 SC)
Round 9: SC in each stitch around (50 SC)
Round 10: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 4, repeat around (60 SC)
Round 11: SC in each stitch around (60 SC)
Round 12: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 5, repeat around (70 SC)
Round 13: SC in each stitch around (70 SC)
Round 14: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 6, repeat around (80 SC)
Round 15: SC in each stitch around (80 SC)
Round 16: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 7, repeat around (90 SC) (Feel free to keep continuing with the pattern, increasing every other row to make larger) change to black yarn
Round 17: SC with only one strand in back loops only. Join, fasten off and weave in ends.
Make 3 chains with black yarn of approx 40 chains long.
Sew them on to rug with jumbo tapestry needle. Try not to weave needle through backside of rug… weave it in-between stitches and through the middle of the chains. Start with the line down the center and then sew on two curved lines on either side.
My oldest just finished up a week of basketball camp with former pro basketball player Norman Nolan and was very excited about his new room accessory 🙂
Click HERE for more information on the new larger Clover Amour Hooks and be sure to check back in early August to see more of these crochet hooks, the rug I’m making for my daughters room, and to enter a giveaway!
Thank you to Clover Needlecraft for providing me with the chance to try out their new larger Amour Hooks. I was not compensated for this post and all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
*** You may make and sell products from my patterns but if you do I ask that you link back to my post. Please do not copy and post this pattern and claim it as your own. Please do not re-publish photos as your own. ***
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"Knitting a basketball is difficult, but interesting"
Today the world celebrates an interesting holiday - World Knitting in Public Day. It takes place in an unusual way, but quite in accordance with its name: everyone who loves to knit or crochet gather in some public place in the city - in a park, in a square, in a cafe - and indulge in their favorite pastime. In honor of this holiday, the correspondent of the portal ProGorod11.ru met in a cozy park with knitting master Elena Murtazina. The girl told about unusual orders, why she does not knit on the street and what are the advantages of hand-made.
- What do you like to knit more? Knitting or crochet? - I don't knit at all, only crochet
Have you ever ordered knitted items? Write in the comments
- Why only crochet? - The soul does not lie to the knitting needles. In my opinion, you can crochet more interesting things. The direction from which I started is amigurumi ( approx. - Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, soft animals and humanoid creatures). Toys are made precisely with the help of a certain crochet.
- What is the most unusual thing you have knitted? - The most unusual order is a basketball. Ordered, apparently, as a gift. At the same time, they also asked him to jump. So I had to buy a tennis ball, tie it around, and also embroider a basketball pattern. The process seemed to me unusual and interesting . It was necessary to think a lot about how to implement the idea.
- Why do you like knitting? - I like it. A good activity, for example, for young mothers like me. While the child is playing at home, I am doing something useful. I can also knit something for my child. Sometimes I come across the idea of knitting as an occupation from the last century. In fact, you can create a lot of interesting things, and they cost quite a lot of money.
- What is the most expensive thing you have knitted? - Probably a set: a scarf with a hat. Something super-expensive did not knit. I don’t undertake very large things, because it takes a lot of time and effort. Still, I want to pay more attention to the child.
- Did you participate in competitions or exhibitions? - Never exhibited her creations in public. I know that exhibitions of the fair are constantly held, where you can participate. There it is necessary to provide a stand with the goods, and I barely have time to link one order, and it is immediately taken away, as soon as a new one arrives. Putting up for sale at any event a couple of products is not serious.
- Have you heard of such a holiday - Knitting in Public Day, which is celebrated on June 13? - I never knew about such an unusual holiday. I can’t knit somewhere on a bench, in the fresh air, because in most cases I am on the street with a child, and I need to look after him.
- What emotions do you experience when you knit? - Sometimes I relax when I'm doing regular plain knitting. But I take quality very seriously and try to control the process, so I am more often in a state of pleasant, but tension. Loops need to be counted. If something does not work out, I dissolve and bandage.
- When did you start knitting and decided to make it to order? - I started to get involved in knitting at school. But I did this in so far as: at the level of labor lessons and when there was nothing to do at home. When I went on maternity leave, once I got bored. I saw a knitted toy and wanted to create something similar for my child. Acquaintances and friends rated it at five plus. Then I knitted someone else as a gift, and then I decided to post these toys with information that I knit to order.
- When is there an increased demand for your products? - Before this New Year, the symbol of which is a sheep, there were a lot of orders for the theme of this animal. I just sat and knitted. I even had to put the creation of things for my child in a certain sense into a queue. I mostly knit for kids. These are: hats, booties, socks, slippers. I also create sling beads (knitted ornaments)
- Why do you think people order knitwear? - I think everyone wants to look different. Moreover, hand-made is now in vogue . The thing connected to the order is exclusive. If you try to recreate it a second time, you still get a completely new product. Of course, such things are of higher quality compared to factory ones. Another issue is the price. Those people who contact me know that a handmade product cannot be cheap, and therefore they have no questions about the cost.
How to learn how to spin a basketball on your finger
To skillfully spin a basketball on your finger, you need to learn a few simple techniques, find the ball and set aside 10 minutes of training per day. After a week of practicing your skills, you will master the technique of this trick and show it to your friends. In the step-by-step instructions below, we will show you how to learn how to spin a basketball on your finger.
Tossing the ball correctly
You can train on the sports ground, near the house or even in the apartment, but in any place you need to take into account the environment. For example, when practicing a trick in a room, the ball can bounce and break fragile objects. When a place is found and inventory is prepared, you can begin training. Initially, you need to learn how to properly hold and throw the ball in the air:
Hold the ball with the stripes vertical. Horizontal scrolling looks ineffective and it is very difficult to catch a projectile from this position.
Select throw method:
Two hands. You need to keep the ball not on the sides, but so that 1 hand “looks” at you, and the second from you. Having fixed the object, sharply spread your arms and slightly “throw” the ball up.
With one hand. To throw with one hand, place your fingers along the lines of the ball. It is important that there is free space between the palm and the inventory. Lightly squeeze the ball. Turn the brush outward until it stops, and then gently turn it back. At the last moment, you need to give additional rotation to the ball with your fingertips. But we do not recommend using a large one, because. this will upset the balance and the ball will fly away.
Throw the ball parallel to the floor, do not allow the ball to wobble. It is important that when thrown, the projectile rises above eye level. When its bottom surface is visible, the ball is easier to catch.
These steps must be repeated until fully automated. Usually it takes two days. When the throws are confident, you can move on to the second level.
Learning to catch the ball
Once you have learned how to throw correctly, try catching the ball with your finger. To do this, remember the following nuances:
You need to catch the projectile on the nail, not the finger itself. In this case, it is important that the brush is turned with the palm towards you.
If you purchase anything through them, I will get a small referral fee and you will be supporting me and my blog at no extra cost to you, so thank you!
Much larger than your typical hook, but so comfortable and light! This project works up extremely quickly and there are so many options for embellishments. Think baseball, soccer, or just a fun multi-colored circle rug. Stay tuned for a girly version for my daughters room!
Join, fasten off and weave in ends.
*** 
In honor of this holiday, the correspondent of the portal ProGorod11.ru met in a cozy park with knitting master Elena Murtazina. The girl told about unusual orders, why she does not knit on the street and what are the advantages of hand-made. 
At the same time, they also asked him to jump. So I had to buy a tennis ball, tie it around, and also embroider a basketball pattern. The process seemed to me unusual and interesting . It was necessary to think a lot about how to implement the idea. 
Loops need to be counted. If something does not work out, I dissolve and bandage. 
These are: hats, booties, socks, slippers. I also create sling beads (knitted ornaments) 
Lightly squeeze the ball. Turn the brush outward until it stops, and then gently turn it back. At the last moment, you need to give additional rotation to the ball with your fingertips. But we do not recommend using a large one, because. this will upset the balance and the ball will fly away. 
