Back in 2022 I did a Stitch-A-Long for my very own faerie themed ‘Quaker Ball’ design. And I’ve been meaning to write this article ever since! Today, I not only want to go over how to assemble one of these, but also the origins of this technique, where to find designs, as well as how to design your own quaker ball. So let’s discuss!

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What is a Quaker Ball Anyway?

The technique we now know as a quaker ball is essentially a large cross stitched decorative ball. It’s made up of 6 large octagons, 8 medium hexagons, and 12 small squares.

Here’s a look at the Faerie Ball I designed. You’ll see a lot of it throughout this article as it’s the one I have detailed assembly pics of so I can show you the assembly process.

I sometimes get asked what is it *for*, but as far as I can tell… they’re just decorative. It’s a ball. It doesn’t need to have a specific ‘purpose’. It’s art. Let’s not overcomplicate it. It’s just a fun 3D project allowing you to showcase a number of small designs on a single item!

Assuming you don’t cover yours in sequins and beads like I did, I suppose it could be a unique toy for a small child or a surprisingly gentle pet. But as these are a whole lot of work to create, I’d be pretty hesitant to use it that way myself.

Origins of The Quaker Ball

I’ve come across a lot of theories on the origins of this finish, but the oldest cross stitch ball I could find is actually the Star-Spangled Puzzle Ball by Denise Harrington Pratt of Amaryllis Artworks.

I was then able to find an interview with Denise published by the Embroiderer’s Guild of America. In it she discusses her design approach and inspirations for a number of items. But more relevant to today’s topic, she has some interesting things to say about these ball finishes.

She was inspired for this finishing style by the book Patchwork Puzzle Balls by Jinny Beyer, a book featuring fabric balls made with quilting cottons. Denise took that and ran with it, designing hers out of linen, and as it turns out it worked wonderfully!

The next one she designed was the infamous “The Quaker Ball” in 2011. So named because quite simply, she used Quaker-style designs on it. As she notes in the interview:

The Quaker Ball went all over the world, and lots of people are creating their own renditions now and calling them Quaker balls. But I only called mine that because I used what I will call Quaker style designs on it. Someone well versed in historic Quaker samplers would recognize immediately that mine “Quaker” designs are not historic. – Denise Harrington

Funny how these things have a way of spreading about the internet without source or credit, huh? Regardless, like the biscornu it’s become a bit of a phenomenon in the cross stitch world and many ‘Quaker Ball’ designs are still being made even modern design circles. There’s nothing Quaker about them anymore, and should probably be called Puzzle Balls or something else entirely. But they’re still often called quaker balls because that’s what they’ve become colloquially known as, which means they’re more likely to come up in searches.

Have there ever been cross stitched fabric balls before Denise? Who knows. It’s always possible for two unrelated people to come up with similar ideas on their own. But my internet searches have not come up with anything. So for now, I’ll consider that mystery solved.

Finding Quaker Ball Designs

The main keyword to look for is still ‘Quaker Ball’, but as discussed that’s not really accurate anymore. You can also find them using search phrases like ‘Cross Stitch Ball’, ‘3D Cross Stitch’, ‘Cross Stitch Puzzle Ball’, and my favorite, the ‘Biscornu Ball‘

Pattern Examples

I can’t possibly link to every pattern that’s been made in this style, but I did want to link to a few of my favorites for you. If you’re looking for designs more in the same traditional vein as the original Quaker style ball, there’s plenty out there. Including this ‘Quaker Spring Ball‘

The Durene Jones Quaker Ball is one of my favorite modern style designs, featuring a bunch of adorable bugs.

It’s not limited to cross stitch, either. You can also find these balls in blackwork, embroidery, and needlepoint! Check out this geometric ball. Gorgeous, right?

Other Styles of Cross Stitch Ball

There’s a few other ball shapes out there that don’t follow the Octagon-Hexagon-Square formula of the original Quaker Ball.
For example, the Amaryllis Artworks original Star Spangled Puzzle ball features Pentagons and triangles instead. Her Quaker Button Ball uses just Octagons and Squares, and her Halloween Ball is just Pentagons!

Robin’s Design has a whole set of D&D dice. While not all ball-shaped, this shows you various geometric shapes that can be made using fabric.

I also found some interesting designs featuring a shape created from asymmetrical diamonds and squares. Also referred to as a 15 sided biscornu when cinched in the middle rather than stuffed to a ball shape.

While researching for this article, I also found… whatever this would be called. I couldn’t find a pattern for this, just a russian page linked to a pinterest pin. Reverse google hasn’t been much help, but I’m super intrigued by this shape. It looks to be made out of S shaped fabric pieces, which seems super fun to stitch. If you have any info on this shape, let me know!

Materials Needed

Honestly as far as finishing techniques go, there’s not much extra you need beyond your normal cross stitch pattern: fabric, thread, needle, scissors. The only ‘extra’ is some stuffing to fill it with in the end. You can use PolyFil, cotton stuffing, thread orts, or even dryer lint!

The trickiest part is setting up that pattern.

Templates to Create your Own Pattern

If you’d like to design your own, you just need 6 large octagons, 8 medium hexagons, and 12 small squares. You could even arrange someone else’s small designs into a ball if you’re not a designer yourself.

The outline may seem very wobbly in the individual stitches for the hexagons, but once assembled it won’t be as noticeable.  This way, the diagonal lines in the hexes will match up in length with the diagonal lines on the octagons.

You can of course scale these shapes up or down if you want a larger or smaller ball in the end.

Picking the Right Quaker Ball Fabric

There’s two ways to tackle stitching one of these. You can stitch all at once on a single piece of fabric, and then cut the pieces out to assemble the ball. Or, you can stitch the pieces individually, sometimes on different fabric colors.

Sizing Concerns – What Count Fabric To Use

If you’re not familiar, fabric count is what determines the finished size of your design. “14 count” just means there’s about 14 stitches per inch. It could be slightly more if it’s been overdyed and has shrunk a bit, or a little less if it’s been stretched out. But generally around 14 to be considered 14 count.

I stitched mine on 28 count fabric, but stitched over 2 making it the same size it’d be on 14 count. This resulted in a ball that’s about 6″ / 15cm tall and wide. If like me those numbers mean nothing to you, here it is next to an average sized banana for scale.

If you instead wanted a small ball, you might try stitching over 1 on 28 or higher counts, such as this adorable little blackwork ball that fits in your hand.

Doing The Math

Ultimately, if you’re using my shape templates the ball should be around 85 stitches wide/tall. If you divide that number by your fabric count, you get how many inches it it’ll be. So for my 14 count example, that’d be 6″/15cm. On 16 count, it’d be closer to 5.3″/13.5

Remember that if you’re stitching ‘over 2’, you’ll want to divide your count fabric by two as well. So 32 count stitched “over 2” would turn out the same size as if you were stitching on 16 count.

Combining Multiple Fabrics

I recommend sticking to the same count fabric across pieces, but feel free to mix up the fabric colors as you see fit. It makes for a very cool look!

Rather than doing everything on one piece of fabric, you might consider doing some of the pieces on different colored fabric to create a more patchwork feel, such as this amazing seasonal ball using a different color fabric for each season.

Or maybe a more symmetrical combo like this New Zealand Flowers design, where all the octagons are one color, the hexagons another, and the squares in a third.

How Much Extra Fabric is Needed

Stitching All Single Pieces

When cutting these out, I usually get as close as 5 stitches from the border border, but you may want to widen that depending on how much your fabric frays. If it’s a fabric that frays a lot you may want to give it some extra space to fray, or use something like fray check to limit how much falls off before you can get it assembled.

You could stitch all the pieces on separate bits of fabric and stitch them together as you go. Especially if you dread the thought of having to assemble them all at the end, or want the different sections on differently colored fabrics. Or maybe you simply want a more travel-friendly project you can stitch in hand.

If so, I’d recommend a slightly larger than needed square for each of them while stitching. Then you can trim them down just before assembly to minimize fraying.

Layouts for All Pieces on One Piece of Fabric

If you’re planning to stitch this all on the same fabric, you can stitch it all as you go, and then cut it apart right before assembly. This allows you to stitch more comfortably using your usual hoop, scroll frame or Q-snap. And this way you don’t have to worry about fraying edges until the very end and can maximize fabric usage.

The layout here is an example of one way to lay this out. I left 10 stitches (so 20 holes if working over 2 like I did) between each shape, so that when I cut them out there’d be 5 stitch border around each one. This results in needing fabric that is 276 x 180 stitches.  With whatever additional margin you may prefer on the edges for holding in a Q-snap or just to avoid fraying while you work.

Hi res version of this layout

I also grouped the shapes together, so if you wanted to use different fabric colors for each shape you could still lay it out similarly on 3 different fabrics!

Quaker Ball Assembly Tutorial

Trimming Your Shapes

If you haven’t already, you’ll want to trim your shapes as close to your backstitch borders as you’re comfortable with. Mine are trimmed 5 stitches from the edge. This comes out to somewhere between ¼” and ½”. But this may vary depending on your chosen fabric and how much it frays. On stiffer aida I might go down to 3 stitches rather than 5

You will likely have some fraying as you stitch the pieces together, and that is okay! Everything past the backstitch will be inside the ball, so it won’t be at all visible, and will be protected.

However, the wider border you leave the more annoying it will be to assemble.

Layout Planning

If you’re designing your own, here’s a blank layout template you can use. This will also help you visualize how the different pieces fit together in the end.

If you’re following a pattern, you’ve probably been given a layout to follow. But here’s a view at my Quaker Fae layout so you can refer to it while following along with the assembly photos below so you don’t get lost figuring out what section I’m working on..

3D Shapes are always difficult to describe and demonstrate, but feel free to ask if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Do your designs have an ‘up’ and ‘down’?

A lot of traditional quaker balls use geometric shapes and symmetry so the ball can be viewed from basically any angle and look right. If your designs have a ‘right side up’ this may be something you want to think about. I lined all of mine up facing the same way on the layout map above. However, if you look at my finished ball, they are facing all sorts of ways.

What is right side up for this Cait Sidhe, Spriggan, and rabbit… is sideways for the Brownie and Kelpie, and upside down for the Redcap in the upper left. The flowers and mushrooms all face different ways as well.

This is partially because I am terrible at visualizing anything, let alone mentally mapping how fabric wraps around a 3D shape. So if that’s something you’re better at you may want to spend some time conceptualizing how to align your shapes along the ball.

I however don’t mind them being all over the place, as it is meant to be seen from all different angles. So it’s really up to you how much thought you want to put into that.

Iron Your Edges

If your fabric is very stiff (mine wasn’t at all), you may want to fold your borders back and iron them into place. This isn’t always necessary, but it will make your life a little easier while stitching edges together.

Here’s an example from my scissor case tutorial. Just fold it right up to the backstitched border.

Stitching Through Backstitch

The method we’ll be using to stitch these pieces together is the same method we use to make Biscornu. But just in case you’re not familiar with those fun little shapes, the idea is basically to stitch two pieces together by stitching just under the backstitch.

As you can see, the needle is going under the backstitch, but not through the fabric itself. This is the same method we’ll be using to stitch up this Quaker Ball.

Whatever color you ended up doing your borders in, that’s what you’ll likely be using to stitch the borders together. You can of course use a different color if you like, but do a sample of what that looks like before you decide.

Start with straight edges

To begin, I recommend putting together all of the straight flat sides. This is so it will lay flat and be easier to work with for a while, at least. Once it starts to curve into shape it gets a bit more fiddly to stitch. So enjoy the flat parts while you can.

I also recommend doing the pieces as two separate ‘halves’ to start so it doesn’t get too overwhelming. Then stitch the two halves together.

First stitches

Start by anchoring your thread by running your needle behind a few stitches near whatever corner you want to start in.

Come up through the very corner of a square (or other shape). Hold the two pieces together, folding back the edges to get them out of your way. Start stitching them together by stitching just through the backstitch. Try to always go in the same direction. In my example, I always stitched bottom to top.

I’d also recommend stitching in the direction of your next piece. So in this case, I started from left to right. This way, if you still have thread left when you get there, you can just continue into the next piece as you go around the corner.

Using your edges to travel stitches

If you’ve still got thread on your needle when you finish a section but the next part you want to assemble is a bit away, you can just do a light running stitch through that extra fabric, like you can see I did in the upper left of the dryad. Again, this will all be on the inside of the ball so it won’t be visible.

Keep going until all the flat edges have been assembled according to the layout map.

Stitching the horizontal edges and creating the curve

Now the fun part, creating that iconic quaker ball shape. You can start curving this first half, or do all the flat bits of the second half before you start. It’s up to you. But once you’re ready, start at the top of one of your halves, and choose one of the inside corners.

We’re going to start stitching the sides together and forcing them into place. Note that not all of the diagonal sides have the same amount of stitches.

The diagonal of the octagon has only 14 stitches, and the square still has 20. Meanwhile the hexagon diagonals only have 10 jaggedy stitches.

To adjust, you’ll need to stitch through some of the stitches twice. For this first hexagon-to-octagon example, I stitched twice into each of the longer stitches except the first one.

Meanwhile, with the hexagon-to-square ratio is much easier, requiring you to stitch through two of the square’s stitches for every one hexagon stitch.

Work all the way around one your hexagon

Keep working your way around until you’ve stitched around that entire hexagon and, if working on one of the sides with the ‘extra’ octagon, you can go ahead and attach that to the square as well.

As you may have guessed, we’ll be doing the same thing again on the other side.

And again on the second half of the ball.

If you haven’t already, connect the two halves together and start doing the same to those sections as well.

Work your way around connecting those hexagons to their neighbors.

Don’t forget to attach that offshoot octagon to its respective square as well.

You’ll be left with a weird open elliptical shape. Time to start stitching it altogether. Start from the inner corner of the offshoot octagon in part 1 and start stitching down, incorporating the top of part 2 as you go.

Once it’s completely incorporated, continue stitching, as the bottom of part 2 gets attached to the top of part 1 where you see the dot on the layout map.

It’s likely getting real awkward to work on by now, just hang in there! Refer back to the map as often as you need.

Stuffing

Keep following the curves of the ball until you have everything stitched up except for a single flappy hexagon.

Now it’s time to stuff your ball! Reach in and push your seams out as well as you can and then fill it. I used polyfil, but if you have a preferred form of stuffing, feel free to use that instead.

Fill it fuller than you think it needs. Use a chopstick or long tool to make sure it gets down into the crevasses of your ball. Sure, it doesn’t LOOK like it has corners, but due to all the extra flaps on the inside the stuffing may not be sitting completely up against the fabric.

Finishing off the last Hexagon

Stitch up half of that hexagon, then add a little more stuffing if you think it needs it. Pick up the whole ball and squish it around a bit to make sure it’s settled and roughly in a ball shape. It should be a bit squishy, but spring back into a ball shape when you let go.

Stitch up that last side, and you’re done! Enjoy your new heirloom piece, and maybe display it on a shelf or mantle for a great conversation piece.