This would also be nice as a little "indoor" ball for kids, or as a
"stress-squeezy" for adults.
(I think it would be quite nice made out of Chincilla)
I wanted a ball that was knit all of a piece, without sections that
needed to be joined.
This ball is seamless.
So here it is. It's actually not *perfectly* spherical, it's a bit squashed on the top and bulged in the middle (as a result of my not being *quite* aggressive enough with the increases at the beginning). I think the shape is more like what geometers call an "oblique spheroid" (you know, like the Earth - and if you want to knit one of these in blue and duplicate stitch the continents on it, be my guest! (veg) )
Pattern:
For this pattern, it is most helpful to place a marker at the beginning
of the round.
Using a small amount (scraps) of sportweight yarn and size 3 dpns:
Cast on 6 sts, two on each of 3 dpns.
Row 1: Inc 1 st in each st (12 sts)
Rows 2, 3: K
Row 4: Inc 1 st in every other st (18 sts)
Rows 5, 6, 7: K
Row 8: Inc 1 st in every other st (27 sts)
Row 9: K
Row 10: Inc 1 st in every st
Rows 11-15: K (row 13 is the midpoint and each row thereafter should
"mirror image" the previous 12 rows)
Row 16: K2tog around
Row 17: K (it may be a good idea to start stuffing the ball here)
Row 18: *K1, k2tog, rep from * to end of round
Rows 19, 20, 21: K (finish stuffing after round 21)
Row 22:* K1, k2tog, rep from * to end of round
Rows 23, 24: K
Row 25: K2tog around
And then break the yarn, thread the tail on a darning needle, and run
it
though
the remaining sts.
And that's it. The prototype took me about 45 minutes inbetween doing
other things.
I'm sure this will also work with worsted weight yarn. You might want
to go up to #4 needles.