Make a Fabric Basketball for your Hoop It! Basketball Hoop
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Make a Fabric Basketball for your Hoop It! Basketball Hoop

A hand holding a fabric orange and white basketball in the foreground of a black fabric basketball hoop

Looking for the perfect finishing touch for your Hoop It! Quilted Basketball Hoop?


A white and orange fabric basketball sits on the wooden rim of a black, orange, white and pink fabric basketball hoop

Make your own soft, fabric basketball to go with it!


This quick and easy sewing project is a fun way to use up fabric scraps and create a playful, handmade ball that’s safe for indoor play. With just a few materials and some basic stitching, you’ll have a mini basketball ready for action in no time.


Follow along for step-by-step instructions and you'll be ready to shoot hoops in the comfort of your own home in no time.







Materials Needed for your Fabric Basketball:


  • This free Fabric Basketball Template

  • Scissors and rotary cutter

  • Pins

  • (2) rectangles of different fabrics approx. 17"x 5" 

  • Fiber Fill

  • Needle and thread to match your fabric for handsewing


Before Starting

All seam allowances are ¼" unless otherwise noted.

RST= Right Sides Together

WST= Wrong Sides Together

Preparation


  1. Print your free fabric basketball template at 100% scale and using portrait orientation.

  2. Check to make sure the 1 inch square measures 1 inch.  Adjust print settings if necessary.


  3. Cut out the fabric basketball template.


    Two hands hold a cut out paper template for a fabric basketball

  4. Place the template on your fabric pieces with the grain of the fabric aligning with the grain line on the template.



  5. Cut (8) total fabric pieces using the template, (4) from each 17" x 5" rectangle of fabric.


    A paper template for a fabric basketball sits in between two sets of fabric cut with the template: one set in white fabric with black stars ,the other in orange fabric with pink speckles

Ball Assembly


  1. Place (1) Color 1 piece and (1) Color 2 piece RST and sew along one side of the curve backstitching at the beginning and end.  Start your stitching at the very end of the pieces.


  2. Open the unit and pin (1) Color 1 piece to the right side making sure the seam is fingerpressed toward the original Color 1 piece. Sew the Color 1 piece to the previous unit.


  3. Repeat step 2 using (1) Color 2 piece so that (4) pieces are sewn together. The seams should all be facing the same direction.



  4. Repeat steps 1-4 to make another set of (4) template pieces sewn together for a total of (2) half-units.


    Two 4-piece halves of a fabric basketball sit on a white cutting mat with black lines

  5. Pin the two half-units RST, matching seams at both ends and sew the pieces together leaving a 2" gap open for turning right side out. Backstitch at both ends of the 2" gap to secure.



  6. Turn the ball right side out and press the opening to make a crease where the ¼"seam will be hand stitched to close the ball.



  7. Fill the ball with fiber fill


    Two hands add fiber fill to the inside of a fabric basketball shell

  8. Utilizing a blind/ladder stitch, hand stitch the opening closed.

Blind/Ladder Stitching 


  1. Thread your needle with your matching thread and tie both ends in a knot.


    Two hands hold a needle and orange thread with a knot at the end of the thread

  2. Take the needle under the end of one side of the opening and bring the knot up all the way to meet the underside of the fabric.


    Hands guide a needle through a white piece of fabric with black stars that is sewn in the shape of a basketball with orange and pink fabric.

  3. Tuck the knot down under the opening and out of the way.


    Hands tuck the end of a thread tail inside a fabric basketball made with white and orange fabric.

  4. Take the needle across the opening to the other edge and bring it through the crease of the edge. Take the needle up the same side and come out through the top.


    Hands guide a needle through an orange piece of fabric with pink speckles that is sewn in the shape of a basketball with white and black fabric.

  5. Take the needle across the opening to the other side and bring it through the crease. Take the needles up the same side and come out through the top.



  6. Repeat until the entire opening is stitched. You’ll notice it will start to look like a ladder in between the edges of the opening.



  7. Once the opening is stitched, pull the opening closed.


    A hand pulls the opening closed on a fabric basketball made of white and orange fabric

  8. Take the needle through the end of the opening and back up creating a loop.  Take the needle through the loop to create a knot. Repeat to create a double knot.



  9. Take the needle back down through the knot and out at any point on the ball.  Pull the knot down into the seam and trim off the excess thread.


Now you're ready to hoop it up with the Hoop It! Quilted Basketball Hoop.


Two hands hold a fabric basketball made of alternating white fabric with black stars and orange fabric with pink speckles.
A hand holds a fabric basketball made of alternating white fabric with black stars and orange fabric with pink speckles.

I love how quickly this project comes together and how customizable it is with different fabric colors and textures. It’s such a fun complement to the Hoop It! Quilted Basketball Hoop, and it makes a great gift for the basketball fan or playful addition to your sewing room or playroom.


A child in a pin dress holds a fabric ball above the rim of a quilted basketball hoop

I’d love to see your version, so be sure to share your finished fabric basketballs and tag me @jessicasteeledesign when you do!

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