I made a LOT of crafty projects this holiday season! (And I'm not done yet, either!) Hopefully I'll get most of them up on the blog for you all to enjoy! Here's one of my favorites from the list: a crocheted Amish Puzzle Ball for my 18-month-old niece.
Here's the pattern on Ravelry. The ball is made up of three rings, each of which have 4 wedges. You slip the rings over each other to form the ball.
This was a nice stash buster pattern. But don't be fooled: it EATS both yarn (for the wedges) & stuffing! Overstuffed is best on this one, as it will help the rings interlock better.
Made mine with worsted weight cotton yarn, because I had it already, rather than buying the DK yarn the pattern called for. The yarn deviation made the finished ball delightfully huge--probably about 6 or 7 inches in diameter, I think.
I don't know what brand the mixed-color yarn is. A ball of it was gifted to me. I had no idea how I was going to use it at the time, but this project was perfect for it! I ran out of that yarn just before I finished the last wedge piece of the green ring. Having nothing that blended well with that mixed yarn, I chose to complete the wedge with the green of the ring band. When the ball is put together, you can't even tell!
The blue, purple, & green yarns were harvested from an abandoned project: a hexagon pieced baby blanket I meant to have done before this niece was born. I didn't even get enough of it made to be a decent scarf, so it was all banished for a good long while, until the ball project came up. Still not sure what I'll do with the original blanket, but I don't think I'll be returning to it.
I'll definitely be keeping this ball pattern on hand! Fun to make, only three yarn tails to work in at the end, no batteries required, washable, soft & cuddly, etc. I'm not sure how my niece liked it, since she was pretty distracted by the other toys she'd just unwrapped which blinked & booped & such (we're a whole family of ADOS: Attention Deficit--Oooh Shiney!!!), but the adults were all pretty impressed! ;)