KNITTED BALL

Materials
· yarn(s) of choice
· 6 double-pointed needles (DPNs) suitable for weight of yarn

General Note: for durability and to avoid any need for a liner, work a little tighter than usual. I use size 7 DPNs with worsted weight yarn to make these. For most other use of worsted weight yarn, I’d likely use size 9, 10, or 10½.

PENTAGON (make 12)

— Mr. Hunt’s Radial Cast-On —

Step 1: With 2 DPNs and using the backward loop method, cast on 2 sts: the first will be used, the second is dropped after Step 2 to form the tail. (The pentagon will have no center hole and the tail will be tied automatically.)

Step 2: Knit 1 front, back, front, back, front. k1fbfbf - There are now 5 sts on one needle. Let the first backward loop st go - the tail is tied now. (Note: this will look like a mess because it’s still linear, but it opens into two dimensions as the work progresses into rounds and establishes the 5-fold symmetry.)

Step 3: Slide the 5 sts to the other end of the needle so the tail is near the point. Using another DPN in each of the 5 sts, K1fb. Note: Keep order and prevent twisting by “stacking” the needles in your R hand (L hand for lefties) as each receives its pair of stitches. This completes the radial cast-on. There are now 10 sts total, 2 on each of 5 DPNs.

Round 1: °Turn far end of next DPN up, sliding its two sts to top. K1, K1fb. 3 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 2: °K2, K1fb. 4 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 3: °K1, M1, K2, K1fb. 6 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 4: °K5, K1fb. 7 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 5: °K6, K1fb. 8 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 6: °K7, K1fb. 9 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 7: °K1, M1, K7, K1fb. 11 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Round 8: °K10, K1fb. 12 sts on needle. Repeat from ° 4 times.

Continue working in rounds (with the extra M1 increase in Rounds 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, etc.) until the edge length (length of work along any 1 of the 5 DPNs) equals the edge length needed to give your ball the assembled size you want.

Bind off in pattern. When one st remains go around the corner to pick up and immediately bind off one final st. (This is to smooth out the jag where the spiralling rounds come to an end.) The pentagon’s “stockinette curl” disappears during assembly.

ASSEMBLY - on wrong side, sew (or slip stitch using a crochet hook) the pentagons in one-to-one stitch correspondence (when in doubt look on the right side to see which sts correspond.) At the vertices, corner sts may receive 2 sts in order to be attached to both of their neighbors and leave no gaps. The easiest assembly is into two halves as in the “net”. Join the side seams then the two halves, leaving the last segment open to turn the ball right side out. Stuff with fiberfill or place an inflatable inside. Finally, sew the last seam, pulling the yarn end to the inside of the ball.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dodecahedron