How to Make a Crochet Footbag – Magic Stripes

Use up your yarn scraps to make your own crochet footbag! Footbags work up quickly and are great for family fun, craft fairs, and gifting. The Magic Stripes Footbag uses a helical technique to create a seamless, spiral striping design with 3 colors.

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Footbag Vs. Hacky Sack^®

Footbags are small, bean-bag like balls, usually filled with plastic pellets, sand, or other similar fillings, and used in a variety of games. Hacky Sack^® is a brand name of footbags. The trademark is currently registered to Wham-O corporation.

Footbags can be used for a variety of games. The most commonly known game is called circle kick. Players stand in a circle and pass the ball back and forth to each other using only their feet, with the goal of keeping it off the ground. You can find a whole bunch of other footbag games on Wikipedia!

Operation Crochet Shoeboxes

I designed this pattern for the Operation Crocheted Shoeboxes crochet-along. We’re making items to gift to children in need through Operation Christmas Child. Through November, get a new pattern each week that you can put in your shoebox! See all the crochet along details on Desert Blossom Crafts.

Buy the Bundle!

All the patterns in this crochet along are available for free on line during the event. If you like, you can also buy pdf versions of all the patterns as one bundle! All proceeds from sales of the bundle go to Operation Christmas Child.

The magic of helical stripes

When you work in continuous rounds, without joining or chaining between rounds, you create a spiral. If you start 2 or more separate spirals spaced evenly around the work, they will twist together as you go, creating “jogless” stripes.

The concept sounds complicated, but is actually easy to achieve. After one set up row, it becomes almost automatic and is great TV-time crochet!

Filling your crochet footbag

There are lots of different filling options, each with different benefits and issues.

• Plastic pellets are the most common. They are relatively cheap, durable, and washable.
• Micro glass pellets are an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic, but are also more expensive and heavier.
• Seed beads come in metal, glass, and plastic varieties.
• Footbags filled with sand have a different texture to them and are often called “dirt bags”
• Several dry goods can be used, but will make the bag not washable. Examples include:
  • Rice
  • Beans
  • Dried corn
  • Lentils
  • Birdseed

For my footbag, I chose tiny seed beads with some larger pony beads thrown in for fun. I’ve had these in my stash for ages, probably over a decade, and have no idea where they originally came from.

Magic Stripes Footbag

Add this to your Ravelry queue

Materials

• Yarn: Worsted weight yarn. 15 yds each of 3 colors (A, B, and C).
• Hook: Size H / 5 mm crochet hook or size needed to match gauge.
• Notions:
  • Yarn Needle
  • 2-3 Stitch Markers
  • 1 nylon stocking (ankle or knee high)
  • Optional – scrap piece of yarn to use as a running stitch marker

Project Level

Intermediate: Continuous rounds, alternating between colors.

Size

2.5 inches in diameter

Gauge

8 sts x 8 rounds = 4 inches in sc in continuous rounds.

Use pattern as gauge swatch – top should measure approximately 2.25 inches in diameter. Gauge is not critical for this project

Abbreviations used

(Pattern is written in US terms)
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
sc2tog = single crochet 2 stitches together
st(s) = stitch(es)
sl st = slip stitch
rnd = round

Recommended Resources

• Continuous rounds and running stitch markers
• Why continuous rounds shift
• How to mount Diamond Art onto crochet or knitting without sewing

Instructions

This footbag is worked in continuous rounds, do not join or turn unless indicated. You may want to mark the first stitch of each round.

When the instructions say to “drop” a color, remove the working loop from your hook and secure it with a stitch marker so it doesn’t pull out.

When the instructions say to “pick up” a color, pick up the free loop that was dropped earlier, and place it back on your hook. Remove the stitch marker.

Top

With A, ch 2

Rnd 1: (set up round)

• With A, 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, drop A.
• Join B with sl st in same ch, 2 sc in in same ch, drop B.
• Join C with sl st in same ch, 2 sc in same ch, drop C. (6 sc total)

Rnd 2: Continuing with C, 2 sc in each of next 2 sts, drop C, pick up A, 2 sc in each of next 2 sts, drop A, pick up B, 2 sc in each of next 2 sts. (12 sc)

Rnd 3: Continuing with B, inc in next st, sc in next st, drop B, pick up C, inc in next st, sc in next st, drop C, pick up A, inc in next st, sc in next st. (18 sc)

Rnd 4: Continuing with A, inc in next st, sc in next 2 sts, drop A, pick up B, inc in next st, sc in next 2 sts, drop B, pick up C, inc in next 2 sts, sc in next st. (24 sc)

Your work should now measure about 2.25 inches in diameter.

Weave in starting tails.

Middle:

Rnd 5: Continuing with C, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop C, pick up A, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop A, pick up B, sc in each of next 8 sts.

Rnd 6: Continuing with B, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop B, pick up C, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop C, pick up A, sc in each of next 8 sts.

Rnd 7: Continuing with A, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop A, pick up B, sc in each of next 8 sts, drop B, pick up C, sc in each of next 8 sts.

Rnds 8-10: Repeat rnds 5-7 once more

Stuff Footbag:

If you are using a larger filling that won’t come out of the crochet stitches and don’t want to use the stocking, you can work 2 rounds of the bottom before stuffing with your filling.

Fill toe of stocking with some of your chosen filler. Place it inside the ball and continue to fill until it fills the ball to just below the edge.

Remove stocking from ball and sew just above filling.

Trim excess stocking. Sew over raw edges and seam once more. Be sure to use small enough stitches that filling will not come out.

For extra protection, slide the stuffed portion of stocking into the part you trimmed off, and trim to fit again. With a knee high, you may be able to do this once more.

Insert filled stocking back into footbag.

Finishing:

Sew bottom shut with tails, and weave in ends.

Rate this Crochet Footbag Pattern!

I hope you enjoyed this crochet footbag pattern. You can buy pdf versions of all the patterns in this CAL as one bundle here! All proceeds from sales of the bundle go to Operation Christmas Child.

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