Pokéball Hacky Sack

For my husband's birthday this year, I made him a Pokéball Hacky Sack.  It took a few attempts to get it right.

The first one was too big:

The second one was too rushed, so the shape was not right:

The last one worked out:

The problem, however, is because the yarn/needle gauge is so big, it doesn't hold the beans very well when it's being played with.  I am going to have to make him another one, later, when I get some finer yarn.  I just wanted to make him something that was a surprise, and it would not have been a surprise if he was running out to buy more yarn for me.

Here are the instuctions I wrote as I worked it out:

Using US8 (5mm) DPN set
Remember to fill with beans before the opening is too small and before closing the top.

Row 1: K7   WHITE    (use tail to close end tightly at about the halfway point)
Row 2: K1, Increase1 (repeat until end - 14 sts total)  WHITE
Row 3: K14  WHITE
Row 4: K2, Increase1 (repeat until end - 21 sts total)  WHITE
Row 5: K21  WHITE
Row 6: K3, Increase1 (repeat until end - 28 sts total)  WHITE
Row 7: K28  WHITE
Row 8: K28  WHITE
Row 9: K13   WHITE,  K2  BLACK,  K13  WHITE
Row 10: K12  WHITE,  K4  BLACK,  K12  WHITE
Row 11: K13  BLACK,  K2  WHITE,  K13  BLACK
Row 12: K13  BLACK,  K2  WHITE,  K13  BLACK
Row 13: K12  RED,    K4  BLACK,  K12  RED
Row 14: K13  RED,    K2  BLACK,  K13  RED
Row 15: K28  RED
Row 16: K28  RED
Row 17: K2, K2toG (repeat until end - 21 sts total)  RED
Row 18: K21  RED
Row 19: K1, K2toG (repeat until end - 14 sts total)  RED
Row 20: K14  RED
Row 21: K2toG (repeat until end - 7 sts total)       RED
Row 22: K7   RED

Cut, use tail to work to weave in ends.

It was simple and didn't take long.  My husband loves it, but I must still make him a proper one later on.  It is normal, of course, for a bit of the stuffing to fly out of a hacky sack.  The problem is, this loses beans much too quickly.

Oh, and the yarns I used were all Lion Brand Vanna's Choice.  Like I said, it was just what I had on hand.  The white and black were left over from Totoro.  The red was left over from the Gryffindor scarf.