A close second to my love for knitting and crocheting is pickleball! And I’m certainly not alone these days.

So it was an easy decision to design a crocheted pickleball paddle that makes a great project and fun gift.

The ones shown here are in a fingering-weight mercerized cotton from my stash. You can certainly substitute other fingering-weight yarns if you like this finished size. Or use a thicker yarn from your stash! Just adjust the hook size and know that your finished size will vary accordingly (Think “fun accent pillow” if crocheted in a bulky yarn!).

Each paddle is made up of two main paddle pieces, which are then joined with a contrasting crochet edging and lightly stuffed with fiberfill. The handle and ball are both crocheted in the round with a little band of accent color at the top of the handle. The ball gets a nicely rounded shape from a tiny bit of fiberfill.

For the size shown, a Q-tip gives the handle some structure. You can improvise with something bigger if you use a thicker yarn and hook. Finish by attaching the handle and ball and adding the lobster claw clasp to quickly turn it into a practical keychain or bag charm.

APPROXIMATE SIZE (in fingering-weight yarn): 3 ½” / 9 cm tall, not including clasp/keychain attachment; 1 ¾” / 4.5 cm at widest part of paddle.

CROCHET LEVEL: Intermediate

Information for Yarn Substitution: A fingering-weight yarn (for finished size shown here) in mercerized cotton or other blend with a suggested gauge of 28 sts = 33 rows = 4” / 10 cm on size 0-2 US / 2-2.75 mm knitting needles. Approx yardage for each paddle: 16 yds / 15 m for main paddle; 2 ½ yds / 3 m for edging; 3 yds / 3 m for handle; 1 yd / 1 m for handle trim; 2 yds / 2 m for ball.

Shown in (first image): Small amounts of Yeoman Yarns Cannele 4 Ply (100% Mercerized Cotton); 8.82 oz./250 g; 959 yds/877 m per cone: Color 5 Sky (main paddle), 28 Ensign (edging), 6 White (handle), 142 Viola (handle trim) AND (unfortunately, a discontinued yarn) Inca Top Yarns (100% Baby Alpaca); 1 ¾ oz./450 g; approx 1800 yds/99 m per cone: in Sunflower (ball).

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