One of the cheapest and healthiest ways to reduce stress is to squeeze a stress ball. This simple pattern uses eyelash yarn (fun fur), which has an additional calming effect because it’s very strokeable.

Be very careful to keep the yarn and finished items away from children under 3 years, as they can be a choking hazard. The “eyelashes” in some brands of eyelash yarn may detach themselves and can block a small child’s airways if swallowed.

The size of the finished ball will vary, according to the thickness of the yarn used and the density/length of the eyelashes in that yarn. The amount required is about 10g of double knitting/8-ply yarn or about 28g of chunky/bulky yarn. You may wish to experiment further with sizes by changing the number of stitches and rows to make a larger or smaller ball. Whatever the size, the ball should feel comfortable to handle and be quite firmly stuffed with filling to make it satisfyingly squeezy.