This is a pattern written for use by children to crochet stuffed snowballs for a school play at Russian School.
Instructions for Russian, Ukrainian and English are in separate files.
Download Snezhki_ENG.pdf for the English version.

Similar snowballs have been crocheted by staff in the past, but always disappeared in large quantities, so this year the administration had the glorious idea of having the little ones make their own snowballs!

The pattern has been written to accompany a class on making these, but can be used on its own. As necessary for use by small children, everything is explained in great detail, with photo tutorials on how to make an adjustable magic ring and crochet sc, sc2tog and sc2in1, as well as schematics highlighting which part of the ball is currently worked on.

Instructions are written out row-by-row for 3 different snowball sizes (3.5 to 6 inches in diameter), but general instructions to be used for any size ball with any yarn weight are also given.

A word on yarn choice: For a training piece, it’s best to use non-fluffy yarns with good stitch definition, such as straightforward acrylic yarns (to be brushed with a pet brush after completion). Chenille-type novelty yarns will make an optically more pleasing ball, but the stitches are very hard to see, so these should only be used after the learning phase. Plain yarn snowballs can be brushed with a pet brush to fluff up the surface.

If you work with an age-diversified group, assign easy tasks, such as preparing and inserting stuffing or sorting and counting completed balls, to smaller children who can’t yet crochet. For quick results, you can prepare balls that are completed 1/3 up and have the children crochet just the even part to practice the single crochet before overloading them with complicated counting, increasing and decreasing.

The pattern uses the easiest possible method of crocheting a sphere, without wanting to produce an ideally sphere-shaped object with skillfully shifted increases and decreases.

Three hook sizes are listed to be used with different yarn weights, but the same size is used throughout each snowball.

Besides hook and yarn, a removable marker (paper clip) or piece of contrasting color waste yarn, polyester stuffing and a large-eyed needle or threading bodkin are necessary to complete this project.

Gauge is not important, but the balls should not be crocheted too loosely so that stuffing won’t escape between stitches. The listed gauge of 10 sts and 8 rounds per 10 cm [4 in] pertains to “Heartfelt Heritage” yarn. “Bernat Blanket/BabyBlanket” has about 8 sts and 6 rows per 10 cm [4 in]. “Bernat Baby Blanket” has a whiter White colorway than regular “Bernat Blanket”.

Это описание написано для маленьких детей!

Чтобы загрузить русскую версию, выберите файл snezhki-Dec9wzl.pdf.

Тебе понадобится

– толстые нитки (для образцов были использованы «Heartfelt Heritage» и «Belle», обе пряжи компании «stitch studio by nicole» из магазина A.C. Moore)
– крючок для вязания 7–9 мм
– игла с большим ушком
– наполнитель (“Синтепон” или “fiberfil”, или из старой подушки)
– открывающийся маркер для вязания или английская булавка
– ножницы

Тебе нужно знать
(Всё это объяснено в описаний.)
– кольцо амигуруми (AMR = adjustable magic ring)
– столбик без накида (sc = single crochet)
– прибавка (два столбика без накида в одну петлю) (sc2in1)
– убавка (провязать вместе два столбика без накида) (sc2tog)

#kitsforukrainianrefugees