# my Kimekomi ball



## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

Now that my painting is done, I can finally chill with some fun stuff so this morning I decided to try my hand at making a kimekomi ball ornament. I was surprised to see how fast you can make one of these. You can make it easily in about an hour. I didn't finish this one as it was a test piece to learn on, anyway didn't have enough of that flowery fabric in my scrap bag. I just wanted to see how it was done, is all. That said...it's easy peasy work and a lot of fun to do. I didn't bother measuring anything and just eye-balled all segments around the ball with a black marker. 

Here's a quickie run-thru: 

divide the ball in half with a marker

divide the half in half

divide the remaining sections in half 

should wind up with 8 sections from top to bottom (vertically)

Now divide those 8 sections in half going HORIZONTALLY ACROSS them. This will give you 16 sections which is what I have on my ball. Of course you can just choose to work with just 8 sections or even 4.

Work with one section at a time. Each of these 16 segments resembles a kind of oblong triangle. Choose one segment to work at a time. Cut slits all along the perimeter (use exacto knife) in the shape of the triangle. Don't be afraid to go deep. Measure a piece of fabric to cover the entire segment area allowing for overlap so you will have enough fabric to poke into the slits. I didn't measure out the fabric pieces, all I did was place a piece of fabric over a segment to see if I allowed for overlap and then I would cut it. If too much, I simply snipped off all the excess fabric as I went about poking it into the slits. I used one of my old carving knives for tucking the fabric into the slits. It's blade is dull so it worked GREAT as a tucking tool. I used my exacto knife to make the slits. I didn't use the measuring tape at all. Give this a try...it is not complicated as it seems. I think my kimekomi ball was turning out to be so pretty,too. Well, now I know how it's done! I highly recommend these gorgeous balls, boy can you go crazy creative with this!!!
Here are some pics of the one I was testing making:


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## Swedenme (May 28, 2014)

That is lovely it's a pity you didn't finish it


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## subtlewitch (Sep 30, 2012)

Very pretty! Lovely job.


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## moherlyle (May 14, 2011)

Thanks for the instructions and encouragement! I have some Christmas fabric that would be perfect for these. Do you cut a v shape with the exacto knife or just a slit? Seems like it would be really tough to get both pieces of fabric into a narrow cut. Thanks!


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## Irish knitter (Mar 29, 2011)

I think I'll make some on Thanksgiving with my daughter in law. I was going to knit but they need ornaments for their tree. 

Thank You for the tutorial....that is what made me think about doing this.....!


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## Granana48 (May 5, 2014)

Had never heard of a ball called that, but it looks really neat.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

Swedenme said:


> That is lovely it's a pity you didn't finish it


I will finish it, gotta get more of that flower fabric. Will be going to JoAnn's today.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

no...just cuts slits...run your exacto blade all around the triangular shaped segment. I pushed my exacto blade in right on up to the hilt and kind of moved it up and down in a sawing motion as I went along the outside perimeter of the segment I was working in.
Just so you know, the slits will be hard to see once you are done, you will just have to remember that they are there or you could just mark it off with pins. But don't worry, your tool will find them, just begin poking!
Also you may note that the slits look rather ugly and miss shapen, don't fret it...it will all tidy up in the end when you are finished poking the fabric in. Also you can hide all those indentations made after the fabric is seated...just run a border of some fancy cord or trim like I did. Everything is all about the finished product and how well you clean them up at the end.
By the time you do a couple of these, you will be a pro and probably won't need to border anything. I have seen some kimekomi balls without any bordering at all and they looked great!!


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## moherlyle (May 14, 2011)

Thank you so much! I'm going to try this - and I have a granddaughter who might like this too.


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## MrsMurdog (Apr 16, 2013)

My husband is working Thanksgiving day. I think I will get some fancy fabric (my mind is seeing a nice Asian brocade) and have a play day!


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

moherlyle said:


> Thanks for the instructions and encouragement! I have some Christmas fabric that would be perfect for these. Do you cut a v shape with the exacto knife or just a slit? Seems like it would be really tough to get both pieces of fabric into a narrow cut. Thanks!


Nope...not at all!!! Both pieces of fabric can be poked in, easily. The slit you make is really capable of holding the fabric quite well. You should experiment with the RIGHT tool for poking the fabric in. It should have a narrow or thin tip, not too thin. You don't want to make the slit too wide or the fabric will keep being pulled out as you work the other side of the triangle. Work BOTH sides of the triangle when seating the fabric, do this simutaneously - one side poke, the other side poke - like working a ladder stitch. This helps to keep your fabric centered if you have a design on it that you want to keep centered. Of course you will develop your own method...whatever works for you - do!


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

MrsMurdog said:


> My husband is working Thanksgiving day. I think I will get some fancy fabric (my mind is seeing a nice Asian brocade) and have a play day!


Uh oh...stay away from the trim department!!! I spent a small fortune just in that section alone at JoAnns this summer. Aye yi yi!!!


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

I just want to add that the trim I used on the segments of my ball are just tacked down with pins. But I will probably hot glue them in place when the whole ball is completed. I just tacked them in for now to see how the ball would look when finished. Of course if there is another glue I can use that would work just as well...I am open to suggestions.


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## skinny minnie (Jan 4, 2012)

Had my 8and 9 yr old Gd making these after school last night. took a photo and tried to send only to find my phone no longer provides this service darn it. The younger one did a great job whilst the older gouged her ball and complained she couldn't do it. They look great for first time. I couldn't remember what they were called and told them what to do from memory. Yours look great. I like the idea of a thicker braid


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## skinny minnie (Jan 4, 2012)

Sorry double post


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

That is really pretty! Thanks for sharing.


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## skinny minnie (Jan 4, 2012)

skinny minnie said:


> Had my 8and 9 yr old Gd making these after school last night. took a photo and tried to send only to find my phone no longer provides this service darn it. The younger one did a great job whilst the older gouged her ball and complained she couldn't do it. They look great for first time. I couldn't remember what they were called and told them what to do from memory. Yours look great. I like the idea of a thicker braid


Found a new way to add the photos


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## rujam (Aug 19, 2011)

Lovely, I will try some of those for next Christmas.


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## Nanner1950 (Oct 23, 2011)

I love your ornament. Your choice of fabric is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing and your extensive suggestions. Saves much trial and error. I will definitely be attempting these.


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## mollyannhad (Feb 1, 2011)

that is so pretty!


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

skinny minnie said:


> Found a new way to add the photos


WOW, they turned out just great! See...and that was only done in 8 segments! Very pretty!


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

I have to go to art group now but will be back later. Yesterday I went to JoAnns and luckily they had more of that flower fabric so when I come back I will finish the kimekomi ball. By the way, I found two different ways on how to pronounce the word "Kimekomi." One was "Key-may-co-may" and the other was "Kee-may-co-mee." Guess it's a matter of preference?


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## tat'sgran (Dec 13, 2011)

Just lovely..think Tatianna would like to make these..xo WS


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## tat'sgran (Dec 13, 2011)

lovely..think Tatianna would love to make these for gifting.. xo WS


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## makeitsew2750 (Jan 23, 2011)

You made a beautiful ornament, I have done a couple of these for gifts also but used the smooth surface balls and glued the cloth with a thin layer of Elmer's when I lay the fabric on the ball. It seems like you just can't make a bad looking ornament and I want to try doing one with the egg shape. There is a book out on how to do these with patterns and a few good YouTube videos also. Wish we all had more time in our days for all of our projects.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

makeitsew2750 said:


> You made a beautiful ornament, I have done a couple of these for gifts also but used the smooth surface balls and glued the cloth with a thin layer of Elmer's when I lay the fabric on the ball. It seems like you just can't make a bad looking ornament and I want to try doing one with the egg shape. There is a book out on how to do these with patterns and a few good YouTube videos also. Wish we all had more time in our days for all of our projects.


You're right...I forgot about the smooth surface styrofoam balls. Where did you get yours? Michaels didn't have them. Sounds like the smooth surfaced ones would be easier to work with since you can glue the fabric down and not have to worry about pulling one side out as you tuck the other side in.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

...and thank you guys for liking the one I am making. Now I have to get back to finishing it.


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## NJG (Dec 2, 2011)

Dusti said:


> Now that my painting is done, I can finally chill with some fun stuff so this morning I decided to try my hand at making a kimekomi ball ornament. I was surprised to see how fast you can make one of these. You can make it easily in about an hour. I didn't finish this one as it was a test piece to learn on, anyway didn't have enough of that flowery fabric in my scrap bag. I just wanted to see how it was done, is all. That said...it's easy peasy work and a lot of fun to do. I didn't bother measuring anything and just eye-balled all segments around the ball with a black marker.
> 
> Here's a quickie run-thru:
> 
> ...


They look wonderful and give me lots of ideas. These are a couple I made a few years ago. If I remember correctly, I think I cut kind of an oval, to a point at the top and bottom and folded it in half, and used a straight pin or sequin pin to pin it to the top and bottom. I then put the next folded edge over the raw edge of the previous one, if that makes any sense. Cobalt blue is a color I love so I have lots of that and silver on my tree. The fabric I used was glittery and a bit stretchy. They were lots of fun to make.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

NJG said:


> They look wonderful and give me lots of ideas. These are a couple I made a few years ago. If I remember correctly, I think I cut kind of an oval, to a point at the top and bottom and folded it in half, and used a straight pin or sequin pin to pin it to the top and bottom. I then put the next folded edge over the raw edge of the previous one, if that makes any sense. Cobalt blue is a color I love so I have lots of that and silver on my tree. The fabric I used was glittery and a bit stretchy. They were lots of fun to make.


Wow! These are beautiful!! When you say you cut the oval, I assume you mean an oval shape in the fabric? Right? Then you didn't cut slits in the ball. Is that right, too? Sorry if I am being dense...been doing that a LOT lately


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## Damama (Oct 2, 2011)

subtlewitch said:


> Very pretty! Lovely job.


 :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## NJG (Dec 2, 2011)

Dusti said:


> Wow! These are beautiful!! When you say you cut the oval, I assume you mean an oval shape in the fabric? Right? Then you didn't cut slits in the ball. Is that right, too? Sorry if I am being dense...been doing that a LOT lately


You are right. I tried to describe it so it could be understood, but hard to do. You are not being dense. I think the fact that the fabric was a little stretchy was helpful, as you could pull it slightly to make it lay down better. I had 6 blue and 6 silver strips of fabric on each ball. I used conchos, ones that had two opening in them, like to string on a belt, on the top and bottom. Any other questions, just ask.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

NJG said:


> You are right. I tried to describe it so it could be understood, but hard to do. You are not being dense. I think the fact that the fabric was a little stretchy was helpful, as you could pull it slightly to make it lay down better. I had 6 blue and 6 silver strips of fabric on each ball. I used conchos, ones that had two opening in them, like to string on a belt, on the top and bottom. Any other questions, just ask.


Ok, makes perfect sense. Also sounds like it'll work faster than the cut groove method. Either or...still, you can make very quick ornaments this way with either method and they're gorgeous to boot! The ideas are endless!


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## NJG (Dec 2, 2011)

Dusti said:


> Ok, makes perfect sense. Also sounds like it'll work faster than the cut groove method. Either or...still, you can make very quick ornaments this way with either method and they're gorgeous to boot! The ideas are endless!


Right, pretty cheap to make and you can change your color theme when you want.


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## glnwhi (Jan 19, 2011)

thanks for the tutorial think I'll try it


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## makeitsew2750 (Jan 23, 2011)

Do a search for the product name Smoothfoam, I have found them at my Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann's and Micheal's along with e-bay etc. they have half balls and all kinds of shapes have you seen them done on a flat piece to look like a quilt square also? I just ordered the book Kimekomi got a good deal on it from E-Bay looking forward to getting it for some pattern ideas.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

makeitsew2750 said:


> Do a search for the product name Smoothfoam, I have found them at my Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann's and Micheal's along with e-bay etc. they have half balls and all kinds of shapes have you seen them done on a flat piece to look like a quilt square also? I just ordered the book Kimekomi got a good deal on it from E-Bay looking forward to getting it for some pattern ideas.


Oh thanks! I didn't know the actual name of the product. WIll look for it now.


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