I made these cat toys for my local animal shelter. I needed to get rid of a lot of yarn that I have no idea why I bought, and I had a lot of scrap yarn as well. I think they turned out great (once I remembered how to crochet, it's been a while)! These balls are great for using up scrap yarn. I had a lot of little bits and pieces which I joined together with square knots to make the multicolored toys!
For these toys I recommend using an H hook with heavier worsted-weight yarn like Red Heart Super Saver or Craftsmart Value, as opposed to Caron Simply Soft. I have found that the Red Heart and Craftsmart yarns make nice, stiff toys, while the Caron makes squishy toys and the slightly thinner quality has a tendency of showing the stuffing through unless you use a smaller hook. Another great idea is adding a little dried catnip when stuffing.
Pattern
Key:sc: single crochet
sc2tog: single crochet invisible decrease
R1: 5sc in a magic ring
R2: 2sc in each st around
R3: [1sc in next 2 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next st, 2sc in next st] around
R4: 1sc in next 4 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next 4 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next 4 st
R5: 1sc in each st around
R6: 1sc in next 4st, sc2tog, 1sc in next 4st, sc2tog, 1sc in next 4st
R7: [1sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, 1sc in next st, sc2tog] around, stuff
R8: sc2tog around
R9: weave hole closed and secure end
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