Now we get into all the gift posts that I didn’t have a chance to post before Christmas. But this is why we have the DIY Gift tab so you can look ’em up in time for NEXT holiday season. This one is pretty easy, and you can whip up two of these baseball keychains in less than an hour.
So what you need is a leather baseball (old or new, it’s your choice, though I like the weathering on an old ball), 2 keychain jump rings (they tend to be sold in pairs), a sturdy sewing needle, some red embroidery floss, a craft knife, and 2 small carabiners (optional). You could also use a pair of scissors to cut the thread, but I just used the knife, like a badass.
First, take your baseball and rest it on a sturdy surface and hold it firmly in one hand. Use the craft knife to cut along the seam of the ball, severing all the threads that are holding it together.
Now you can peel off the two leather pieces.
Discard the ball (it’s basically just a tightly wrapped ball of twine).
Peel off the string that is stuck to the underside of the leather pieces.
Try to get as much off as you can.
Now you can pull out the cut stitching.
Two naked baseball halves. They will be slightly sticky and so will adhere to themselves when you fold them.
But before you do, make sure to thread a jump ring on and slide it to the narrow part of the leather.
Now cut yourself a lengthy piece of embroidery floss and thread it onto your needle so that the thread is doubled.
Start sewing. I thought about using the blanket stitch here but I wanted the thread lines to align with the old stitching grooves so I ended up just using the whip stitch.
It was easier to align the grooves on my second one.
Keep going until you get to the other end.
Tie off your thread and tuck it between the folds of the leather piece to hide the knot. Add your (optional) carabiner and you’re all set. Feel free to monogram the keychain as well.
What a creative mind! Am a bit curious here. How did you know a baseball would provide two awesome shapes just right for two key chains, with no modifications at all? I call it intuition; others would call it talent. You’re incredible!
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Hahah, thanks. I’d made a bracelet with baseballs a few years ago so I had a general idea how they’d turn out.
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Awesome! Keep on keeping on. You definitely have a unique way of generating ideas, and ‘actualizing them’; and that, according to me, is remarkable. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks!
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I second the incredible! 🙂
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This is like a horror show for people with autographed Baseballs. All the cutting… 🙂
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Haha, well I wouldn’t recommend doing it with a ball that’s worth anything … though you could definitely prank someone by forging a signature on one you cut up and hiding the real autographed one for a while …
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A prank, fake; slightly better…
But my first reaction was, GAH!!… 🙂
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This is awesome!
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Reblogged this on The Sweetest December and commented:
Being a baseball mama, all things baseball jump out at me! When I saw this I thought it was such a cute idea…can’t wait to try it out!
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Ridiculously cool. Seriously.
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Aren’t you kind of anti-any sport that isn’t futbal?
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Oh for sure. But when this popped up on my Bloglovin dash I was like WHAT IS THAT. And then I realized what you had done and I was like “/nods in approval”.
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*nods in approval* 🙂
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How cool is that!?!
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am hosting an Astros game for 1000 people, yes we are selling tickets! it is a publicity event for Catholic Daughters in the Great State of Texas. May make some for door prizes——-looks easy, maybe I can do 1000? We will see!!!! Thanks for the DIY!
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