Okay so today I messed around with this baseball stitching idea that popped into my head. Saw this old worn-out baseball my kid doesn’t use anymore sitting on the shelf, all dusty. Figured, why not try something new?
Digging Up Stuff
First thing, I needed supplies. Went rummaging like a crazy person. Found the sad baseball. Scrounged some thick red embroidery thread – leftover from that failed Christmas ornament project last year. Grabbed a big old needle, the kind you’d use for stitching leather, pretty sure it came with a shoe repair kit ages ago. And the trusty pliers from the garage toolbox. Yeah, pliers. Thought maybe I’d need them to yank the needle through that tough leather.
Poking Holes Like a Maniac
Stared at the baseball seams. That raised red stitching? That’s what I wanted to mess with. Started pushing the needle into one of the existing holes right where two pieces of leather meet. Holy cow, it was stiff! Poked and pushed, grunted a bit, finally got it through one hole. Pulled the needle and thread all the way through until I just had a small tail left. Pliers totally helped here, no shame. Used them to grip the needle tight when pulling.
The “Heart” Part (Kinda)
Okay, here’s the plan: instead of following the baseball’s normal stitching path, I wanted to make a little heart shape right on top of the existing red stitch. Didn’t measure anything, just eyeballed it. Poked the needle back down diagonally from where I started, like making one side of a “V”. Pulled the thread through. Then, went up again near my starting point to start the other side of the “V”. Pulled it tight-ish? Well, kinda. Honestly, it looked more like a lopsided blob than a heart at this point. Huh.
Making the Loop-Dee-Loop
Looked at my sad blob-heart. Needed the top curves, right? That’s where it gets weird. Stuck the needle back up sorta near the top point of my “V”. Wrapped the red thread around the needle once, like making a tiny little loop before pushing the needle back down into the same hole I just came up from. Pulled it tight. Okay, kinda formed a small bump? Did the same thing on the other side of the top of the “V”. Now I had two awkward bumps on my blob. Was this supposed to be the top curves of the heart? Maybe? In very loose terms?
Securing the Mess
Knew I had to lock this thing down before it all unraveled. On the back side, underneath the leather where the stitches came through, I pulled those two thread ends together. Did that dumb knot I always do – like tying my shoes twice just in case. Then, because I’m paranoid, added a huge glob of super glue from that dried-up bottle I found. Held it for like a minute until I felt like I was glued to the baseball myself. Used the pliers to snip off the extra thread ends close to the knot.
Looking at the Thing
Turned the baseball over. And wow. It’s… something alright. There’s definitely some extra red bumps and threads sitting on top of the original stitching. From a distance? Yeah, squinting real hard, you might think it vaguely resembles a cartoon heart that got sat on. Or maybe a squished raspberry. Definitely unique? It’s got personality. My kid saw it later and just went “Cool. Weird.” Perfect.
Big Truth:
Honestly, this method sucked. Digging holes with a giant needle into tough leather is exhausting. My fingers feel like I punched a wall. The super glue feels gross. And the “heart” is basically abstract art. Maybe a smaller needle, thinner thread, or even trying to stitch alongside the existing seam instead of right on top would be smarter. But hey, it was an idea, I did it, it exists now, and that’s the whole point for me.
