6 Strip Woven Ball - an Alternate Method

There are many instructions for weaving a 6 strand ball on the internet. A search for sepak takraw ball making on youtube yields nearly a dozen. But the ones I've seen are only suitable for flat strips joined at the ends. I wanted to make one from string trimmer line so I needed a different way.

Step 1: Materials

I'm using flat strips to illustrate the process. I like to use plastic pallet strapping I get off of shipments that come in to work. But paper or anything thin and flexible will do. A good width to length ratio is 1:22, plus some extra to overlap the ends for taping them together. It can be a bit smaller or larger if desired.

Step 2: Make 3 Interconnecting Rings

Tape the ends of the first ring together. Add a second ring to the first. Pass the third strip through both rings and tape the ends to form the third ring.

Step 3: Add the Fourth Strip

Hold all three rings together at the top. If they stair step down as shown in the first picture swing the top one around until it looks like the second picture. Add the fourth ring going through the other three.

Step 4: Check the Crossover Pattern

If it the top ring comes over the center as in the first picture grab all three rings and flip top to bottom. If the top ring goes over to the right as in the second picture grab the center ring and let the others fall into place.

The ball can be made starting from the center picture but it will be a mirror image of this one and it may prove confusing to follow the directions from here on. The orange one shown at the beginning is in fact a mirror image of this one.

Step 5: Form the First Triangle

Hold the three rings where they cross and let the top ring drop down. Swing the middle ring counter clockwise as shown. Next swing the top ring counter clockwise as well making sure the near edge goes under the bottom strip to the right.

Step 6: Bring in the Fourth Ring

Bring the fourth ring up to form a triangle next to the first one. Temporarily tape across the two triangles to hold in place. Flip it over and tape the triangles on the other side. It is helpful to prepare the pieces of temporary tape ahead of time.

Step 7: Weave in the Fifth Ring

Weave the fifth ring in one side as shown. This creates the first star pattern. Pull the strip around to the far side and weave it in. Tape the ends together and remove the temporary tape.

Step 8: Add the Final Strip

Turn the ball so that the stars are up and down. The strips coming down from top to the right should be underneath the strips coming down to the left. Weave the final strip in place around the middle and tape the ends together.