Today I want to show you how to make Christmas balls of foam blanks and scraps of fabric. These balls are made in kimekomi Japanese technique, but I try not to use complex geometrical layout for their production (it seems to me that it deters many needlewomen). I'll show you five very different balls with different materials and styles).

To make the balls you will need:

• foam blanks;
• a glue stick;
• a stationery knife;
• a knitting needle, a thin crochet hook or a blunt awl (you can also use a small flat screwdriver, if you don't knit and don't have needles at home) — any thin and rather sharp object with a rounded tip;
• fabric;
• ribbons, beads, lace and other decor chosen for the final finishing of the balls.

The fabric for these balls can be different. I used cotton, satin, velvet, silk, knit, even a coarse linen. It all depends on your pattern and style. It is easier to work with knit (it stretches) and with fabrics which do not fray out. If the edge easily frays out, you can handle it, simply cut a blank deeper, and make larger allowances on fabric.