Jingle Balls From Yarn Scraps: The Cutest Holiday Craft You’re Not Making Yet

If you’ve been crocheting or knitting for any length of time, you know the guilt. That growing pile of yarn scraps sitting in a basket, a bin, or an overstuffed bag shoved under the craft table — too short to start a real project, too pretty to throw away. Every season the pile grows. Every season you tell yourself you’ll figure out what to do with it. Well, this year, you finally will.

Jingle balls made from yarn scraps are one of the most satisfying, budget-friendly, and surprisingly addictive holiday crafts you can make. They’re small, colorful, and make the most delightful sound when you shake them. Hang them on a tree, tuck them into a wreath, drop them in a bowl on the coffee table, or tie them onto a gift as the most charming bow alternative you’ve ever tried. Once you make your first one, you’ll be raiding your scrap bin with actual enthusiasm.

This post covers everything: what jingle balls are, why they’re worth making, what materials you need, a step-by-step method, tips for getting them right, and creative ways to use and display them. Let’s dig in.

What Are Jingle Balls From Yarn Scraps?

Jingle balls are small decorative spheres — typically about the size of a large marble or a ping pong ball — that are wrapped or worked with yarn and contain a small jingle bell inside. The bell is the magic ingredient. It gives each little ball a soft, festive chime that makes them feel alive when you handle them or when a breeze catches them on a garland.

The concept is beautifully simple. You take a foam ball, a plastic ball, or even a tightly wound ball of fiber fill, and you wrap it in yarn. The yarn scraps you’ve been hoarding for years? They are exactly right for this. Short lengths, odd colors, partial skeins — none of that matters, because these balls are intentionally scrappy and imperfect. That’s the whole point. The more varied your yarn stash, the more visually interesting and unique your finished set of jingle balls will be.

Some crafters crochet a small cover to slip over the ball form. Others use a needle felting technique. But the most accessible method — the one that requires no special skills and almost no tools — is the wrapping method, which anyone can do regardless of whether they’ve ever touched a crochet hook or knitting needle in their life. This makes jingle balls a wonderful project to share with kids, with non-crafty family members, or with anyone who wants to contribute to holiday decorating without needing a tutorial on purl stitches.

Why You Should Be Making These Right Now

Beyond the obvious appeal of using up your scraps, jingle balls have a lot going for them as a craft project.

They are genuinely fast. A single jingle ball takes about ten to twenty minutes depending on its size and the wrapping method you use. That means you can sit down for an hour and walk away with four or five finished ornaments. In the world of holiday crafting, that’s a remarkable return on time.

They are inexpensive. If you already have yarn scraps — and you do — your main costs are the ball forms, the jingle bells, and some craft glue. A bag of foam balls, a bag of jingle bells, and a bottle of tacky glue will run you just a few dollars total and will make dozens of finished pieces.

They are adaptable to any color scheme. Because you’re choosing from your own scrap stash and deciding what to combine, you have complete creative control. Want traditional red and green? Do it. Want a sophisticated winter palette of ivory, silver, and dusty blue? Easy. Want a wild, maximalist explosion of every color you own? That’s going to look incredible in a bowl.

They are gift-worthy. A set of jingle balls in a small box or tied together with a ribbon is a lovely handmade gift. They’re personal, they smell faintly of crafting (in the best way), and they tell the story of your scrap pile. People who receive handmade ornaments tend to keep them for years.

They are stress-free. There are no pattern rows to count, no gauge to match, no seams to sew. You just wrap. If something doesn’t look quite right, you wrap over it. It is the most forgiving craft you will ever attempt.

What You’ll Need

Before you start, gather your materials. The list is short.

Ball forms: Foam balls are the most widely available option and come in multipacks at craft stores. Sizes between 1.5 inches and 3 inches work beautifully for ornaments. Plastic fillable ball ornaments also work well and give you the option to place the jingle bell inside before closing the ball, which makes a slightly cleaner finished product. You can also use tightly packed fiber fill that you’ve shaped into a ball, though foam or plastic will give you the most consistent shape.

Jingle bells: Small jingle bells — the kind sold in craft stores in bags of fifty or one hundred — are ideal. You want them to fit inside or be tucked neatly into the ball form. If you’re using foam balls, you can make a small slit with a craft knife and tuck the bell inside before you begin wrapping.

Yarn scraps: This is where your scrap bin shines. You can use virtually any weight of yarn, though worsted and DK weight are easiest to wrap with and give good coverage quickly. Thinner yarn takes more time but gives a more refined look. Bulky yarn works but can be harder to wrap smoothly. Texture is also fair game — a little bit of bouclé or a sparkly metallic thread mixed in with your worsted can look stunning.

Craft glue or hot glue gun: You’ll need something to secure the yarn ends as you work and to finish the ball cleanly. Tacky glue works well for the wrapping method. A low-temp hot glue gun is faster but requires more care to avoid burning your fingers.

Scissors: For snipping yarn between colors and tidying up ends.

A tapestry needle or large-eye needle (optional): Useful for tucking ends under wraps if you want a very clean finish.

Ribbon or ornament hooks: For hanging your finished balls on a tree or garland.

How to Make Jingle Balls From Yarn Scraps: Step by Step

Step One: Prepare Your Ball Form

If you’re using foam balls, use a craft knife or even a toothpick to make a small hole or slit in the ball. Drop your jingle bell into the hole and use a tiny dot of glue to seal it back up. Give it a little shake. That’s the sound you’re working toward. If you’re using a plastic fillable ornament ball, simply place the bell inside and snap the two halves together.

Step Two: Anchor Your First Yarn End

Choose your first scrap of yarn. Apply a small dot of tacky glue to the ball and press the yarn end against it. Hold it for a moment until it grabs, or just keep tension on the yarn as you begin wrapping. The first few wraps will secure the tail.

Step Three: Start Wrapping

Begin wrapping the yarn around the ball in any direction. The secret to good coverage is to keep changing the angle of your wraps rather than wrapping in parallel lines. Think of the way a ball of twine builds up — you want to rotate the ball in your hand as you work, wrapping over different parts of the surface so the yarn crisscrosses and fills in gaps. There’s no wrong way to do this, and the randomness of it is part of what makes each ball look unique.

Step Four: Switch Colors

When you reach the end of one scrap or when you’re ready for a new color, apply a tiny dot of glue to where the yarn currently sits on the ball, press the yarn down to secure the end, and let the tail sit. Then start your next color with another anchor dot of glue and continue wrapping. The overlapping wraps from the new color will cover both ends, leaving no visible tail.

If you want a more organized look, you can plan out your color sections ahead of time and wrap in more deliberate bands or sections. If you want a more spontaneous, scrappy look, just grab whatever’s next in your pile and keep going.

Step Five: Keep Going Until the Ball is Covered

Continue wrapping, switching colors, and rotating the ball until the entire surface is covered. Don’t rush this part. Check from all angles to make sure there are no foam or plastic showing through. If you spot a gap, simply wrap a strand over it and it disappears.

Step Six: Secure the Final End

When you’re happy with the coverage and the look, secure your final yarn end with a dot of glue. Press it firmly and hold for a moment. Once it’s dry, trim any remaining tail with scissors.

Step Seven: Add a Hanger

If you want to hang your jingle ball as an ornament, thread a length of ribbon through an ornament hook and press the hook into the foam ball at the top. For plastic ball ornaments, the ornament cap already has a hook or loop attached. You can also simply tie a loop of yarn through the hook if you don’t have ornament hooks on hand.

That’s it. Your first jingle ball is done. Now make twenty more.

Tips for Making Your Jingle Balls Even Better

A few techniques will help you level up from your first batch to a polished, beautiful set.

Embrace the imperfections. Lumpy spots, slight gaps filled with a different color, yarn ends that peek out just a little — these things give handmade pieces their character. Don’t try to make these look machine-made. The handmade quality is exactly what makes them special.

Think in color families. Rather than wrapping randomly, loosely plan your palette. Warm tones (red, orange, gold, rust) all on one ball. Cool tones (blue, purple, silver, teal) on another. Neutrals with one pop of color on a third. This creates a set that looks curated even when it’s made from total scraps.

Add texture intentionally. A single wrap of metallic thread, a strand of fuzzy mohair, or a bit of chenille can completely transform the look of a ball. These specialty fibers don’t need to dominate — just a few wraps woven in with your main yarn adds visual depth and catches the light beautifully.

Make them in batches. Set up an assembly line: prep all your balls first, then sit down for a wrapping session with your scrap pile spread out beside you. You’ll find a rhythm quickly and the whole process becomes meditative.

Try varying the sizes. A mix of small, medium, and larger balls displayed together looks much more dynamic than a uniform set. Go from a one-inch baby ball up to a three-inch statement piece.

Use seasonal non-yarn materials. Thin strips of burlap, lengths of embroidery floss, paper twine, or even fabric strips from old clothing can all be incorporated into your wrapping. If it can wrap around a ball, it belongs in your jingle ball.

Creative Ways to Display Your Jingle Balls

Once you have a collection of finished jingle balls, the possibilities for displaying them are genuinely exciting.

A clear glass bowl or vase filled with jingle balls is one of the simplest and most impactful holiday decorations you can put on a table. Arrange them by color family or mix everything together. Either way, the visual effect is warm, handmade, and wonderfully festive.

Hang them on your Christmas tree as ornaments, mixed in with your regular decorations. A cluster of handmade jingle balls near the end of a branch gives that branch movement and texture that glass or plastic ornaments can’t provide.

String them onto a garland. Use a large needle and strong thread to string a series of jingle balls along a length of twine or velvet ribbon. Drape this across a mantle, along a staircase railing, or around a doorframe for an entirely handmade holiday garland.

Use them as gift toppers. Tie one or two jingle balls to the ribbon on a wrapped gift instead of a traditional bow. The recipient gets a decoration along with their present, and your wrapping instantly looks more personal and considered.

Tuck them into a wreath. Press a few jingle balls into an existing wreath — a plain evergreen wreath, a simple grapevine wreath — and watch the wreath come to life with color and texture. You can attach them with floral wire or use a dab of hot glue.

Make a centerpiece. Arrange a variety of jingle balls in a wooden tray or a shallow basket with a few sprigs of greenery, some pine cones, and a candle or two for an instant holiday centerpiece that costs almost nothing.

Storing Your Jingle Balls for Next Year

One of the nicest things about jingle balls made from yarn scraps is that they store beautifully. Because they’re soft and flexible, they don’t shatter or chip the way glass ornaments do. You can pack them loosely into a box, a zip bag, or a fabric pouch and they’ll emerge next year looking exactly as they did when you put them away. Store them away from direct light and moisture, and they’ll last for many holiday seasons to come.

If you add to your scrap stash throughout the year — and you will, because yarn crafters always do — you can make a few new jingle balls each season and add them to your collection. Over time, your bowl of jingle balls becomes a kind of archive of every yarn project you’ve loved, a small colorful history of your making.

A Craft That Honors the Whole Skein

There’s something genuinely meaningful about a craft that uses the parts of materials we’d otherwise discard. Jingle balls made from yarn scraps turn potential waste into something beautiful, functional, and lasting. They’re proof that you don’t need a full skein, a finished pattern, or a lot of time to create something worth keeping.

So the next time you finish a project and look at that sad little leftover length of yarn — three feet of heathered teal, a handful of dusty rose, a twist of silver-gold — don’t toss it. Drop it in your scrap bin and remember that it has a purpose. It’s a future jingle ball, waiting to be made.

Get your foam balls. Get your bells. Sit down with your scrap pile and make something that jingles.