The Ultimate Manual for Crafting Homemade Juggling Beanbags

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Author: Joshua Clifton
Edition: Third Edition (Now expanded into a multi-document series)
Last Updated: 11/11/2025

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If you have inquiries or feedback, feel free to contact the author directly or participate in the community discussion forums.

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📚 Overview of the Guide

This project serves as both a practical instructional manual and a technical treatise. It focuses on the design and construction of spherical, paneled beanbags tailored for juggling and footbagging. The guide provides comprehensive patterns for every design featured in the documentation.

🛠️ Getting Started Checklist

• Download the Complete Guide Zip File or individual chapters.
• Save all PDFs into a single folder (essential for cross-document hyperlinks).
• Check your printer settings for the desired resolution (600dpi vs 150dpi).
• Review Chapter 2 for material and seam adjustments.

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💾 Download Center

Comprehensive Packages

Depending on your needs, you can download the entire collection in one archive.

Note: Please avoid linking directly to these files to prevent broken links if directory structures change.

Individual Chapter Documents

Each chapter is available in Normal (600dpi) or Small (150dpi) versions.

• Core Documents
  • 1 - Homemade Juggling Beanbag Guide - Index & Supplementary Chapters.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • Juggling Beanbag Patterns by Joshua Clifton.pdf (10/8/2024) — A pattern-only compilation without instructions.
• Specific Panel Designs
  • 2-Panel Baseball Chapter.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • 4 & 6-Panel Orange Peel Ball Chapter.pdf (4/16/2025)
  • 4-Panel Spherical Tetrahedron Chapter.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • 6-Panel Spherical Cube Chapter.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • 8-Panel Spherical Octahedron Chapter.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • 12-Panel Simplified Volleyball (Cube) Chapter.pdf (11/11/2024)
  • 12-Panel Spherical Dodecahedron Chapter.pdf (11/11/2025)
  • 12-Panel Spherical Rhombic Dodecahedron Chapter.pdf (9/27/2024)
  • 14-Panel Spherical Cuboctahedron & Trunc Octahedron Chapter.pdf (9/17/2024)
  • 14-Panel Spherical Equidistant Cuboctahedron Chapter.pdf (5/24/2025)
  • 24-Panel Deltoidal Icositetrahedron Chapter.pdf (9/17/2024)
  • 26-Panel Rhombicuboctahedron Chapter.pdf (10/1/2024)
  • 30-Panel Rhombic Triacontahedron Chapter.pdf (9/17/2024)
  • 32-Panel Equidistant Trunc Icosahedron Chapter.pdf (9/29/2024)
  • 32-Panel Color Arrangements.pdf (10/1/2024)

Supplemental Materials & Archives

• Customization: Blank Juggling Beanbag Color Arrangement Diagrams.zip
  • Contains .PNG files for the six 32-panel designs.
  • Use an image editor to plan your colors.
• Legacy Versions:
  • First Edition (Earliest Draft: 11/8/2012) $\rightarrow$ How to Make Juggling Beanbags (First Edition, earliest).pdf
  • First Edition (Latest Draft: 9/9/2018) $\rightarrow$ How to Make Juggling Beanbags (First Edition, latest).pdf

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📐 Project Philosophy & Technical Depth

The objective of this project is to provide a definitive resource for creating fabric sphere structures. While the primary application is juggling beanbags, the methodology extends to footbags and other cloth-ball applications.

The Architecture of the Guide

The guide is massive, exceeding 750 pages, but is structured for accessibility:

Accessibility vs. Technicality

The author has balanced the content to serve two distinct audiences:

1. The Hobbyist: Can simply print the patterns and begin sewing without needing to understand the underlying math.
2. The Mathematician: Can explore the geometry and design theories to modify or improve the shapes.

Tip: Throughout the PDFs, bold text is used strategically to allow readers to scan for critical information quickly.

Mathematical Foundation

The author noticed a void in the community regarding the precise definition of pattern shapes, particularly for the 32-panel footbag (composed of pentagons and semi-regular hexagons). To solve the problem of sizing, the guide provides:

• Six pre-set sizes for every design.
• Scaling instructions for custom diameters.
• Formulas for calculating dimensions.

For example, the relationship between the radius of the sphere $r$ and the panel area can be analyzed using the general volume of a sphere: $V = \frac{4}{3}\pi r^3$

Customization and Originality

Aside from standard regular polygons, the author personally designed all panel shapes. In Chapter 2, specific guidance is provided on adjusting patterns to account for:

• Material thickness
• Seam gather
• Fabric elasticity

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🖼️ Visual Gallery

Below are examples of the results achieved using these technical diagrams:

# Conceptual logic for pattern scaling
def calculate_pattern_size(desired_diameter, scale_factor):
    return (desired_diameter * scale_factor) / 2