Finger Knit water balloons are perfect for keeping your kids active and burning off some energy whether you use them dry as an indoor activity or soak them in a bucket to have an outdoor “water balloon” fight! This easy finger knitting pattern and video tutorial will teach you how to make your own reusable, eco-friendly water balloons with washable loop yarn.
Get ready fun with finger knit water balloons!
One of the first patterns I ever published on Left in Knots was my Crochet Water Balloons pattern back in 2016. And seriously my kids have been using them year round ever since.
Eco-friendly, Latex-free, Mess-free and Reusable Water Balloons
I was THRILLED when I saw that the loop style yarn released by Lion Brand and Red Heart were the same, chenille-like yarn that I used to make my original Crochet Water Balloons. I knew once I saw it that I had to make a loop yarn finger knit version, too! THEN Lion Brand released their Crayola Off the Hook yarn in fun, bright colors. Hence, the Finger Knit Water Balloons were born.
Teach Your Kids with Loop Yarn
I’ll be honest, figuring out the loop yarn, especially for a pattern like this, was a little difficult to me at first. But I promise that these are so easy to make! Even your kids could be involved in making their own reusable water balloons since there are no special tools required. I’m hesitant to recommend an age that this project would be appropriate for as kids learn and have different skills at all different ages. You know your child! And if you think they have the patience to work with loop yarn and finger knit for about 20 minutes, this might be a good starter project for them!
Crochet Summer Fun for Kids and Adults
These water balloons work up SO quickly, and I have a full video tutorial for both right and left handed crafters to walk you through the pattern. I have had great feedback from my Crochet Water Balloons over the past year from people who have made these. I have heard of them being used for:
- backyard play
- neighborhood parties
- birthday party favors
- boy/girl scout camping trips
- family reunions
- vacations at the pool/beach
Selling Loop Yarn Water Balloons
Several of you have also shared with me your success in selling Crochet Water Balloons on Facebook and/or at craft fairs 🙂 If you want to try making some extra cash this summer, I put together a post with some of my favorite tips for selling reusable water balloons that would apply to these Finger Knit Water Balloons as well. You can read all about it here.
Show off Your Crochet Projects
Whether you make them for fun or for profit, hop on over to my Facebook page to share your Water Balloon fun or tag me on Instagram with #loopyarnwaterballoons @leftinknots
FAQS:
Will these hurt? I have had questions from some about whether these will hurt upon contact. I bit the bullet and let my husband throw one at me TWICE. I personally didn't think that it hurt. I would use the same rules as I would advise with regular water balloons: don't throw at the face/head and don't throw TOO hard. Make sure they are clean and free of debris. This free pattern is published for inspiration purposes only. Make/use these at your own risk and encourage your children to use them carefully 🙂
How do you fill them? You don't! Just soak them in water-they work like a sponge 🙂
Can I sell these? Absolutely! I just ask that you don't reproduce the pattern in any way (in print or electronically) and that you use your own pictures for your sales. Come back and let me know how they sell for you!
Does any Loop Yarn work? Since I have only tested Lion Brand Off the Hook and Red Heart Loop It yarn, those are the two that I can recommend for this pattern.
I can’t find Loop Yarn, can I still make reusable water balloons? YES! You can find the original Crochet Water Balloon pattern here.
Supplies
- Crayola Off-the-Hook Loop Yarn or Loop-it Loop Yarn (I was able to make 6-7 per skein)
- Scissors (I always keep these travel scissors in my hook case)
- Yarn needle (optional)
Abbreviations
- St: stitch
- Ch: chain
Video Tutorials to Help You Out
Pattern Notes:
- I made one set of balloons with 6 rounds and one set of balloons with 7 rounds. I prefer the look of the 6 round balloons and so that is the pattern written below. Please view the video tutorial to see the difference between the sizes.
Instructions:
Base Round: start with the 3rd loops from the end of your yarn, pull the 4th loop up through the 3rd loop. This creates your first ch st. Continue to create your second ch st by pulling the 5th loop through the 4th loop. Continue pulling the next loop of your working yarn through the previous loop until you have 8 ch sts.
Round 1: Use the loop from you last ch st to connect your base round in a circle by pushing it up through the first ch st (place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your round if you’d like to). Continue to pull up one loop from your working yarn through each of your ch sts from the base round. (8)
Round 2-4: Pull up one loop from your working yarn through each loop of the previous round (8)
Round 5: Pull up one loop from your working yarn through the next TWO loops of the previous round (4)
Round 6: Pull the last loop from Round 5 through all of the three remaining loops.
Cut your yarn so that you have 3 loops worth of yarn to tie off your balloon.Tie off the yarn. Cut a small piece of yarn to tie around the balloon where the knot would be in a real balloon. This makes it look more cinched in. To finish you can either weave in your ends or just push them into the inside of the balloon.
And there you have it! Make a couple of these, and in as much time it would take you to fill up regular water balloons you will be able to have a fun, safe and reusable water balloon fight!
More Free Crochet Patterns You'll Love
Find all FREE CROCHET PATTERNS here
Now the legal stuff...You may sell items made from this pattern, but please credit me as the original designer. Also, please do not share the written pattern in print or electronically. The photos on this webpage belong to Megan Meyer of Left in Knots and may not be used for product sales/product listings. You may share a link back to my blog if you would like someone else to see or work with this pattern. Thank you for your cooperation and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me!
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting free patterns and yarn deals from Left in Knots!