I’ve been experimenting with 2D patterns that yield various 3D shapes.

I tried the baseball method, where two figure eight or dumbbell shaped pieces are sewn together to yield a sphere.

I tried two versions: (1) Two circles placed adjacent to one another to form a figure eight (1). (2) Two circles placed at a distance equal to the length of the circle edge enclosed by the connecting lines (2).

I will start with the first version (1). I got this pattern by putting four circles together and using the edges of the lateral circles to form the sides.

I sewed two identical pieces together like a baseball.

The result was a ball with this shape (3). The Blue arrows show the corresponding part on the original pattern.

The second version was made by putting four circles equidistant from a centre point, and using the edges of the lateral circles to form the sides.

I sewed two identical pieces together like a baseball.

The result was a ball with this shape (5). ​ The Blue arrows show the corresponding part on the original pattern.

Results are shown here.

For spheres, I will use version 2.