1. Bag of dry lentils
2. Sturdy fabric
3. Needle and thread
4. Stickpin
5. Scissors
6. Cardboard, drinking glass, and marker (Optional)
Step One
Cut two circles of equal size out of your fabric. For a hacky sack, the circles should measure 2 ½ to 3 inches in diameter. Your fabric circles can be different colors and textures, but it’s important to keep them the same size as each other.
If you’re having trouble cutting a circle by eyeballing it, trace the rim of a drinking glass on a piece of cardboard and cut it out to use as your pattern.
Step Two
Place your fabric circles directly on top of each other with the “pretty” sides facing inward. Hold the circles together in place with the stickpin. Sew the circles together by sewing along the edges of the circles, leaving about a ¼ inch on the outside edge. This will give your hacky sack some flexibility when you kick it around later. Do not sew your circles completely shut yet. Leave a gap big enough to fill the hacky sack. Anywhere from 1 to ½ inches should be enough space, but be sure you are comfortable with the space you leave.
Tie off the sewing you’ve done, and turn your hacky sack inside out. The “pretty” sides of the fabric should now be facing outward, and you should have what looks like an empty circular pouch.
Step Three
Fill your hacky sack with the dried lentils. You should fill it fairly full, but make sure the lentils have room to squish around a bit. Experiment with different degrees of “full” until you feel your hacky sack will have the desired level of tension when you sew it closed. Keep in mind that your hacky sack will feel like it is loosening up after you play with it for awhile, so it might be to your advantage to fill it a little fuller than you’ll want it to end up becoming.
This is the hard part, because you can’t turn the fabric inside out again to finish sewing it closed. Hold the seam together with the forefinger and thumb of your left hand, and carefully sew the hacky sack together with your right hand. Make sure the extra ¼ on the outside edge is pushed into the hacky sack before you begin stitching it closed.
Step Five
Go outside and play! To play hacky sack, stand a few feet apart from a friend and hit the hacky sack back and forth to each other. If you have more than two players, arrange yourselves in a circle. You may use any part of your body to hit the hacky sack, except your hands. Kicking the hacky sack aloft several times in a row is called dribbling, and it’s an excellent way to become skilled at playing.
Once you’ve made a few hacky sacks, you might want to try making other beanbag toys. Instead of cutting circles out of fabric, experiment with different shapes. You can make square beanbags for a beanbag toss game, or you can make fish and mouse shapes for cat toys. If you end up making cat toys, fill the bags with fewer dried lentils so the toys will be light enough for your cats to fling around, and throw some dried catnip into the filling.
