Layers of a volleyball

One of the great things about my mom is that she finds a surplus of something in her house and turns to me and says ‘do something with these.’ It works well, she collects and I then create. Thus I know how to crochet with plastic grocery bags bags, I know a few dozen recipes that use various forms of jam with pectin, and I know what to do with a surplus of old volleyballs that won’t hold air.

Personally, I like ripping old volleyballs apart and turning them into new things like key chains and bag tags. You can check out what I’ve made on my Etsy site. It's always fun discovering what something looks like on the inside, though.

The original volleyball that was special ordered from A.G. Spalding and Bros. by William Morgan had an internal rubber bladder that was covered in cheese cloth and then had a leather covering. Today's volleyballs aren't terribly different in that regard as you will see.

It’s quite interesting actually when you start looking on the inside of the ball. I mean you have the outside layer that is leather on regulation high school game balls and then there’s a sort of mesh layer and then a layer of rubber. The kind of mesh used in the middle layer varies depending on the company. For example, Baden’s mesh has a papery feel whereas a Tachikara has a more fabric feel.You can see the comparison below with the Baden ball first.

The other fun thing about the inside of the volleyball is the fact that opposite of the inflation side is a weight to keep the ball balanced.The Baden ball on the right shows the added rubber circle that acts as a counterweight to the inflation side which is pictured on the left.

There are six sides with three panels each on the outside leather layer. On the inside rubber layer, there are four smooth diamond layers.

Volleyballs are great to use for various crafts. Many of us on Pinterest have seen the Mother’s Day gift idea where you cut a section of the volleyball off and put a vase inside to hold some flowers. It’s cute and incredibly simple.

To cut into volleyballs that don’t hold their air, use a box cutter to start the cut and then scissors to follow the grooves. Let me warn you though, that when you first cut into a volleyball it smells like stagnant air with a horrible tinge of rubber. It isn’t pleasant.

Check out my VolleyCraft page on Pinterest to see what you can do with old volleyballs and send me pictures of what you’ve done. I’d love to share the ideas around.