Nine

I think the deconstruction method is the best route. It gives you the pattern and the bladder. Unless your planning on making several. I've made Two. First came out ok. Second didn't line up right or something, the bladder kept wrinkling in the hide(probably due to the fact that i can't cut two much less four things the same.

vegtan... crappy lighting, crappy cell phone camera

Thanks. You can get a high school size football at a sporting goods store for $15-20. Then its just the leather, dye, and so on...I reused the lace that came with the football, rawhide would have been a nice, but didn't feel like dropping the extra money.

I bought the cheapest ball of the size I wanted. Cut it at the seems, used one section as the pattern. ...I remember the air hole being a pain to line up and pull through the leather