How to Make Yo-Yo Quilts & Pillows

Matching fabrics make design-coordinated yo-yos.

Inspired by the toy, yo-yos were a popular style of quilting in the 1920s. Quilting yo-yos are round rosettes, of various sizes, made of small fabric scraps. Quilters sew them together to make quilts and pillows that are both useful and visually and texturally interesting. The small size of the yo-yo pieces enables quilters to carry them everywhere and work on them during any spare moment. With some fabric pieces and basic sewing skills, you can create your own yo-yo fabric to make home accessories.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric scraps
• Cardboard
• Marker
• Compass or circular objects
• Scissors
• Washable chalk or fabric-marking pen
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine (optional)

Instructions

Yo-Yos

1. Wash and iron the fabrics. Have an assortment of different colors and patterned fabrics, all of the same approximate weight.

2. Decide on the diameter of the yo-yos you want to make. On a piece of cardboard, draw a circle the diameter of the finished yo-yo plus 1/2 inch for seam allowance. For example, for a 4-inch diameter yo-yo, draw a 8 1/2-inch circle; for a 2-inch yo-yo, draw a 4 1/2-inch one. Use the compass or trace around a circular object of the desired size. Cut out the template with a pair of sharp scissors.

3. Place the fabric wrong-side up on a flat surface. Draw around your template with washable chalk or a fabric-marking pen. Do this for all the yo-yo circles you want to make, leaving 1/4 inch between the circles. Cut out all the circles.

4. Fold each circle edge 1/4 inch to the wrong side of the fabric. Using a double-threaded needle, tie a knot tied at the end and sew 1/4- to 1/2-inch running stitches around the edge of the circle, through both layers of fabric. Leave 3 inches of thread at the end and cut off the excess.

5. Gently pull on the end of the thread to gather the fabric towards the center of the circle. Pull until the outside edge of the circle is now in its center. Move the fabric so the gathers are evenly spaced.

Quilts and Pillows

1. Arrange the yo-yos on a flat surface in rows to the required size and shape. Mix and match the colors and patterns until you have an arrangement you like.

2. Hand-sew the yo-yos by taking two adjacent ones and whip-stitching them together with 5 stitches. Do not pull the stitches so tightly as to pucker up the yo-yos and stop them from laying flat. Repeat this until all the yo-yos have been sewn together.

3. Machine sew the yo-yos together by taking two and placing the right side up and touching on the sewing pad of the sewing machine. Select a narrow zigzag stitch and sew the yo-yos together for about 1/2 inch or so, depending on the size of the yo-yo. Sew the yo-yos together in rows, then sew the rows together.

4. Alternately, sew the yo-yos to a pre-sewn fabric quilt or pillow case. Use a needle and thread to tack the yo-yos down in several places to give a three dimensional look. Or sew them down completely around the perimeter for a flatter appearance.

References

• Country Living: Pretty Little Yo-Yos
• Sewing and Craft Alliance: Yo-Yos

Resources

• Alaska State Museums: Yo-Yo Quilts