How to Make Square Yo-Yos to Make a Comforter

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Things You'll Need

  • Ruler

  • Cardboard

  • Scissors

  • Fabric pencil

  • Scrap cotton fabrics

  • Needle, size 10

  • Gray thread

Hand-craft square yo-yos with fabric scraps, a needle and thread.

The yo-yo quilt was a favorite with thrifty home sewers during the first half of the 20th century. A yo-yo, usually round, is hand-stitched from a circle of scrap fabric and combined with many more yo-yos to form a bed covering or comforter. You can also make square, oval and heart-shaped yo-yos and hand-sew them together into a comforting coverlet that carries the timeless qualities of thrift, ingenuity and charm.

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Step 1

Measure and draw a 5-inch square on a piece of cardboard, then cut it out with scissors. This is the template for your square yo-yos.

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Step 2

Trace around the template with a fabric pencil onto a fabric scrap, then cut out the fabric square.

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Step 3

Thread your needle with 24 inches of thread and hold the fabric square in front of you, with the wrong side of the fabric facing you.

Step 4

Fold in the top edge of the fabric 1/4 inch and secure it in place with a hand stitch. Continue folding in 1/4 inch of the fabric around the entire perimeter of the square, making hand stitches near the raw fabric edge that measure 1/4 inch in length.

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Step 5

Pull the thread to gather the stitches, creating a decorative circle with the fabric. Knot the thread to complete one yo-yo, then pull the fabric gently to restore the square form of the fabric.

Step 6

Make 100 of these yo-yos with your fabric scraps, then sew them together into rows using small hand stitches at the corners to create a comforter.

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