Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Yo-Yo Garland

My Various Hobbies...





I saw this yo-yo garland at the flea market in Hopkinsville. I have forgotten the exact price asked for it, but it was fairly expensive. It wouldn't be at all hard to make.

To make a yo-yo, simply cut a circle of cotton or cotton-blend dressweight cloth, about twice the diameter that you want the finished yo-yo to be. You might want to add about 1/4 inch extra. For example, if you want the finished yo-yo to be 1 inch across, make the circle about 2-1/4 inches in diameter.

Then, fold about 1/4 inch of the cloth's edge to the inside and make a gathering stitch all the way around the circle. Just turn the edge under as you go, and run the thread close to the folded edge. Secure the thread firmly where you start, and try to keep the stitches even as you go around.

When you've stitched all the way around the edge, pull the thread tight to gather the cloth and secure it firmly. That's a yo-yo.

Stitch a bunch of yo-yo's together end to end, and you've got a yo-yo garland like this.

The nice thing about yo-yo's is that you can put a dozen cloth circles and a needle and thread in a zip-lock bag and carry them around in your purse. Make a small cardboard H to wind some extra thread on and put it in the bag too. Whenever you have five minutes, make a yo-yo.

2 comments:

Trixie said...

I love yo-yos! The woman who was my next-door neighbor when I was growing up would let me make yo-yos while she and her sisters worked on quilts. I have a yo-yo pillow and I remember her making at least one quilt with them. I finally got a quilt of hers when I was in my late 20s. I still have it hanging on my bedroom wall.

Genevieve Netz said...

I like them too, and I think they are beautiful when made into a quilt. I made a pillow with them once -- that's as ambitious as I got!

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