Yo-Yo Quilt Patterns – Suffolk Puffs
How to Make Fabric Yo-Yos for Quilting and Craft Projects
Mar 30, 2009
Yo-yos, made by hand sewing and gathering a circle of fabric, are also called Suffolk puffs or rosettes. According to "Yo-Yo Quilts", an exhibit information document by the Alaska State Museum, this patchwork technique, which originated during the 19th century, gained popularity during the 1920s "because women could carry the little circles of fabric with them and make yo-yos whenever they had a spare moment."
Fabrics for Yo-Yos
Like other patchwork quilt techniques, the yo-yo is a thrifty, functional and creative way to use scraps of fabric and recycle clothing. Some vintage and antique quilts include yo-yos made from printed fabric feed sacks. A particular advantage of yo-yo style patchwork is that less attractive prints are obscured by the pretty effect of the gathered fabric.
While cotton is the most common fabric for making yo-yos, other fabrics can be used. Often, yo-yos are made from bright, cheerful prints, such as gingham, stripes, polka-dots, calico, floral, plaid and geometric patterns. Many examples of yo-yo quilts show blocks of colorfully patterned yo-yos bordered by strips of yo-yos in a complementary or neutral solid color.
Materials for Making a Yo-Yo
Making a yo-yo does not require a sewing machine or advanced quilting skills. Specialty yo-yo makers are available from craft stores, but these are also not required. Just a few basic supplies are needed:
- sharp scissors
- sewing needle
- thread
- pen, pencil, or dressmaker's chalk (for dark fabrics)
- a circular cardboard template, or a circular object such as a plate or cup
Multiply the diameter desired for the finished yo-yo by two, and add 1/2" to determine the size of the template.
Instructions for Making a Yo-Yo
- Using template, trace a circle onto the wrong side of fabric.
- Carefully cut out the circle.
- Thread needle with length of thread long enough to stitch around edge of circle, plus a few inches for securing. Remember to knot the end of the thread.
- Turn edge of fabric under 1/4" and insert needle into wrong side of folded edge 1/16'" or so from fold, and pull thread through to right side of folded edge.
- Using a running stitch, continue stitching around the folded edge, through both layers of fabric, turning the edge under and gently pulling thread gather fabric every few stitches.
- After stitching and gathering the entire circle, secure the gathers by backstitching through gathers, tying a knot, or inserting needle through the back of the yo-yo and tying a knot.
- Cut thread.
- Neaten the finished yo-yo by hand if necessary.
- Sew multiple yo-yos together using a whip stitch.
Patterns Used in Yo-Yo Quilting
Traditionally, thousands of yo-yos are sewn together to make quilts. In Needlecraft Skills and Techniques (Lorenzo Books, 2004), Lucinda Ganderton discusses some typical variations: Sewn-together, yo-yos can be draped over a plain bedspread, or sewn to a solid color backing, visible through the spaces between the individual pieces. Arrangements of yo-yos include rows and blocks, or hexagonal patterns, which leave smaller spaces in between the pieces. Designs include concentric bands or linear stripes of color.
Yo-yo quilts can be designed and assembled using the above methods, but many other creative possibilities exist. For instance, yo-yos are sometimes overlapped to create a soild three-dimensional fabric, or stacked to achieve multi-layer effects. And these little fabric creations are not limited to quilts. Yo-yos can also add vintage appeal to clothing, accessories, and home decor. Whether used for quilting or for other sewing projects, yo-yos are one of the easiest fabric crafts one can make!
Sources
- Fisher, Thelma Lurea Selfridge. Yo-Yo Quilt: Yo-Yo Grandmother's Flower Garden, 1930. Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum: Permanent Collection, Golden, CO. The Quilt Index http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php Accessed March 28, 2009.
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