Recently, I have become fascinated by projects made by putting yo yo's together. While most commonly known as Yo Yo's, they share other documented names: Puff, Bon-Bon, Powder Puff and Rosette.  They are made out of fabric which starts out as a cut circle and then gathered around the edge. They are easy but time consuming to make. Decide if you want to make a pillow, runner, quilt/coverlet or clowns/dolls/animals. (Keep in mind that a quilt/coverlet will need 1,000's of completed yo yos!) Some will have backings and others will not.

When buying a yo yo related project, you will find if the yo yos are made out of feed sacks and/or depression era fabric, you will pay more rather than ones that were made later.

Making a Yo Yo Block:  First off, you need to decide what you are making, what size yo yo, you would like to have when completed and design.You can make many different designs or even a random pattern.  Plastic templates and patterns are available but you use an circular object as your cutting guide. You can do an Internet search to find complete instructions with pictures for making yo yos.

Once you figured out what finished size yo yo you decide to make, clck on the following guide to see a cutting size template. Courtesy of ebay seller: miniquiltmaker.

 Yo-Yo Fabric Quilt Blocks - A Template Cutting Guide

 Below are general instructions for making yo yos:.

• Cutting:  Cut a circle from your fabric. (It will look a lot larger than your desired size.)
• Stitching: Starting on the outside edge, turn under the edge, and start going all the way around the circle in small, even stitches. (Make sure your thread knot is on the inside.) When you get to the end, lightly pull to gather and knot (making sure the second knot is also on the inside.) Congratulations ~ You just finished your first yo yo block! Now do it again and again..... Keeping in mind that you want each yo yo to be about the same size.  If they are not, you are going to have trouble sewing them together.
• Connecting yo yos: When you have several yo yos completed, you can start connecting them together. If making a quilt, you may want to connect enough yo yos to make a blocks. Put two yo yos together and stitch the side together. (Keep the thread knots on the back side.) Don't be afraid to use about 10 small stitches per side.

Below are finished yo yos projects. I find it amazing how some were finished on the early projects. ALL pictures were used with the ebay sellers permission.

 #1: Vinatge Baby Sampler Yo Yo Quilt. This quilt is from my personal collection and features a baby yo yo quilt, completed done in blue and pink fabric yo yos, with white yo yos serving as the sashing between the blocks. No two blocks have the same pattern ~ making it a sampler yo yo quilt!  Yo yo size is 1 1/2" in diameter. (See the whole quilt in Yo Yo Fabric Blocks ~ Fun Creative Ideals ~ Part 3.)

 #2: Vintage Yo Yo Pillows. Below are sections of  two vintage yo yo pillows, from my private collection. The first picture is made from yo yos that measure 1 1/4" in diameter, are not stitched together but held onto the yellow backing fabric by six french knots that are located outside the yo yo center. The second picture is made with yo yos that measure 1 3/4" in diameter, are stitched together and have six french knots inside the center yo yo.

# 3: Getting Creative with Vintage Buttons. Below are pictures of yo yos that I made for different craft projects, using a vintage button to insert in the center. In the first picture, I made this yo yo by using two different fabric ~ yellow and purple. A pink, plastic rhinestone button was placed in the center. All edges were appliqued down. In the second picture, the yo yo is made from one fabric, a glass button is inserted in the center and all the edges were appliqued down.

# 4: Vintage Yo Yo Block with Yellow Centers.  The picture of the yo yo below was made by a close friend of mine. After the circle was cut, a small yellow piece of fabric was sewn into the center, then it was gathered.

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 # 5: Miniature Doll Yo Yo Quilt. This picture is courtesy of ebay seller: roseellen1221. She has taken making yo yos to a whole different level!  The first tiny yo yo coverlet only measures 7" x 7".  It  is made up of  nine rows of yo yos, with nine yo yos in each row. A total of 81 yo yos, each  measuring  3/4" in diameter when complete, were needed to complete this tiny, doll coverlet.  The second tiny, red, white and blue yo yo coverlet, is made up of 80 ~ 3/4" yo yos. (10 rows with 8 yo yos in each row). The total finished size is 6 1/2" x 8". 

# 6: Vintage Yo Yo Clowns/Duck. Many vintage cloth dolls have been made out of yo yos. The most common is the clown but I have seen dogs, cats, ducks, owls and caterpillars. The earlier ones could have either a plastic or cloth face. Some of the earlier clowns had bells on their hands and feet ~ others having pom poms.  The first picture is courtesy of ebay seller: rxcadmd. It shows two early yo yo clown dolls with pom pom hands and feet. One face is cloth and the other is plastic. The second picture is a duck yo yo doll, courtesy of ebay seller: masey3. It has a plastic face and bells on it's feet.

( If you are feeling ambitious and want to make one of these clowns/dolls, the pattern that I have shows the yo yos for the stomach are a little larger than the yo yos used for the arms and legs.  The yo yo are attached with yarn or elastic.)

If you have any other different yo yo projects and would like them to be included in this guide, feel free to e-mail me. More pictures will be added as they become available. If you are enjoying these mini-yo yo series please vote ~ it is the only way that I will know that they are being read and will determine if I will continue on with the different yo yo projects.

Feel free to continue onto Part 2........

Yo Yo Fabric Blocks ~ Fun Creative Ideals ~ Part 2