Bonus Chapter In This Chapter A closer look at Yo-Yo quilts Tips for making perfect yo-yos every time Piecing stems and leaves for your Yo-Yo pillow Pointers for appliquéing your yo-yos While on a trip to visit family in Texas, one of my students, Nita Munson, found a cute wall hanging that featured yo-yos. She loved it and wanted me to create the pattern. So I did, but also made it into a pillow for the class to prepare. The pillow base is pieced and then the yo-yos are applied. Yo-yo quilts were popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Scraps were used to make these round yo-yo shaped circles. They were then invisibly stitched together to form a quilt. The completed yo-yo spread is used over a solid-color blanket or sheet and is used purely for show and not warmth because there are holes between each circle.
Quilt Talk Yo-yos are made from small round pieces of fabric that are gathered around the outside edge. Yo-Yo quilts technically aren t quilts because they contain no backing and batting. I have a friend who started to make a Yo-Yo quilt and cut 100 2-inch circles. After gathering many of them into yo-yos, she decided they were too small and went on to cut 100 3-inch circles. She has been making them ever since. But she is not upset about her unfinished project she has all her yo-yos sitting in a pretty basket in her living room where they look very decorative indeed! Before you start such a large undertaking, start with this pillow and see how much you enjoy your yo-yos. Doris Bobek made her Yo-Yo Flower block into a small wall hanging. I turned the original Yo-Yo wall hanging pattern Nita foundinto a Yo-Yo Flower Pillow. In Yo-Yo quilts, the round, gathered pieces of fabric the yo-yos are whipstitched together. 2
A 16 Light 8 dark 8 medium Stem (Contrast) Cut 2 Cut 1 C Stem (Contrast) E Cut 4 Blender fabric B D Cut 4 background fabric Yo-Yo Flower Pillow templates A, B, C, D, and E. Add seam allowances. 3
Finished size: 12 12 inches Materials: Fabrics Pillow form 1 package of piping Fabric requirements: Muslin or light colored fabric fat quarter Dominant fabric (yo-yos) fat quarter Contrast fabric (stems, border, and back of pillow) 1 2 yard Medium contrasting fabric (leaves) fat quarter Blender fabric (corner triangles) fat quarter Make eight half square triangles of the darkest and lightest fabrics and eight of the medium and background fabrics. 3. Sew another eight half square triangles, combining the background and the medium contrasting fabrics. Stitch along the long side of the triangle to form the half square triangles. 4. Sew two of the dark background fabric squares together to form the bottom of the leaf, making a rectangular unit. Follow these steps: 1. Prepare the template and your fabrics. Cut out the fabrics, adding on the seam allowances. We ll cut out the yo-yos later. 2. Sew the long sides of template A triangles, in the background and the contrasting fabric (triangle). Make eight half square triangles in the lightest and darkest fabrics. 4
Yo-Yo Flower Pillow yo-yo template. Don t Get Stuck! Keep the pieces laid out on the table in front of you. Be sure to pin and open up these pieces to make certain you have the correct configuration. 5. Sew two of the medium/background fabric squares together to form the top of the leaf. This time the rectangular unit will look like a larger triangle. Sew two contrasting/background squares together to form the bottom of the leaf. It kind of looks like a diamond shape. Sew two of the medium contrasting/background half square triangles to form the top of the leaf. 5
6. Pin and sew the bottom and top of the leaf to form a square leaf section. Make four of these leaf sections that all look the same. 9. Pin together the background rhomboid (template D) to each corner. 10. Sew the blender fabric triangle (template E) onto each corner. Right now it looks strange because we haven t positioned the yo-yos. Sew four leaf sections together. 7. Stitch the short stems (template B) between two of the leaf sections. Center unit. You ve completed half the leaf section. 8. Sew the long stem (template C) between the two halves to form the center of the block. First sew on template D, open up and add the triangles. Notice how the triangles are placed. The ends will stick out on each side. 6
11. Cut two 9 1 2 2 1 2-inch rectangles for the borders. Pin these to the top and bottom of the block. Press open. 12. Cut two 12 1 2 2 1 2-inch borders to the opposite sides of the block. Press open. 13. Now it s time for the yo-yos. Cut out four 4 1 2-inch circles. 14. Turn over 1 4 inch around the raw edges, toward the wrong side of the fabric, and sew with a thread that blends in with the fabric. 15. Carefully, draw this thread so that the fabric pulls up, making the yo-yo. 16. Knot it off and hide the thread. Appliqué the yo-yos onto the end of the stems. Sew down the edge and draw up the yo-yo. 17. Appliqué the yo-yos onto the ends of the stems. 18. Baste the backing muslin to batting and the pillow front. 19. Quilt. 20. Prepare the pillow with piping and backing. Yo-yos are so versatile. Here they are used in an appliqué picture of a flower basket. Now you are done! 7
The Least You Need to Know A Yo-Yo quilt is not truly a quilt because it has no backing and batting. A half square triangle can be combined in many configurations. A yo-yo is made by turning down the outside of a circular piece of fabric, basting, and drawing up the threads. A yo-yo can be appliquéd onto blocks or whipstitched together. 8