Fabric Yo-yos

I needed a little embellishment for a project recently, so I decided to try adding fabric yo-yos.  I had never made them before, but I found them to be so quick and easy that I want to share them with you. They add a nice detail to an item than might otherwise be a little plain.

 I made these 5" x 3.5" pouches that close with Velcro and added a yo-yo to each one, with a special "something" in the center of each yo-yo.  Read on to learn how I made the yo-yos. If you would like to make a pouch like these, go to my Snappy Scrappy Pouch Tutorial and use a single fabric in place of the scrappy pieced fabric..

To make a yo-yo, you start with a circle of fabric. The finished yo-yo will be slightly less than half the diameter of the circle you start with, so cut your circle to the size that will work best on your project.  This red polka dot fabric is 4.25" in diameter, which gave me a 2" yo-yo.

Using coordinating thread (I'm using contrasting thread for clarity in the photos), turn under a 1/4' hem and hand-stitch it in place. The stitches won't show in the finished product, so don't worry about making them perfectly straight and even.

Pull the two ends of the thread tight to gather the circle, then knot the thread and trim the ends.  I tied my knot on the outside of the yo-yo because I will be covering it in the next step.  If you want to use the yo-yo without anything in the center, hide your knot on the inside.

Flatten the fabric so the gathered edge is in the center, and your yo-yo is complete.

You can add any relatively flat item to the center of your yo-yo; I used a felt badge for this black, white, and red pouch...

...and a pin-back button for this pink and black pouch...

...and a matching button from my button jar for this blue pouch.  You can either sew the yo-yos and center embellishments in place, or, if you are in a hurry, glue them with fabric glue.

These pouches make a nice little gift, and can easily be customized for the recipient.

I plan to keep yo-yos in mind for future projects.  I can imagine them gracing a journal cover, looking cute on a knit hat or mittens, jazzing up a tote bag...it's great to add something new to my repertoire of embellishments!