“Quick” Yo-Yo Maker
with Instructor Steve Butler
Class 162
What is it?
Fabric yo-yo’s. What’s not to like? They’re fun, fast and a definite avenue for creative expression. What can you make with these little fabric gems? Who cares? For some it’s nothing more than a therapeutic journey to some level of nirvana. But if you’re actually into making something with them, those little creative fabric medallions are perfect for all kinds of home décor applications like doilies, quilts, bead spreads, pillows, placemats or fashion accessories like dresses, vests, headbands or standalone projects like purses, bags, jewelry, decorative wall hangings or even toys for the little ones. What allows us to be so expressive with the yo-yo shapes? To begin with, we have different sizes and shapes of yo-yo templates. Add to that an almost inexhaustible selection of fabric colors, patterns, and textures and your creative horizons become broad indeed. By the way, what a great stash buster (if you’re into that sort of thing). So how do we make these beautiful little fabric medallions? Google it of course. But what do we find? Lots of work arounds. Templates made from everything from hand cut carboard to round lids of oatmeal containers to orange juice can lids to defunct CD’s. Those templates do work but they don’t work well. That’s because it’s not just the round shape that we need. It’s also the seam allowance and the stitch length. If both of those are not uniformly consistent then our yo-yo’s will not be consistent. But how can we do that, how can we ensure that our yo-yo diameters, seam allowances and stitch lengths are all even and consistent? Clover has the answer. It’s an amazing set of templates that ensure consistency for every aspect of our now perfect yo-yo’s. And it’s still fast and fun.
What does it do?
Any job worth doing is worth doing well. Consider the effort we’re willing to put into our projects. Because of that we want we deserve to have perfection and personal satisfaction with what we’ve accomplished. Consistently spacing stitches a quarter inch apart with a quarter inch seam allowance is a challenge. Clover’s Quick Yo-Yo templates take away all of the guess work and tedium. Perfect yo-yo’s every time.
· Quick Yo-Yo makers are sturdy, two-piece plastic templates. Simply capture the fabric between the two discs and trim the excess. Take a threaded needle sequentially through the perforations in the template to produce evenly spaced stitches at an exact seam allowance for perfect gathers.
· Quick Yo-Yo makers are available in two shapes. The more traditional round yo-yo’s come in five sizes from extra small to jumbo. A cute heart shape is available in one size.
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How do I Promote it?
People love to make yo-yo’s not only because they are fast and fun to make, but also because they have applications to all forms of fashion, home décor, quilting and crafting. And that makes them easy to share. Simply show finished samples of what can be made, provide in-store demonstrations showing how easy it is done and design some fun classes. Don’t forget the kids, they love making yo-yo’s too. Actually, there are no yo-yo age restrictions. Youthful to not-so-youthful, everyone likes and can make yo-yo’s. They’re just extremely attractive little fabric medallions that enhance everything they’re attached to. Put some on display and you’ll see how many fans you already have.
