Yo-yos or Suffolk Puffs have a variety of needlework uses and are fairly simple to make, if a little fiddly. A new product by Clover USA has recently been launched which will help speed up the process of making yo-yos, ensuring a perfect finish every time.
The most difficult thing about making a yo-yo is folding the seam over and ensuring that the stitches are made evenly around the edge of the circle. The seams can be pressed before sewing - that helps, but this can be a little time consuming if many yo-yos are being made. The new Clover Yo-Yo Maker seeks to make the process easier and more straightforward.
The Clover Yo-Yo Maker
The Clover Yo-Yo Maker is an extremely simple idea – however often the best ideas are the ones that make you slap your forehead and wonder why you didn’t think of it first! The Clover Yo-Yo Maker consists of two soft plastic discs which form a template. The fabric is placed between the two discs which are then snapped into place forcing the fabric into shape. This gives a clear indication of where to stitch and where to cut.
The Clover Yo-Yo maker is available in different shapes and sizes. There are four different sizes of the round version, ranging from the smallest giving a finished size of 30mm, to the extra large which gives a finished size of 60mm in diameter. The flower and heart yo-yo maker both come in two sizes, small and large. The different shapes make the creation of heart and flower yo-yo’s straightforward and enable regular shapes to be made each time.
These are available to buy from the Clover US website, from local craft stores or online. They are not expensive ranging from $5.75 to $6.25 and make a good addition to any needleworkers basket.
How to use the Clover Yo-Yo maker
Materials: Scraps of fabric, thread.
Equipment: Needle, Yo-Yo maker.
1. Place a scrap of fabric between the two discs. Snap into place – making sure that the discs are lined up correctly (this is easy, there is a clear marker which indicates how to align the discs).
2. Trim the fabric close to the edge of the disc leaving about 3 – 5mm.
3. Following the guides, stitch around the edge.
4. Pop the disk out, remove the fabric and gently pull to gather the fabric.
Of course it is perfectly possible to make yo-yos without the use of a yo-yo maker, and instructions can be found at this Suite101 article. Yo-yos cane be made in a variety of shapes and heart shaped yo-yos are ideal for bringing a romantic touch to a project.
Take a look around the Sewing and Needlework site at Suite101 for more interesting reading.
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