How to make a pretty Yo-Yo Pillow!

June is right around the corner and here in New York, we have finally gotten some summer weather.   I decided to add some bright color to my farmhouse.  I would love to show you how to create a colorful yo-yo pillow out of fabric scraps and a throw pillow!

This is a great project to do in front of the television at night.  You do not need a sewing machine and the stitching is a basic running stitch.   I’ve included the full tutorial for you below!

For this project I used:

Brightly colored fabric scraps
5″ diameter lid (for template)
Pillow
Needle, Thread

Begin by creating lots of 5″ circles using a various mix of colorful fabric.  Trace around your 5″ template with a fabric pen or pencil and cut out the circles.

The number of circle that you might make depends on the size of the pillow.

To make the yo-yo’s, fold the edge of the circle about 1/4″ (with wrong side facing you), and begin sewing a running stitch.

Work all the way around until you get to the starting knot.  Do not cut or knot your thread at this point.

Pull the thread tightly to gather the circle of fabric, creating a yo-yo like above.  Take a small stitch to hold the gathers in place, then knot your thread and cut off the end. Backstitch over the knot so it doesn’t pull out.

Create as many yo-yo’s as you might need to cover your pillow.

To join yo-yos, place them with the gathered sides together. Using thread and small stitches, whipstitch them together for about 1/4-inch.

Make rows of joined yo-yos, then sew together the rows in the same way.

Center your sewn together yo-yo’s on top of your pillow and tack into place with a needle and thread.

Looks pretty doesn’t it?  All that color just makes me smile.

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