YoYo Pomander (Yo Yo Ball Ornament)

(For links to other Yo Yo ornament ideas visit this blog page.)

Tutorial:

This ornament was made from a 2 1/2 inch diameter styrofoam ball and 12 yoyos. The yoyos were made from 3 inch circles cut from cotton fabric. (If you aren't familiar with yoyos there are links to two tutoriials in the "Links and Tips" section below.)

As I completed each yoyo, and before I cut my thread, I sewed a button to the center. Then I took two of the yoyos and marked five spots equal distance apart. You can use a needle and thread or one of those quilting markers with the disappearing ink. (I'd do it on the back side, just in case.)



Then I sewed (tacked) a yoyo to these center yoyos at each of the marked points. Here are the two sets of yoyos.



Next I prepared the ball. I choose a yellow print fabric for the ball and cut a long strip of fabric 3/4 inch wide. I wrapped the fabric around the ball until none of the surface was exposed. Then I attached the end of the strip to the ball. I used Fabri Tac glue, but a pin or two would also do the job.



(I liked the look of this little ball. It had me wondering what it would look like with several coats of decoupage medium.)

Now I was ready to put the yoyos on the ball.

Pushing a pin through the button of one of the center yoyos I stuck it to the ball. Then I adjusted the position of the five attached yoyos so that they were equally spaced around the ball and stuck pins through each yoyo.

Top view:


Side view:


Next I flipped the ball over and placed the other set of yoyos on the ball so that the 5 outside yoyos fit into the gaps of the ones below. Then I pinned the center one to the ball.

Diagram showing the last 6 yoyos dropping into place:


When the last 5 yoyos were evenly spaced around the ball I pinned them in place.

Then I was ready to glue them, one at a time, to the ball. Saving the center yoyos for last, I loosened one pin and applied a dab of Fabri Tac glue to the center back of the yoyo. Then I pushed the yoyo back in place. I repeated this for nine more yoyos. Because my center yoyos seemed a little loose I used a tooth pick to apply glue to the backs of them. (If they been snug I wouldn't have bothered.) When the glue was dry I removed the pins.

To finish it off I attached a loop of ribbon in the triangular gap between three random yoyos. At the opposite end I attached a loopy ribbon tail in the triangular gap between three yoyos.

Links and Tips

Yoyo tutorials:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/hbyoyotutorial1.html

http://anniescupboard.blogspot.com/2008/03/fabric-yoyo-tutorial.html

Additional Tips:

1. As mentioned in the second yoyo tutorial you don't need to turn under the edge of the circle if you plan to cover the center of the yoyo with a large enough button or embellishment, such as another yoyo. Choose a tightly woven (fray resistant) fabric and consider putting a drop of a "fray check" type product in the center of the yoyo before adding the button. If in doubt try making one both ways. For my yoyo bola project I used black tshirt fabric and it didn't need to be turned under.

2. In these tutorials the authors use cardboard or paper for their circle templates. I prefer to use a scrap of adhesive vinyl (also known as Mactac, Contact Paper, adhesive vinyl shelf paper, Fablon or sticky-back plastic) to make a template and to sew the yoyos. I can use one template over and over again. (If you don't have access to adhesive vinyl, Reynolds white freezer paper makes good templates too. You need to iron it on, but you can use one template over and over again.) To see how I use vinyl adhesive to cut and sew a yoyo check out this blog page.



3. Would you like a diagram to help you mark the five points on your yoyo? I have provided one. Just click here.

4. Ideally I would use a bias strip of fabric to wrap the ball but if the fabric doesn't fray excessively a strip cut on the straight of the grain works just as well. This one was cut on the straight of the grain and I only needed to clip off a few frayed threads when I finished the wrapping. (Embroidery scissors get in nice and close without encouraging more fraying.) For my yoyo bola project I used a strip of t shirt fabric. It hugged the curves very well but it made for a slightly bigger ball.

5. I acknowledge that one could assemble a ball with just pins, but the glue makes the ball more child friendly. If one did want to use pins they could use a round headed pin, or a pin with a beads. They could push one into each buttonhole. Or they could use something other than buttons. Like a felt circle or a tatted or crochet flower or... The possibilities are endless.


Variations on the theme

1. My first yoyo ball was a very colourful creation that I called YoYo Bola. (And maybe it does resemble some kind of virus.) It is made with double yoyos. The big black ones on the bottom are made from t shirt fabric. Intrigued? If so than you than you can click here to find the blog page about it.



2. I have been asked if these balls could be made with ribbon instead of fabric. The answer is yes. Ribbon yoyos are also called ribbon rosettes. Here is a tutorial for ribbon rosettes.

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2008/05/ribbon-rosette-craft-series.html

To make a ribbon yoyo the same size as my fabric yoyos choose a ribbon that is 3/4 inch wide and cut it 5 1/2 inches long. Join the ends with a 1/4 inch seam then use a running stitch to gather one edge. Here are couple I made.



The green one uses 3/4 inch ribbon. The red one is slightly smaller. One important detail about working with these ribbon yoyos. If you want to sew a button or something else to the middle you will have to put a scrap or ribbon (or circle of fabric) at the back to catch your thread. (The needle has to go through something that won't pull through the hole.)

3. Currently I am working on a Christmas fabric pomander. I don't have enough buttons to finish it, which is why I am blogging instead of working on it. :] (The photo below does not do the vibrant fabric justice.)



4. Another one waits in the wings...



5. And if I don't get to the "button store"... There are always fabric swirls, paper stars, bead caps, organdy or lace rosettes...






... or ribbon embroidery or tatted circles...

6. And if I don't get to the fabric store there is always bias tape or even lace hem tape. It takes the curves very well.





Pinwheel 2009

YoYo Bola Experiment (YoYo Ball)

(If you are just looking for a tutorial to make a yoyo ball ornament click here.)

This was another 6 in the morning vision. In my minds eye I could see a ball covered in double yoyos. The bottom yoyos would be black and the top yoyos would be the vibrant colours of a stain glass window.

The first disappointment came when I opened my long neglected box of quilting fabric. Who knew that there wasn't anything in there that resembled the colours of a stain glass window. I settled for some pieces I thought would look good on black. I needed 12. I only came up with 9 so I repeated the yellow print and used the flip side of two others.

Then I started to look for black fabric. I wasn't surprised that there was none in the quilting box so I went looking in the "archives" I keep in my sons' closet. Nothing there either. (Well there was his brand new black dress shirt... but he has only worn it once.) Then I had an inspiration. Dh had a brand new black t shirt in his "give away box". It would do for this experiment.

And so I was off and running. I cut twelve 3 1/2" circles from the bottom of the black t shirt. To my surprise they made very nice yoyos. Then I made twelve coloured yoyos from 2 1/2" circles. Then I went looking for black buttons. I didn't have 12 of them. I was eying my son's shirt again. (I could always buy him new buttons...) I decided that I would have to postpone this project until I could get to the fabric store. Or at least a second hand store that might have some black shirts. I went back through my buttons and picked out some navy blue and dark grey ones.

I used the buttons to join the coloured yoyos to the black yoyo. Then I arranged them in two groups of six. I chose the repeated yellow print for the center ones and moved the others until I liked what I saw. As so.



I picked up the 2 center yoyos and marked 5 spots at equal distances. (I used tiny safety pins, not shown.) Then I tacked the five outside yoyos to the center ones at these points.



Then I was ready to add them to my 2 1/2 inch styrofoam ball. In the wee hours I had several ideas of how I would cover the styrofoam ball, to keep the white from showing in between the yoyos. I didn't use any of them. Instead I cut a one inch strip from the bottom of the t shirt and wrapped it around the ball. (Hmmm. Maybe I could use a variation of that for a temari type ball.) I noticed that it naturally curled up so I took advantage of that and wrapped it with the right side down.

A friend "greyed" this picture a little to make the strips show up more than they really do. The fabric is the same black as the black yoyos.



I had planned to sew all the yoyos together but I recognized that, sewn together, they were going to be a little too big for my ball. I needed to let them overlap a bit. So instead I used a pin to stick one center yoyo to the "North Pole" of the ball and another pin to stick the other centre yoyo to the "South Pole" of the ball. I spun the yoyos of the Southern hemisphere until I got an arrangement I liked. (With the tops of the southern hemisphere yoyos fitting in the gaps between the northern hemisphere yoyos.) Then one at a time I applied a dab of fabric glue to the center of each yoyo and stuck it to the ball. (I used fast drying Fabri- Tac.) I glued one yoyo from the top half, then an adjacent one from the bottom half. When they were all glued in place I removed the pins from the "Poles".

The finished ball is 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

This ball is nothing like the one that was in my minds eye at 6 am. It is a bit too much "bright polka dots on black background". I think that a double one like this would look better with monochrome yoyos on a solid background. If I were to do a multi print one again I would make single coloured yoyos (single or double layer) and let the background colour show through a little more.

It also occurs to me that if one used a sequin, or felt circle, for the center of the flower one could permanently pin each flower to the ball. (I would still tack the five yoyos to a center one so that they end up roughly equal distance apart.) One could use a round headed pin, or a pin with a bead or... I guess one could even use two (or four) decorative pins and regular buttons.

And possibly one could use a similar method to attach six yoyo flowers to a foam cube. (Hang it from one of the corners perhaps?)

One other small thing that I would do differently next time. I used freezer paper for my circle pattern. I find that this makes it very quick and easy to cut the circles. (Just iron on the pattern and cut around the circle, stopping about a 1/4 inch from the end. Remove the paper pattern. Finish the cut.) I also like that I can use the same pattern over and over again. However, yesterday it was too hot to be standing over a hot iron so I should have used the adhesive vinyl (Mactac) that I keep on hand for patterns and templates. It is just as fast and just as reusable, but I could have been sitting in a comfy chair in the shade somewhere cutting the 24 circles.

I enjoyed the project though and think I like it well enough to add a loopy ribbon tail and keep it for an ornament. Or maybe I'll tear it apart and use it for the start of a small wall quilt. They did look nice when they were lying flat together...



But first I think I'll try making another YoYo Bola. (Maybe one that looks like a less virulent virus than the original one.)







Pinwheel 2009