Yo-Yo Pillow with Rosettes

I must admit that I started this pillow without a fully formed plan. I knew that I wanted to make a yo-yo pillow, because yo-yo's are easy and I wanted a pillow that I could knock out quickly. Ha! Life got in the way today.

Harrison is teething. They (whoever 'they' is) should rename teething to - your baby will be miserable for most of the next year, because he's in pain and he would like to share his pain with you - loudly. Ok, so that's a little long, and I know my little guy is hurting and I feel for him, but I really can't wait till his teeth are all in! If I had been able to just sit and work the pillow probably would have taken about an hour, but instead, I worked on it piece meal throughout the day.

So here's what I used:
1 yard fabric
16" round pillow form
24" ruler
Fabric Glue

What I did:

  Fold your fabric into quarters. On the corner that has no selvages (only folds, in other words), use your ruler to mark out 16-1/2" at the top. Rotate your ruler a little, so that it's still aligned with your corner and then make another mark at 16-1/2". Continue to rotate the ruler and mark until you reach the adjacent set of folds. You will be creating a 33" circle.

Connect the marks and then cut your fabric according to the arc you just made. Fold the edges under a 1/4" then fold under again another 1/4". Press the folds down.

Use a long basting stitch 1/8" from the edge, making sure to leave a long thread after trimming.  Place your pillow form in the center of your fabric, then gather up the edges. Your pillow will still be very loose. Don't worry we'll tighten it up. 

After tying off your gathering threads, take two opposites sides and smush them together with your fingers, then stitch an inch on either side of the center. You don't have to be exact here. 

Don't get distracted by Care-Bear lying on the floor!

Pull the remaining sides away from each other and then fold them back to the center, making sure to tuck the extra fabric underneath. Stitch those sides together and tie off.

That's a hot mess! Don't worry, they're just the strips for the rosettes!

Can you believe that I did not know how to make a fabric flower before today?

Cover the seam with flowers, buttons, ribbons, bows - really whatever you think of. I finished mine with fabric flowers. I followed Made by the Mama Monster's Tutorial for Frayed Rosettes. I used the leftover fabric from the pillow cover, and then wrapped them as she instructs. I used Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac glue instead of the hot glue, and it worked just as well. I also used the Fabri-Tac to secure them to the pillow. 

 I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial today! I had a lot of fun making it, even if I did have a "what do I do now" moment after the gathering was not as tight as I figured it would be. :)



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