Made a Lily - Step 5.....and my something for the day

Step 5 - Attach a Faux Yo-Yo

First off select a fabric to make the "yo-yo" out of.

From the selected fabric cut a 3x12 piece.

Fold the piece in half with right sides together.

Stitch the two ends together using a 1/4" seam allowance. This will give you a fabric loop.

Use an iron to gently press the seam allowance open.

With wrong sides together this time, fold the fabric loop in half so the raw edges meet. Make sure to line up the seam as you do so.

Pin the raw edges together all around the loop and get ready the do some gathering!

Double thread a needle with approximately 70 inches of thread. This means you'll be toting a 35 inch thread tail but I think you'll be surprised how quickly it will get used up.

Starting at the seam lines, make gathering stitches 1/4 inch from the raw edges with an average of 3 stitches per inch.

Once the stitches meet back up at the seam line pull the thread tight cinching the raw edges into a circle. Take one more stitch and knot it to hold the fabric in place but do not cut the thread off.

Before we actually join these two together it's best to take a moment to tidy up that floss tail left dangling from the lily pad last week. If not you'll find it to be quite a nuisance!

First, draw it through the eyelet to the bottom side of the lily pad.

Next, insert two straight pins into the pad and wrap the floss back and forth around them.

Finally, tuck the last of the tail under and push the pins firmly down into the cushion.

Back to the top side of the lily pad, take a moment to decide what will be the back of the pincushion. You might want to put another straight pin in as a marker. . . . .see my tiny blue one up there?

Position the "yo-yo" on top so that the seam is lined up towards the back.

To attach the two pieces together, take the needle and thread down through the gathers of the "yo-yo". . . . .

. . . . . . continue straight through the inner edge of the eyelet. . . . .

. . . . . and out to the bottom side of the lily pad.

Now from the bottom, position the needle 1/4 inch over and pull the thread back up to the top (alongside the eyelet and through the "yo-yo' gathers.) Keep passing the needle up and down this way until the entire eyelet has been circled.

On the last stitch up from the bottom pass the needle alongside the eyelet but emerge BETWEEN the lily pad and the "yo-yo". . . . .

. . . . . and then ending with a tiny stitch on the underside of the "yo-yo" seam.

Since the "yo-yo" is only attached down in the middle it tends to pop up. Although kind of cute, if left this way it would hinder the dressing of the doll later on.

Take a few moments to pin down the edges making sure to create an even distribution as you do so.

Bit by bit make tiny tacking stitches by first picking up a small segment of the base fabric. . . . .

. . . . . and then a small section from the underside of the "yo-yo."

Work your way all around removing the pins as you go.

Once you've circle round, the thread can be knotted and finally cut free!

There's a bit more gathering is in store for you. . . . .this time however it involves supplies and not fabric! Have yourself a look see for some rick rack, pom pom trim, or other such decorative garland that suits your fancy. We'll be using it next week to gussy up the lily pad a bit more.

And what about my project for the day? The weekend turned out a bit more hectic than anticipated so I found myself turning to an old standby. . . . .yes yet another little doll pillow for the shop.