The floral hairpins that I was selling at Crafty Mart were a big hit. They are so simple to make yourself once you know how to make a YoYo. I was surprised how many people knew what a YoYo was, but didn’t know how to make it so I thought I’d show you for this week’s tutorial.

This is a great craft to do with a child, as it only requires one simple hand sewing technique, the gathering stitch/running stitch. It also only has 3 materials requirements, a needle, a circle of fabric at least 4 inches in diameter, and thread. YoYos can also be used in many different applications, from accessories to quilts, so it might be a good idea to have a basket of fabric scraps next the couch and work away on YoYos for future project, even if you don’t know what it is yet. I am adding seed beads to mine for some classy holiday accessories. Follow the directions after the jump to make your own.

Start by cutting a good length of thread and threading your needle. Then cut out your circle of fabric. If there is something in the print you want to see on the front of your YoYo make sure it is at the edge of the circle.

Begin sewing your gathering stitch into your fabric with the wrong side facing you. Fold the edge under a quarter of an inch so that any raw edges will be closed inside the YoYo and won’t fray. Make your stitched wider than you normally would, probably about 1/2 inch long.

Once you’ve gone all the way around your circle, hold your finger in the middle of the circle and pull the thread to gather all your stitches, kind of like a draw string bag around your finger.

Flatten and arrange the folds of the YoYo until it looks just right and then sew down through the center of the YoYo to the back.

Pull the thread tight to secure the YoYo’s gathering stitches. Send the thread back up to the front, and back down to the back again. Tie it off in the back and cut your thread short.

Give your YoYo one last fluff. Now you have a nice holiday worthy accessory to turn into a hair clip. hat band accent, broach, or pin.