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Pattern Weights

July 30, 2011 By Spoonful of Sugar - 53 Comments

Do you ever see something on-line and then have to make it immediately? I am the first to admit I have obsessive crafting disorder (OCD). I spotted a free pattern for Pattern Weights over at Sew Daily yesterday and knew I had to make some up. Unfortunately I didn’t have any piping on hand so I designed my own version using yo-yo’s.

If you would like to make some you will need:

  • fabric scraps
  • buttons
  • metal washers ( approx 3/4 in or 20 mm in diameter)
  • batting scraps
  • Clover Yo-Yo Maker (Large) (this clever device makes yo-yo’s a breeze!)
Method:
  • Trace a circle that is 1 1/2 in diameter (40 mm) onto a piece of batting and then cut it out.
  • Layer two washers in the centre of the batting and stitch in place.
  • Make a yo-yo as per the instructions on the yo-yo maker. Just before you gather up the yo-yo, position the circle of batting in the centre of the yo -yo. Gather up the yo-yo and secure it so that the batting and washers are enclosed in the yo-yo.
  • Stitch on a button to the front of the yo-yo.
I usually use a sticky tape dispenser or similar to weight down my patterns. Now I have much prettier pattern weights to use!

Filed Under: Sewing, Sewing Tutorials

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Comments

  1. two hippos says

    July 30, 2011 at 4:33 am

    what a brilliant idea and so simple!

    Reply
  2. Susanne says

    July 30, 2011 at 12:20 am

    What a cute idea!

    Reply
  3. Posie Patchwork says

    July 30, 2011 at 1:54 am

    TOTALLY cool, i don’t patterns though, such is the life of the self taught crafter, i tend to use cardboard templates i’ve designed myself. These are super cool though, glad my daughters are learning to sew properly at school & can teach me how to use patterns!! Love Posie

    Reply
  4. suzitee says

    July 30, 2011 at 2:31 am

    Very cute Lisa…and great thinking too! I haven’t used a paper pattern in soooooo long, but have been thinking about making myself some new skirts. These little weights would be very useful 🙂

    Reply
  5. shez says

    July 30, 2011 at 2:53 am

    what a great idea lisa

    Reply
  6. Lisar says

    July 30, 2011 at 4:13 am

    What a great idea…I usually use anything weighty that is lying around…definitely need to make some of these…

    Reply
  7. Greenmare says

    July 30, 2011 at 4:35 am

    so pretty!!! what a clever idea, I think I like the yo yo idea better than the one with piping!

    Reply
  8. Terriaw says

    July 30, 2011 at 5:09 am

    Oh that kind of OCD? I think I have that too!

    I love your version of the pattern weights – so clever to make them with yo-yos. This is a must for me too, so thank you for sharing your ideas.

    Reply
  9. Sue@CountryPleasures says

    July 30, 2011 at 5:30 am

    Cute, I’m pinning this! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Mary @ Redo 101 says

    July 30, 2011 at 5:36 am

    I am going to buy a yo-yo maker today – I love the yo-yo’s you made!!! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

    Hugs,
    Mary

    Reply
  11. jenclair says

    July 30, 2011 at 6:35 am

    These are so useful and so beautiful!

    Reply
  12. casserole says

    July 30, 2011 at 6:41 am

    I love using pattern weights! Your are so cute!! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-fabric-yo-yo-pattern-weights/2011/07/30/

    –Anne

    Reply
  13. Carrie says

    July 30, 2011 at 6:57 am

    cute cute cute!! I will make some today to replace the less than cute soup cans I’ve been using. Love them. So simple, useful, and adorable!

    Reply
  14. Debbie says

    July 30, 2011 at 8:01 am

    Just bought my Yo-Yo makers last week and now I can’t wait to make the cute weights you’ve shared with us.
    Thanks so much!

    Debbie

    Reply
  15. Heidi says

    July 30, 2011 at 8:09 am

    I have to say…your design is SO much cuter!!!

    Reply
  16. Handmade says

    July 31, 2011 at 2:02 am

    Very cute – I love pattern weights!

    Reply
  17. Bela says

    July 30, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    What a lovely idea, dear Lisa!! Simple and so useful!
    Love, Bela

    Reply
  18. Carolyn says

    July 30, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    I have this yo yo maker. I love it.
    I like the idea of the button in the middle and as a weight also.

    Reply
  19. Barbara says

    July 31, 2011 at 12:12 am

    Very cute!

    Reply
  20. Jenny of Elefantz says

    July 31, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    Lisa, they are so clever. Thank you for sharing – I am going to make some as a gift for the Home Ec girls. 🙂
    Hugs
    Jenny

    Reply
  21. Time Traveling in Costume says

    August 2, 2011 at 9:47 am

    These are wonderful! I have a set of four large ones that were given to me but I need a bunch of smaller ones. Perfect!
    Val

    Reply
  22. K-Sue says

    August 2, 2011 at 10:21 am

    I think I want to make some of these. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  23. Sarah W. says

    August 2, 2011 at 11:20 am

    Functional and pretty! Thank you.

    Reply
  24. Karen says

    August 3, 2011 at 7:26 am

    Those are so cool! And I love that they are made of fabric. Now I have to check and see which size of yo-yo maker I have.

    Reply
  25. Jodi says

    August 3, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    Very cool !! I’m going to make some for sure.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  26. Idle hands, empty brain ... says

    August 4, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing…
    Sada

    Reply
  27. dholbrook49 says

    August 10, 2011 at 1:27 pm

    I went over to “Sew Daily” and looked at theirs — But, I have to say that I like yours better! So cute.

    Reply
  28. Stacey says

    August 12, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    These are so cute and clever. I’m going to make some for my mom, a perpetual pattern user. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  29. Joan Hawley says

    August 13, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Nice! I love it and I have the Clover Yo-Yo Maker. Just need some washers. Or perhaps I’ll use a few pennies. Thanks for the great project.

    Reply
  30. crochets4preemies says

    August 14, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    This is such a darling idea! I bought some of the large metal fender washers to make pattern weights with and plan to paint them and embellish with things like buttons,photos,charms,etc. so I don’t want to use them for the weights inside of the yo-yos. What about filling them with rice or bb’s instead? Thanks for the fun ideas!

    Reply
  31. Rachael Rabbit says

    August 17, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    These are so cute – a set of them would make a super cute gift …. I’m trying to find a heavier type of weight for a Halloween craft project – any ideas? I thought about fishing weights …

    Reply
  32. crochets4preemies says

    August 17, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    Hi Rachael Rabbit,
    What about using metal nuts, as in nuts and bolts for heavier weights on your Halloween projects? They come in a very wide range of sizes and can be bought in bulk at hardware stores to save money if you plan on using more than just a few of them. Dollar Tree has bags of river rocks for just $1 that would serve the same purpose. Hope this helps. Have fun with your projects!

    Reply
  33. Shelia says

    January 23, 2012 at 10:56 am

    My grandmother starting me sewing when I was five. She always weighted down her patterns with knives out of the drawer. She called them case knives. She never used pins for cutting out fabric. Too bad I don’t have her anymore. I would love to make her a set of these so she wouldn’t have to use her good silverware.

    Reply
  34. •*¨*•¸¸.♥ Sweet Tresa ♥¸¸.•*¨*• says

    May 12, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    Hello there, i love all your sewing tutorial and today i will be sewing this Paper Weights and shall post them on my blog .. Thank you for the great tutorial .. love it big time <3

    Reply
  35. •*¨*•¸¸.♥ Sweet Tresa ♥¸¸.•*¨*• says

    May 12, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Thank you again (Done them and Sharing with you ~ http://sweettresa.blogspot.com/2012/05/fabric-button-paper-weight.html)

    Reply
  36. Jan says

    June 14, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    These are darling! I’d like to Pin them, but haven’t been able to do that. The Pin it link goes to your Pinterest page, but I can’t find these on it.

    Help! 😉

    Reply
  37. A Spoonful Of Sugar says

    June 14, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    Hi Jan

    You can find the pin here:
    http://pinterest.com/pin/96475616990617431/

    You need to have the “pin it” toolbar on your computer so you can pin from any site.

    Thanks

    Lisa

    Reply
  38. Shell says

    July 26, 2013 at 4:52 pm

    So cute, love these & need to make some, so much better than the tins of tuna I’ve been using!

    Reply
  39. Shell says

    July 26, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    Hi, realise this is a long time ago, but it’s still doing the rounds on pinterest! You’ve inspired me to start a new series, starring this pin/post for my 1st week! If you want to check it out, it’s at http://sewensow.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/pinned-planned-posted.html thanks x

    Reply
  40. Issy's Divine Creations says

    August 14, 2013 at 1:38 pm

    I could make these with rice as the weight. Or get rocks outside my patio door and paint those.

    Reply
  41. Wendy Scott says

    September 28, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    Very cute idea. I will try this.

    Reply
  42. Glenda Sullivan says

    September 28, 2013 at 2:39 pm

    Love, love, love! Just bought some vintage fabric from ebay and I am going to add a magnet and put ’em on my filing cabinet at work! Too cute!!!

    Reply
  43. Cindy Ash says

    September 28, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    What a pretty idea! I have been known to use whatever is close to hold down pattern pieces – this is definitely an easy, pretty improvement!

    Reply
  44. annie dee says

    September 28, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    Both patterns are brilliant! I’ll have to make both!! Thanks.

    Reply
  45. Anonymous says

    September 28, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    This is a great idea.

    Brenda D

    Reply
  46. Melanee Simpson says

    September 28, 2013 at 5:09 pm

    What a great idea!!! You could make a set for the each of the four seasons /holidays to switch.

    Reply
  47. Alina Roman says

    September 28, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    I’ve seen someone make these… are these used on dresses or just anything?

    Reply
  48. Alina Roman says

    September 28, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    I’ve seen someone make these before… Are these used for dresses or just anything? They are very pretty.

    Reply
  49. Diane Antle says

    September 29, 2013 at 4:14 am

    What a cute idea! I need some of these, now to find the time to make them!

    Reply
  50. Rita says

    February 1, 2016 at 12:19 am

    hi there… i do not have a yoyo maker so what size is the fabric yoyo circle? Thanks!

    Reply
    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      February 2, 2016 at 9:16 pm

      Yoyo makers come in a variety of sizes Rita – i have a couple of different sizes. If you search for Clover Yoyo maker who will find a selection online.The ones I used in this project are approximately 1.5 inches diameter when finished.

      Reply
  51. Sandra says

    April 8, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    Love this idea. My mother-in-law used to use her silver eating utensils to weigh her pattern down, especially the knives. Lol

    Reply

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