Daylesewblessed

Genden,
You are correct in that the yoyos are not attached to the blue fabric, but incorrect about the blue fabric being my choice for the project. Actually that blue is a sheet that I put over the bed in the guest room as a temporary dust cover to protect the quilts underneath.

I agree though that the color looks nice. My mother has pointed out that a sheet would be heavier than fabric for a backing. That could be a factor, since the yoyo top is already heavy. I do have yardage in a soft pink color, and I think I will audition it under the yoyo's.

I would enjoy working with other Bible camp quilt supporters, but I live 1400 miles away from them. The auction is where I grew up. I go back most years to be at the auction, and I always have several quilts donated. It is a wonderful event.

ILoveToQuilt

The yo-yo quilts that I inherited from my grandmother (1940's?) did not have backings. I believe they were made to lay on top of the top sheet on a bed. This would then allow the sheet to peek through the areas between the yo-yo patches. From what I have heard, yo-yo quilts were purely decorative and usually not used as a blanket.

Of course, you can do whatever you want with your yo-yo quilt - it is your quilt. I like the blue backing (I know it was a sheet on your bed, but it looks good!). I don't have any idea how you would attach the top to the backing. I have seen sheets used as backings (many QB folks use them) but I don't believe they are any "heavier" in weight than yardage. I may be wrong about this.

Good luck with what you decide! I love yo-you quilts and is on my "bucket list" to make.

grannie cheechee

We had a lady in our guild that we called the YoYo Queen. She gave a little program about YoYo quilts one time. They aren't really quilts like top, batting, and batting. They were used as summer quilts, just put over the sheet for decoration. She did tells us that sometimes they would sew the yoyos to a sheet. It would keep them from being pulled apart by accident. I'm like ILOVEToQuilt Anita a sheet really isn't any heavier than yardage.

Tiggersmom

It's a beautiful yo-yo quilt.
I don't think a sheet would be any heavier than fabric that is sewed together to make it wide enough for a backing.
Whichever you choose, for me, I would tack each and every yo-yo down. My machine has a tack stitch. A blending color of thread like off white, beige, light gray should work fine. Since each is attached to the other, how about tacking them right in the center hole area.
After all that, how are you going to bind the quilt?

Prism99

That is a really beautiful yo-yo quilt!

I would probably hand tack the yo-yo top to a sheet. The sheet would need to be a low thread count (or an older, used, lightweight sheet) to make hand sewing through it easier. High thread count sheets can be hard to hand sew. It would be fairly easy to hide a thread knot in a yo-yo, tack down the yo-yo, then carry the thread through a yo-yo to the next tack. You wouldn't necessarily have to tack every yo-yo down, as tacks every 6" or so would be enough to relieve stress on the yo-yo joins; however, it would probably be pretty easy to tack every yo-yo join since they seem to be joined in rows. I would not go through the centers. It would be easier to just tack at the joins.

While machine tacking seems like it would be faster, I think it would not look as good and -- because you would have to cut threads on both top and backing side between each tack -- would actually be more work and possibly provide less stability (since once you cut the threads, some tacks might eventually unravel). It seems to me hand sewing would be fairly easy to do in front of the tv.

The trickiest part for me would be basting the yo-yo top to the sheet, as you don't want anything to shift while you are tacking it down. Basting spray would not be a good idea if hand sewing because it creates way too much drag on the needle. You might actually need to hand baste the top to the sheet before doing the hand tacking.

Binding could be a problem. I think I would just machine hem the sheet all around about an inch away from the yo-yo edges, and then turn the sheet under to create a straight edge and hand baste the yo-yo edge to it.

rvsfan

Have you done a youtube search on 'finishing a yo-yo quilt' just to see if you get any hits? Would maybe find out what other quilters considering 'finishing'. Or a google search.

QuiltNama

Both my dgm and dggm had yoyo coverlets they used over colored sheets on their beds in the summer. I have seen many yoyo tops but never one with a back. Sorry no help here but the top you have is beautiful. Brenda

Mkotch

I guess it depends on the weight of the quilt, but I have seen very effective displays of yo yo quilts hanging on walls. The color of the wall peeks through, so you may need to paint before hanging. My divorce attorney (!) had a lovely one hanging on a brick wall which added warmth to her office. I wouldn't try to make a bed quilt out of a yo yo quilt. It's meant to be lacy and light.

SusieQOH

That's a beautifully made yo-yo quilt. I've never seen them with backings. I think they were meant to be more decorative than anything else.

illinois

I agree with everything prism said, except I would do the tacking inside the hole created by the gathering. I'd tack it somewhat like sewing on a button but the stitches would be hidden inside the hole. This is such a pretty creation. Glad you are going to finish the project. And, yes, to the blue sheet or yardage as backing.