A Really Neat Yo-Yo Variation

After I saw how nice the decrease lines showed up on the basic yo-yo, I decided to get a little
fancy. While the double decrease I used creates straight lines to the center, I knew that single decreases in the round make swirls. I wanted to see how that looked. As I suspected, it made swirls. When I gathered them, though, out popped the cutest little flower shapes! The SSK version is to the right.

I blocked another couple of samples flat enough to photograph them and, lo and behold, they didn't gather into the flowers. So don't block them! Since I'm using superwash yarn, I wet them down and rolled them around in my hands to undo the blocking. Then the gathering worked.

Since the decreases in these versions are single decreases, they must be worked on every round. Otherwise, the procedure is pretty much the same as the original version.


Swirl Yo-Yo
Yarn: Sock- or sport-weight.

Needles: Set of 5 US #1 (2.25 mm) dpns or size you can work comfortably with. (Gauge is not an important consideration here.) I started with a set of 7.75" (19.7 cm) long needles and switched to 5" (12.7 cm) needles when the number of stitches got small.

Notions: Coordinating #5 perle cotton, 8 stitch markers, yarn needle, point protectors, embellishment (optional), sewing needle and thread (optional).

On a longer dpn, provisionally CO 104 sts with matching #5 perle cotton. Turn and knit one row adding markers every 13 sts. Distribute onto dpns and proceed to work in the round.

For the K2tog version:
Rounds 1 – 12: (K until 2 sts before marker, k2tog) 8x. 8 sts rem after Round 12.

For the SSK version:
Rounds 1 – 12: (Ssk, k until marker) 8x. 8 sts rem after Round 12.

Cut yarn with about an 8" (20 cm) tail. Use the yarn needle to run the tail through the remaining stitches twice, tighten, and secure. Darn in the end.

Untie the beginning knot. If necessary, untwist the other end of the perle cotton so that it slides freely. Darn in the remaining yarn end. Make a single knot with the two ends of the perle cotton and gather the knitting, distributing it evenly. When it is as tight as it will go, double knot the cotton. At this point, you can wet the yo-yo down and pinch the decrease lines to refine the shape. Add a button, if desired.

It occurred to me that we might want a way to sew these things together. That's up next. Until then . . .