Fabric Yoyo Flowers {DIY Doorknob Decoration}

fabric yoyo flowers doorknob hanger diy project

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Learn how to sew a yoyo flower from scrap fabric to make a fun summery decoration to hang on your doorknob!

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One way I love to decorate for the changing holidays and seasons is to make a simple doorknob-hanger. They are quick to whip up, subtle and sweet, and easy to store. Doorknob hanging decor makes it easy and fun to add a little bit of the seasons to the room without overwhelming the space!

Today I came up with these super cute, buttoned yo-yo flowers that are perfect for spring and summer! They only took about a half hour to make! You could totally sell them too, they are that easy and cute!

How To Make Fabric Yoyo Flowers

fabric yoyo flowers close up

Supplies Needed

  • Scrap fabric (quilting cotton is perfect)
  • Matching Thread
  • Large Buttons (Here are some cute ones)
  • Felt for the leaves (Here is a good option that lets you pick the colors)
  • Cotton string or ribbon to hang the flowers on
  • Hand sewing needle or button presser foot to attach buttons
  • Sewing machine, fabric scissors, etc.

Step 1. Make The Fabric Yoyos

Fabric yoyos are so easy to make!

First you need to find a circle shaped object like a cup or a bowl to trace onto the fabric. The circles I drew were about 4.5 inches wide.

Trace and cut out three circles from your fabric.

cutting out circles for fabric yoyo flowers

After the circles are cut out, sew a basting stitch around the perimeter of each one with the longest stitch length you can, and a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

sewing a basting stitch on the fabric yoyo

Pull on the top thread tail to gather the fabric all the way around the circle.

gathering the fabric yoyo

Once the fabric is totally gathered, tie the thread tails together so it cannot un-gather itself.

Then, flatten out the yoyo so the gathered edges are in the center and it makes a little circle.

shaping the yoyo

Take a moment to shape the yoyo well, then sew a little circle in the center to hold the raw edges down.

sewing the raw edges down on the yoyo

You now have a fabric yoyo!

Repeat these steps with the other two pieces of fabric before moving onto the next step.

Three fabric yoyos

Step 2. Add Buttons

Center a button over each of the fabric yoyos.

putting a button on the fabric yoyo flowers

Then, using either a hand sewing needle or your sewing machine and a button foot, sew the buttons to the yoyos.

(If you have never used a button foot before, you can see what it looks like in this post all about presser feet.)

buttons sewn to fabric yoyo flowers

Step 3. Make The Leaves

For each flower, cut two leaf shapes from green felt.

The leaves I cut were about 3/4 inch wide and 2 inches long.

cutting leaves for the yoyo flowers from felt

Before sewing on the leaves, arrange the leaves and the yoyo flowers so you know how you want them to be. One end of the leaves should be tucked under the flowers.

arranging the felt leaves and yoyo flowers

Sew the leaves to the back of each flower with a small straight stitch.

sewing the leaves to the backs of flowers

Then you are ready to sew the flowers to a string.

fabric yoyo flowers

Step 4. Sew The Yoyo Flowers To A String

Line your flowers up how you want them to hang on the string.

Cut a length of string that when folded in half is as long as your flowers, plus extra on the bottom and enough on the top to fit over the doorknob. (Mine was about 50-60 inches long).

cutting string for the yoyo flowers

Sew the first, topmost flower to the string where the loop is, making sure to leave a big enough loop for the doorknob.

Sew the flower to the string by stitching the string to the top and bottom edge of the flower.

sewing flower to string

Attach the other two flowers the same way.

attaching the fabric yoyo flowers to a string

Trim off the excess string at the bottom so it looks neat. I left just a few inches.

Then your project is complete!

Fabric yoyo flowers doorknob hanger

I hung my flowers up on the coat closet door in our living room, and I love the little pop of bright color it brings in!

fabric yoyo flowers decor project hanging on a doorknow

These little fabric yoyo flowers would also look really cute as a garland, or as a pillow applique.

To make some more cute holiday doorknob and wall hangers, check out these tutorials!

If you loved this project, share it on Pinterest!

diy fabric yoyo flowers

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2 thoughts on “Fabric Yoyo Flowers {DIY Doorknob Decoration}”

  1. hi. love this tutorial. going to make a few now. how large should the fabric be in relationship to the button? your circle was cut at 4.5” so was your button about one inch? i have 2” buttons and i’m trying to estimate how large i should cut my circles.
    thank you

    1. Seam Whisperer

      Hi Sharon! yes my buttons were about one inch, but in truth I didn’t measure them, I just eyeballed it. I would cut the circles at LEAST 6 inches. Maybe make a test one with some fabric you don’t care about wasting!

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