On Sunday, January 8th at 11:30AM, please join us at Arcana: Books on the Arts for a special workshop with Christina Kim to learn to make yo-yo puffs!

A yo-yo puff is a circle of fabric gathered around its edges into a “puff” used for embellishing quilts and clothing. First, a circle is drawn on a piece of cloth, cut out, and stitched with thread around the outside of the folded edge while turning a tiny hem as you go. The thread is pulled, gathering the fabric into a puff, then knotted. A traditional form of recycling thought to date back centuries, yo-yo or Suffolk puffs, as they are sometimes called in England, are best known in the United States for their use in Depression-era quilting practice.

Christina attempted her first yo-yo puffs creation, a coverlet, in high school by following instructions in an issue of Seventeen magazine. For a project in 2013 evoking the transformation of winter to spring, 10,000 puffs dip-dyed and hand-painted in subtle gradients of sky, snow, and cherry blossom colors were made for an 18 window installation in Tokyo. The technique was incorporated into the dosa Traveler 2013 collection.

$55.00 includes materials and a rare small-group workshop with Christina Kim.

Book your place in advance (by calling Whitney at 310-458-1499 or writing to books@arcanabooks.com), or “at the door” on Sunday morning.