I’ll be the first to admit, I had lots of toys growing up but an odd discomfort towards miniature lifelike replicas of people meant I didn’t quite have the same yearning for dolls as most little girls would. The select few that I had were always safely locked away after each playtime in the playroom. Plush toys on the other hand, those which came in all shapes of sizes of animals were a separate story. I had (still own a few to be honest) tonnes of those and I carried them everywhere but oddly enough I never had a yoyo doll.
In fact until recently I had no idea what it was and as silly as it sounds (I give you my solemn word that this isn’t at all made up) my best guess was really a toy that was a hybrid of yoyos and a doll. How that would actually work I’m not too sure which is why I could find myself visualising one to begin with.
But I was glad to learn that a yoyo doll is in fact simply a very colourful eco friendly stuff toy – an advanced version of the old quilter’s doll (dolls made from scrap quilting fabric). So what makes this doll attractive?
Well firstly it is eco-friendly and you can easily make your own if you had the time (alternatively you could purchase one of Fair Trade Bolivian Origin). But I doubt those two points will sell to your child. However the fact that they come in all sorts of designs (dolls & animals figurines) looking all bright and spritely dressed up in their unique signature yo-yos (colourful rings of scrap fabic, stuffed with batting/cotton resulting in something that resembles more of a donut than a yo-yo).
Many rings of yo-yos are then painstakingly joined together to form the arms, torso and leg of a doll that is entirely a craft of patchwork. Frankly the dolls are cute because they all look as though they are dressed up for Rumba Flamenco or the Brazilian Samba. Kind on the environment, child safe and attractive to children and reasonable on the pocket reach…that’s the yoyo doll for you.
