A Peek at Our Batiks

My doll club had a challenge this year.  We exchanged 1/8 yard pieces of batik fabric and challenged each other to make a doll using all twelve fabrics!

Here is what my doll looks like:

Meet Yolanda . . . or Yoyolanda, as I like to call her!  As I pondered how to use 12 different fabrics, I thought of using yo-yos.  The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.  I took a head from my "basket of heads" and re-worked the eyes a bit and then started looking for a body pattern.  I found one by Sherry Goshon in Soft Dolls & Animals magazine (Heather in Aug/Sep 2003 issue) and it suited that head perfectly!

From there Yolanda pretty much built herself!  She did not want a lot of bling, and she told me exactly how to make her "real" yo-yo (two shank buttons wired together with perle cotton wound around the center). 

As happy as I am with Yolanda, I was blown away by the dolls made by my fellow club members!  People, we have to have the most talented doll makers in the country right here!  In my humble 0pinion, of course.

These are just some of the finished dolls.  They are all wonderful!  I think we did an outstanding job of choosing batik fabrics, too.  The colors really complemented each other and make for an outstanding collection!

Good job, ladies!  What's next?

About YoYos

After I posted about Yo-Yos, curiosity got to me. I know this form of fabric manipulation has been around for a long time. I remember a clown doll made of different size YoYos when I was little. I also remember being shown how to make them - maybe as a Girl Scout? The details are lost to the years in between. So I went for a stroll along the internet and here are some of the things that I found.

About.com has a nice page of information *about* Yoyos. Three pages in fact, including how to make a Yoyo and put together for a quilt. Another page of interesting info is on Suite 101 .

I found lots of tutorials for yoyos - some with templates - some for circles - some for squares - and some for heart shapes like the one above. Here a just a few:

Heather Bailey's How to Make a YoYo is beautifully photographed.

Red Dawn has a template and tute for a SquareYo - and an interesting web site as well.

E-How has a quick and easy tute, too.

How too make a heart-shaped Yoyo from Penny Sanford.

I suspect that is only the tip of the iceburg! And don't forget the new Clover YoYo Makers. I like not having to worry about cutting it just right. The stitching is what counts!

While you are visiting Clover, check out the free projects for ideas on how to use these YoYos. Once you have a sack full of these little lovelies, browse through some of these sites for more ideas:

Decorate thumbtacks using this tute from Aesthetic Onion.

Or how about this cute angel pin from Family Corner.

If you crochet, add a lacy edging by reading the FreeNeedle blog.

For some more ideas - or if you prefer to buy - check out Etsy and Kinderware.

Whew! That's a lot of surfing! Now, if you've stuck with me this far, I have a question. Like so many handcrafted items, YoYos seem to have multiple names. Some of these links refer to them as rosettes and Suffolk Puffs. What are they called in your part of the world?