Showing posts with label yo-yo doll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yo-yo doll. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Jingle Bell Jack Comes to My House

A few weeks ago I picked up a vintage Ding Dong School book, Jingle Bell Jack. I was nostalgic for a toy I never had.

This past weekend I went to the Royal Oak Flea Market and right off came across a vintage Jingle Bell Jack yo-yo doll. He came home with me.


My doll has a children's sock head with an embroidered face. The yo-yos are all midcentury.

 He is only missing the bell on his hat.

When I saw this kitten fabric I sure wished to see more of the original!

 I think there is a hint of bunny ears and nose on this fabric!
 It may  be sixty years late, but I now have my own yo-yo doll.
Read about the book Jingle Bell Jack at
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2018/03/jingle-bell-jack-1955-yo-yo-clown-doll.html

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Jingle Bell Jack, a 1955 Yo-Yo Clown Doll

I remember Ding Dong School on television. And I remember owning this book when I was a girl. What I don't remember is ever making or having a yo-yo doll. Every girl had a yo-yo doll and a sock monkey, and I wanted them, too.

This Rand McNally book dates from 1955. It tells the story of a girl who loved the circus clown she had seen, who had been wearing bells. Her mother shows the girl how to make her own circus clown, a yo-yo doll with bells.
Yo-yos are very simple to make. Circles are cut from fabric scraps. A basting thread is sewn along the edge so that when the thread is drawn the fabric forms a circle.

I found a tutorial online at
http://sunshinescreations.vintagethreads.com/2006/10/how-to-make-yo-yo-friend.html
The yo-yo circles are sewn together with a heavier thread to make the arms and legs of the doll.

 At the end of each unit is a bell. The head, collar, and a hat is added.
 The girl has her own clown with bells, Jingle Bell Jack.

A quick search online shows various ways of making the clown's face. In the book, the girl uses crayons to add the features. Many dolls have premade plastic faces. The tutorial shows how to make the head with fabric.

I found this copy of Jingle Bell Jack at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market from Acron Books. The owner, Jim Deak, told me a story about Miss Frances--Dr. Frances R. Horwich--whose program I watched as a preschooler. The Ding Dong School program was never expected to succeed, and when it took off Miss Frances was asked to turn it into an hour-long show. She said children should not be watching that much television! Then she was pressured to allow advertising for a BB gun, which she declined to do. She resigned over this issue, but her resignation was not accepted.

Miss Frances paved the way for children's television programming that was educational while considering the needs of children, including Mr. Rogers.

You can see an episode of Ding Dong School in which Miss Frances turns a handkerchief into a bunny on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6UxxL4yi8

***See the Jingle Bell Jack I later found at a flea market! I finally have my doll!
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2018/03/jingle-bell-jack-comes-to-my-house.html