Here’s the beginning of what wikipedia has to say about Gonks,
“Gonks were first “created” during World War I when the flow of teddy bears from Germany was halted. Other factories across Europe had to start producing soft toys. Because of the material shortages, the factories had to significantly simplify toy designs. World War II again brought soft toy production to a standstill — many factories never reopened. To keep the children’s spirits high throughout the two wars, women at home made gonks from stuffing socks with rags and then sewing on button-eyes and material flaps for arms and legs”
I think many of the plushies made in the craft community could be classified as Gonks. The name cracks me up qnd reminds me of one of my favorite toys when I was little. I had a small pom pom, like from the back of a sock (it was the 80’s, yo) and I gave it a name and kept it with me always. Toys do not need to be complicated!
In the 60s, these were made with “fun fur” (purple and pink with yellow feet) and at least one of the ones I had did not even have googly eyes, it had eyes (and feet) made from pieces of felt.
I love these, and love the background story!
The one i had was made of fur it was Grey and stood about 2feet tall i wish i had kept him, He was a xmas present way back in about 1968!