Dolly Hugs for Haiti

Yesterday a.m. I was getting my daily dose of Craft Gossip, and I came across a post about something very bright and beautiful. The Dolly Donations Blog offers free patterns and instructions for making sweet dollies to give to charities. Spearheaded by Sarah Hanson, a talented and energetic artist, the drive brings crafters from around the globe together to provide comfort to children in need. Currently, they are working to make 181 dolls for the Abundant Ground Foundation, which will provide the dolls to Haitian orphans.

I used Sarah's pattern to make six little sweeties (3 boys and 3 girls) to donate. They were so fun and simple to put together. It was a dreary day in Maryland, but the bright fabrics and cheerful smiles brought sunshine to my heart!

Louie helped me pick out the fabrics and hair colors for the boys, and also helped with the stuffing process. I love his choices! We used a soft denim for the legs, so they are all wearing jeans. Doing the project together really gave us the opportunity to talk about helping others, and to count our blessings.

The girlies are all decked out in Sis Boom dresses and stripey stockings! I had so much fun with their hairstyles. I used pompoms for the pink and yellow haired girls' "puffs" and a fun mix of yarn for the purple haired girl's ponytail.

These dollies are made from a very soft and cuddly flannel. I used my embroidery machine to stitch out the faces prior to cutting the fabric. I digitized the faces myself - the girl has long eyelashes and a dainty mouth, and the boy has an impish grin. If you have an embroidery machine, and would like the files, I'm happy to share (bear in mind they aren't perfect, I just don't think like a digitizer when it comes to jump stitches, etc.). Just drop me a line (carla(at)scientificseamstress.com) and tell me what format you need :) .

The donation deadline is March 31st, so you still have lots of time to sew up some sweet dollies for this cause. For inspiration, check out the Dolly Donations Flickr Pool. This is such a wonderful way to reach across the world and give a warm hug to a child. And just by looking at your finished creation, you will feel hugged back a million times over!