Dolly Donations bring dolls to children in need

There’s something special about a child and their doll. A doll is a constant companion, a source of comfort when sick, and a friend during sad times. Can you imagine a childhood without a dolly friend?

Dolly Donations is an organization whose mission it is to help provide dolls to children who might not otherwise have them, due to poverty or other crisis. Their current drive is collecting dolls for orphans in Haiti.

To help get dollies into the hands of needy children, they provide free soft doll patterns and tutorials, and host Dolly Drives. Along with a pattern for a basic doll, you can also find out how to embroider a face (always a challenge for me!), how to make little cloth shoes for the doll, or how to sew down the yarn hair. If you like making soft dolls, or think you’d enjoy learning how to make soft dolls, consider making a Dolly Donation. To find out more about this sewing cause, visit the Dolly Donations site.

[photo from Dolly Donations]

[tags]sewing, charity, dolly donation, doll, children[/tags]

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I’m always tempted by the pretty velvets at the fabric store. So much texture! And the way the fibers catch the light! But sewing on velvet is trickier than you’d think. That nap that lends beautiful texture also likes to slip and crawl. That nap can also spell disaster if you cut a piece the wrong direction. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use buy that velvet and sew it into something gorgeous, you just need to go into your velvet sewing project prepared. And Melissa at Melly Sews has a post that takes you step by step through sewing on velvet.

Velvet is such a luscious fabric, especially for winter sewing projects. Of course there are velvet Christmas sewing projects – stockings, tree skirts, santa hats – but velvet is beautiful for all winter. Think of all the gorgeous velvet dresses, evening bags, hair accessories, even pillows and other home décor that you see all winter long.

Melly Sews’ post gives you the tips and tricks you need to know in order for your velvet sewing project to end up a success. There are types of projects better suited for velvets, and kinds of projects to avoid. She describes the different types of velvet available. And she also tells the best way to lay out and cut your pattern pieces from velvet fabric. Her tutorial also covers marking, pressing, and of course sewing that beautiful fabric. There’s also a video included in case that’s your preferred method for learning.

Head over to Melly Sews to learn how to sew on velvet fabric.

And if you want to learn more about that lovely blue velvet dress shown, she has a post that tells more about it including 2 ways to style it depending on if you want to be more dressy or more casual.

[photo credit: Melly Sews]

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