When her friend’s daughter was diagnosed
with cancer, Holly Christensen, an Alaskan mother and oncology nurse, decided
to make the little girl something pretty to wear. The Rapunzel-style wig was
made of soft yellow yarn with flowers strewn throughout the long braid. The gift
was a hit.
“(My friend) was able to see her
daughter just be a little girl again, twirling around in a dress with her
Rapunzel braid and having fun — this little girl who had previously been lost
in this painful, scary world of cancer,” said Christensen in a video about the
project. “One of the things I’ve learned is that I can’t do everything, but I
can do something.”
Christensen converted her one-car garage
into a wig-making workshop and invited her friends to help. In just a few years,
the Magic Yarn Project has sent more than 16,500 yarn wigs to children
experiencing hair loss. Crocheters from around the world volunteer their time
and yarn to make the princess wigs and superhero beanies, which then are given for
free to ailing kids.
A child with hair loss wears a wig made for her by the Magic Yarn Project. COURTESY MAGIC YARN PROJECT

Janet O’Grady, a crafter from Our Lady
of Good Counsel Church in Vienna, was looking for a pattern online when she stumbled
across the website. “I was very absorbed by it,” she said. “I was thinking
about children when they lose their hair, especially little girls, and how horrible
that would be for them. A wig like this can make them feel pretty.”
O’Grady knits with the parish prayer
shawl ministry and enjoys quilting but hadn’t crocheted until she started
making the wigs. She watched some of the newer princess and superhero movies to
learn more about the characters that inspire the handmade headgear. “I had to,”
she said laughing. “Merida (from “Brave”) is my absolute favorite. I (have)
Scottish heritage and her wild hair — I just love it.”
When there’s a craft store sale, she’ll
buy bunches of acrylic yarn for the wigs. “I have enough yarn to make 70 wigs
right now, so it should get me through the year,” she said. Then she crochets a
simple kid-sized beanie. Strands of yarn are threaded through the edge of the
beanie and tightly knotted. “One of the really important things we try to do is
get these things in there nice and firmly because obviously the child is
already suffering from hair loss. We don’t want them to end up with a wig (that
loses hair),” said O’Grady.
Then she styles the strands based on the
character, often adding something extra, such as a tiara for Anna, a starfish
for Ariel or ringlets for Belle. Of the many options listed on the Magic Yarn
Project website, boys often choose the Captain Jack Sparrow wig, Spiderman
beanie or Teenage Mutant Turtle mask. Once the wigs and beanies are complete,
she ships a batch to her regional leader to distribute. She loves hearing how
the wigs have impacted the children, but feels she’d be too emotional to
witness a child receiving one.
“I picture the smile on a child’s face
when they get it,” said O’Grady. “When I’m having a bad hair day, when it
doesn’t go exactly as planned, I always stop and think, ‘You know what? I want
it to be nice for that child.’ ”