Hair loss can be a challenge for anyone, no matter their age– but it can be especially heartbreaking for little girls who love their locks.

That’s why Holly Christensen began knitting up a solution for these heroic tots.

Using the long, flowing hairstyles of Disney princesses–and oodles of yarn in bright colors, Holly and her nonprofit known as The Magic Yarn project are crocheting caps that double as wigs for little girls coping with disease.

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The yarn is woven into styles worn by famous female characters like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Elsa from Frozen, and Jasmine from Aladdin. The strands are attached to crocheted beanies made of the softest yarn, so as not to irritate the child’s scalp.

Based in Alaska, the knitting project received donated yarn and beanies, and a staggering $23,000 in donations through their GoFundMe page. Originally managed by Holly and her church group, the organization has expanded to include volunteers from around the world, including female inmates at the Alaskan Hiland Mountain Correctional Facility.

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It all started when 3-year-old Lily, the daughter of Holly’s friend, was diagnosed with cancer.

Christensen, being a mother of three and an oncology nurse in the past, knew that it wasn’t going to be easy for Lily to lose her beautiful curly blond hair. Jumping into action with her crochet hooks, Holly whipped up a Rapunzel wig just for Lily.

Inspired by the little girl’s ecstatic response, Holly kept right on knitting – The Magic Yarn Project is currently in production of hi-resolution how-to videos on crocheting the different wigs featured in photos on their website.

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“I began to organize what I thought would be a small project creating a few dozen wigs to send to little cancer patients,” says Holly on the Magic Yarn website. “Within hours, I was flooded with responses from around the nation—what started as a small project has snowballed into something much bigger and has many people eager to help.”

(WATCH the video above, and Share This Yarn With Your Friends…)

Story Tip by Michelle Diane

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