The Magic Yarn Project was created in Palmer, Alaska in October 2015. We started from humble means with the initial effort of two mothers, but we have since expanded to include dozens of chapters and hundreds of workshop locations all over the world.  Volunteer crocheters send us carefully-crafted beanies, and then “Magic Makers” from the community add strands of long hair into princess hairstyles during workshops or from their own homes. Finally, our leaders package and deliver these wigs to little cancer-fighters worldwide — for free! Read more about our story here. 

There is hardly a young girl or boy today who doesn’t love Disney movie stars, who are symbols of strength, courage, and true determination for children everywhere. With or without hair, these kids are strong and beautiful, but having a chance to step into the role of their favorite hero by putting on a wig or beanie provides a magical escape for children who find themselves entrenched in the painful and difficult world of cancer, burns, or other medical hair loss.

The Magic Yarn Project gifts over 50 different types of character wigs and beanies! We love being able to spark every child’s imagination, no matter what their favorite story is. Our most-requested wig styles are for Elsa, Rapunzel, and Ariel — but we’ve also got wigs for just about every character you can think of, from Belle to Jack Sparrow to Captain Marvel. For children who don’t want a full-headed wig with “hair,” we also make over two dozen different super-soft character beanies, including Bluey, Spider-Man, Daniel Tiger, Elmo, Star Wars, PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, and many more. You can see pictures of our whimsical wigs in action in our Wigs and Beanies Gallery.

If you would like to request a free wig for a little cancer fighter you know, click here for our Individual Wig Requests form. If you work for a hospital, cancer center, or nonprofit organization supporting children with cancer, click here to request a free box of wigs. 

We firmly believe that anyone can make Magic! In order to ensure that we are gifting little cancer fighters the highest-quality wigs possible, and to help you be successful making wigs right from the start, we ask all first-time Magic Makers to learn our techniques from one of our trained leaders. We offer a free training program that provides all the tools you need to make a wig from home. Find out more about how you can become an Approved Magic Maker here.

When local health restrictions allow, we periodically offer free in-person workshops all over the country! Make sure you’re following us on Facebook to find out more about workshops near you.

Every crocheter knows that working with yarn is just as much art as skill. Some makers crochet very loosely, some very tightly; some may follow British rather than American pattern terms. It’s also easy to let subtle mistakes like working in rows vs. continuous rounds or flipping the work slip in. Partnering with a Magic Yarn leader as you begin crafting with us helps save you time and effort, because you can be confident that you’re making the highest-quality pieces from the beginning. We tell parents that our wigs are machine-washable and “play proof,” and with over 50,000 wigs and beanies in distribution, we have found that certain small differences on the production side will make huge differences in durability and longevity for the receiver! We want to share those tips and tweaks as they apply to your individual stitching style.

Promising the families who receive our wigs that they are “play-proof” and machine washable means that we have extremely high standards for the construction and visual touches on every wig we distribute. The specific skill set needed to know what small differences will allow a wig to stand the test of time is not something earned after making two or two dozen wigs. We do not accept wigs sent in by makers who have not been through the Approved Magic Maker process individually, unless the wigs were made at a workshop run by a Magic Yarn leader trained in quality control. If you would like to begin the journey toward becoming a Chapter Leader, you can find out more on our Workshops and Chapters page.

We have no patent on yarn wigs, so you are free to make wigs and do with them as you wish. We are glad that our project has inspired others to make a little magic for the cancer fighters in their area, because service and volunteerism are a key part of our project’s mission. However, we ask that you do not affiliate your work with The Magic Yarn Project unless you are planning on sending the wigs you make to us to be checked, sized, and sent out with our special packaging. After feedback from parents on thousands of wigs and years of trial and error, we have discovered that while anyone can make these wigs, the final product needs to meet certain standards in order to be comfortable and wearable on the tender little scalps of cancer patients and durable enough for years of washing and play. We have also worked tirelessly to develop relationships of trust with hospitals and cancer centers; they know that seeing the Magic Yarn Project’s name means that they are receiving wigs that have passed our rigorous quality controls for durability, comfort, safety, and consistency.

Thank you for respecting the hundreds of thousands of hours of work performed by Magic Yarn Project volunteers by respecting the standards of the Magic Yarn Project name!

Yes! Our basic beanie pattern is simple and easy enough for most beginners. If you are able to count stitches, make consistent half-doubles, and understand working in rows vs. continuous rounds, you are ready to make Magic with us.

There are so many ways you can help! Since we send wigs for free to any little cancer fighter in the world, our biggest need is always for donated funds to sponsor our shipping costs. You can host a local fundraiser to gather support, “donate your birthday” on Facebook, or make a contribution directly at this link.

If you would like to get involved crafting with us, you can find out all about our options on our Volunteer page. We welcome all help, and thank our many Magic Makers for their contributions. We literally couldn’t do it without you!

The short answer is unfortunately no. Knitting naturally produces a much thinner, stretchier finished material than crocheting does. The weight of the yarn that we attach as “hair” for wigs and the accessories we attach to create character beanies are too much strain for delicate knitwear. If you would like to learn how to crochet, there are many wonderful “knitter to crocheter” video tutorials on Youtube, and our basic beanie pattern is great for beginners. There are also other ways you can volunteer at home for Magic Yarn beyond just making wigs and beanies.

• We create our yarn wigs on top of beanies crocheted using synthetic, soft yarn. Not only are these wigs beautiful and whimsical, but they are practical. Cancer treatments often leave children’s bare scalps too sensitive for traditional wigs, which can be scratchy and ill-fitting. Our durable, 100% acrylic yarn wigs are hypoallergenic, machine-washable, and carefully crafted to hold up to years of play and love. These wigs provide a soft and comfortable head covering that is also magical and fun — and easy for families to care for. Read more about our approved yarns here. 

In a few metro areas in North America, we do have local Magic Yarn representatives called “Chapter Leaders” who are able to accept donations in-person. Each of our Chapter Leaders is a volunteer who operates out of her home, so storage space for Magic Yarn materials is extremely limited. Please contact your local Chapter Leader before planning a donation to find out what her current needs are. You can see our list of Chapter Leaders here.

Due to health and safety regulations from the hospitals that receive our wigs, we are only able to accept donations of new yarn. This yarn must come from smoke-free, pet-hair-free environments, and in order to ensure that we’re able to match it with all the pieces donated by volunteers from across the country, it needs to be one of our approved colors and brands. You can find out more about the brands and colors that we need on this page.
If you feel that your yarn falls under these requirements, you can ship it to one of our donation locations. These are listed on our Volunteer Opportunities page.

If your yarn isn’t a good fit, we also love sharing yarn with another nonprofit named Project Linus. The volunteers at Project Linus use all kinds of yarn to create blankets for children in need, and they always love donations! You can find out more about them on their site, ProjectLinus.org.