A while back I wrote a post about 5 charities that need your sewing skills, and I made a commitment to myself at that point to try and sew for each of these charities as soon as I could.  This is the first of my five; sewing a donkey to raise money for The Donkey Sanctuary.  Or several donkeys in this case, as they are so addictive to make I couldn’t resist.  Read on to find out how you can have a go too.

Firstly, you need to download the pattern by Sally Cavill from The Donkey Sanctuary website.  You’ll need to cut out two donkey shapes and two hearts, plus you’ll need approximately 14cm of ribbon, and 2x 5mm beads for every donkey you intend to make, as well as some toy stuffing.

There are step by step instructions to follow; you’ll need to sew on the eyes and hearts first, then stitch the two donkey halves together, leaving a gap for the stuffing.  When you add the ribbon, its important to check the positioning first so that the donkey hangs evenly.  I went a little bit off-script and used a blanket stitch to sew my donkeys together, mainly because my blanket stitch is way neater than my running stitch, and I love doing it!

I chose a nice polka dot ribbon, but that meant I had a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side to the loops I made, so watch out for that when choosing your materials.  In the end, I just made some of my donkeys so that they faced right, and some so they faced left.

And I chose three different felt colours; dark brown, light brown and grey.  I even managed to find some felt made from recycled bottle tops, which seemed like a good match for these little guys.

Once you have them all made, send to Community Fundraising at The Donkey Sanctuary, the address is provided on the pattern.  They will then sell them in their on-line shop to raise money for the charity.  The perfectionist in me couldn’t resist adding some cute packaging, but they did let me know that they sell them without additional packaging, so just to give you the heads up that its best to send them as they are.  But I did get a lovely hand written note thanking me for making them; apparently these handmade items are a popular addition to their shop so they are always grateful to receive more.  I have a feeling this will be a regular bit of sewing I do every year.  Its a really sweet and simple make for anyone who loves to sew, and it felt pretty nice sending these little fellas off to do some good in the world.

If you love to sew, I recommend giving it a go.  And feel free to spread the word by sharing my pin below.

Thanks for dropping by my blog.  If you want to stay connected, try signing up for my Creative Sewing Challenge; its a monthly challenge for anyone who loves to sew.  You’ll receive a prompt once a month, which you can use to inspire your sewing in any way that appeals to you (this post was inspired by the prompt ‘loving kindness’), or you can follow the free tutorial I release each month tied to each theme.  Click here to find out more, or sign up below:

And here’s that pin I mentioned!