HAMILTON — There's a little shop in Hamilton where Christmas magic is happening one tiny stitch at a time.
At Montana Sassy Sewing Company on Hamilton's main street, Susan White has been working with a needle and thread since she was 12, when her grandmother taught her on an old Singer sewing machine.
Check out what Susan White is up to at the Montana Sassy Sewing Company:
"My grandma was proficient at sewing, and she taught me how to sew when I was 12," White said. "I don't think she ever thought that I would take it this far."
What started with homemade Barbie clothes has evolved into something much more meaningful.
This Christmas, more than 90 tiny outfits are heading to Texas. Some are bound for Appalachia and after devastating floods in Alaska, another box is destined for children who lost everything.
"Because they don't have hardly anything," White said.
At her shop, she can whip out an outfit in about an hour. She's got quite a catalog — dresses for American Girls, Ruby Red Fashion Friends, and Welly Wishers that would make any doll the best-dressed on the block.
She's made thousands of kitchen mitts and dishrags, gnomes, and even children's clothes. If you can think it, Susan can sew it.
"I make all my own patterns," White said. "I'll buy patterns, but I never open them. I just look at the pictures."
But the U.S. Army veteran worries the skill of sewing is unraveling.
"It's a dying art," White said. "I don't think anybody cares anymore. It's, you know, there's too much social media and being on your phone."
Still, she calls sewing her "happy place."
"If I'm stressed out or having a bad day, it's like, OK, let's just whip something up, and that makes me feel better," White said.
In a world of fast fashion and throwaway culture, White is keeping a dying art alive — one tiny outfit at a time.
And somewhere this Christmas, little girls in Alaska, Texas, and Appalachia will unwrap dolls wearing clothes made with Montana love.
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