Bernie Sanders Doll A Hot Commodity For 2 Local Crocheters
BOSTON (CBS) - Crocheters around the country and here in Massachusetts are recreating Bernie Sanders' winter fashion statement with a doll. Sanders and his hand-sewn mittens stole the show on Inauguration Day.
Memes of the Vermont senator sitting cross legged and looking unimpressed flooded the internet in the week that followed. Now, lifelong friends Donielle Broderick and Alex Borges are commemorating the winter outfit with crochet Bernie dolls.
"My phone was just blowing up nonstop with messages from so many people," Broderick told WBZ-TV.
"He just becomes a mood. The way he's sitting you know. Arms and legs crossed, just like un-phased, kept to himself just in his own little world," Borges said.
It all started when Texas-based blogger Tobey King crocheted a Bernie doll last week. It's since been auctioned off on Ebay and raised more than $40,000 for Meals on Wheels. King sells the pattern on Etsy for $5 so other crocheters like Broderick and Borges can get in on the fun.
"Somebody took a meme, something that was just funny and turned it into something really good. It's something that I wish someday I can do," Broderick said.
Broderick and Borges hand make every pair of Bernie glasses and a pet comb transforms white yarn into his signature messy hair-do.
But the toughest part making of the Bernie doll is the mittens.
"Bernie's actual mittens were knitted. You can crochet a stich that looks like it's knitted, but it's a little harder," Borges explained to WBZ.
It takes Broderick and Borges between 5 and 6 hours to make each doll. They cost $50 apiece.
If you'd like to purchase one, you can reach out to Broderick on Facebook, Instagram or email at donebydonielleee@gmail.com.
Borges can be reached on Facebook, Instagram or by email at the.crochetmama3@gmail.com.