It has been almost a year since Claire Ellen Jolley began sewing pillowcases and started the “pillow fight for a cure” initiative and now it is time for the next step.

That next step is a sewing camp for kids five years of age and older that will be held July 24-26 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Clanton Church of Christ located at 1111 Lay Dam Road.

Jolley will lead the camp with assistance from her mother Amy Jolley, who has been by her side throughout the past year.

Each camper will make two pillowcases one will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in Birmingham, while the other is theirs to take home.

Other activities over the three days will include making homemade Pop-Tarts and create a Pop-Tart pillow to go with it.

“You can put fruit, Nutella and all different kinds of things in them [Pop-Tarts],” Amy Jolley said.

According to Amy Jolley, the example of a Pop-Tart pillow that she saw was made out of felt fabric.

“It’s just something that they can put on their beds,” Amy Jolley said.

There is expected to be plenty of fabric for the children to choose from, which should help promote their creativity.

The root of the camp is to introduce sewing at a young age in hopes of growing interest for the next generation.

For many of those who participate in the camp, it will be the first time that they will have worked with a sewing machine.

“I’m going to teach them the basics,” Claire Ellen Jolley said.

Sticking with the pillow theme, campers are encouraged to wear their pajamas each day.

The idea and the planning for the camp started in May and has been ongoing for the past couple of months.

“I got the idea from a girl that I work with, whose church in Montgomery does something like this,” Amy Jolley said.

Claire Ellen Jolley initially got into sewing through her Girl Scout troop, which partners with the Relay for Life Queens and donate the finished products to Hope Lodge. She has done that the past two years.

“Sewing is almost a lost art, Amy Jolley said. “There’s not a lot of people that do it anymore. Hopefully it will make them [kids] want to get their own sewing machine.”

A $40 registration fee per person is required to take part in the camp. The fee covers all three days.

Visit www.signupforms.com/registrations/10967 to officially register for the camp. If you wish to use Paypal or mail a check, inform Amy Jolley at aljolley4@att.net.

According to Amy Jolley, if everything goes well it is definitely something that they will look to continue in the future.