Around the world, sewists are suddenly finding that our skills are in high demand, as governments and health authorities switch to recommending that people wear fabric masks, and hospitals and other institutions put out calls for mask covers, scrub caps, cover-up gowns, and more. Over the years, we’ve all seen the “crafting isn’t a hobby, it’s an apocalyptic life skill” memes, but what does it actually feel like to be called on to make that a reality? We asked a few members of our Sewcialists team to share their experiences and thoughts, from their homes around the world. Some are sewing masks and PPE (personal protective equipment), some aren’t. Either way, we’re all feeling ALL the feelings right now, and we thought it was important to reflect on that.
Anne
Personally, I keep thinking back to the Red Cross campaigns during the two World Wars, asking women at home to make bandages and knit socks and warm clothes for the troops. In fact, Gillian and I wouldn’t exist without those efforts; our grandmother went to a friend’s home in 1939 to learn how to knit for the Canadian forces, and while she was there, she happened to meet a young flight lieutenant who was billeted there. They married the following year, and the rest is history!
Today, in our part of Canada, hospitals are starting to put out calls for fabric masks, for visitors/discharged patients to wear. My local hospital is also asking for scrub caps and for laundry bags for contaminated scrubs, and a Facebook group has sprung up to meet that need. A local fabric retailer is selling kits of fabric and elastic at or below their cost, and volunteers are doing porch-drops of the kits and picking up completed scrub caps and bags.
On one hand, having something useful to sew is giving me a real sense of being able to help the community. I have an autoimmune disease so I really am stuck at home, and this is about the only thing I can do, aside from making monetary donations. And there is that tremendous sense of continuity and connection, with my grandmother and her friends who knit for the troops, and all the other millions of knitters and sewists throughout history who have used their needles to help during crises of all kinds. That is steadying and uplifting, for me, and when anxiety wants to send me into a tailspin, I really appreciate having that industrious work to turn to. It’s also pretty incredible to see the community pulling together — one friend is donating her late mother’s quilting stash to the cause, and colleagues who don’t sew are re-assessing their old bed sheets as potential fabric sources, while in the Facebook group there are sewing machines being loaned, rusty skills being upgraded, and hundreds of caps and bags being churned out for our two local hospitals.
On the other hand… ugh. I’m angry at the authorities, on all levels, who cut budgets and allowed stockpiled resources to lapse. I am freaking out that my fairly basic sewing abilities and the decisions I make about mask designs and fabric combinations might actually be the difference between life or death for someone. (Seriously. I sew once or twice a year, normally. I’ve sewn more in the past month than I’ve sewn in the past 15 years put together.)
I’m pissed off that this expectation that sewists will give freely of our stashes and labour is so gendered — it’s simultaneously recognizing these traditionally female skills as valuable, but also expecting that we will give of them without expecting compensation, devaluing our many hours of work! The news coverage about the sewn donations continues to have a subtext of “isn’t that sweet, the little ladies are helping,” whereas the coverage about 3D printed face shields (a more masculine donation, apparently) doesn’t have that.
It’s not lost on me that nursing continues to be a predominantly female occupation, too, and therefore one that is less well paid. Women (mostly) are being asked to sew PPE for free for other women (again, mostly) who need it because the system they contribute to doesn’t have the resources to protect them.
I’m trying to just keep focusing on the excellent (and free!) health care I’ve received in this community over the years, and how sewing these scrub caps and laundry bags is my opportunity to personally thank the medical staff who have provided it. But I’m also trying to remember to take breaks and to take care of myself in all of this…
Anne is the lead copy-editor with the Sewcialists, and she would much rather be knitting for pleasure than sewing masks and caps and drawstring laundry bags. She’s online at @anniebeeknits.
Meg
It still seems very surreal that it’s come to this, but in some areas, including where I live in Vermont (US), the federal and state governments are recommending that all people, not just health care workers, wear some sort of face covering if they have to go out for groceries or other essentials. The face covering is less about protecting yourself, and more about protecting others in case you are an unknowing asymptomatic carrier of the virus.
As such, I started sewing fabric masks, knowing that many others don’t have the sewing skills to make one for themselves, and that many who are essential workers (grocery store workers, mail and parcel delivery folks, etc.) are potentially being exposed while working since they don’t have the option to “stay home, stay safe.”
About half the masks I’ve sewn and donated were made using materials from my own stash, and the other half using fabric purchased by the government in Burlington, Vermont where I live. The city coordinated a Community Mask Initiative and purchased 1400 yards of fabric, worked with local businesses that might not otherwise have been considered “essential,” including a theater, an artists’ guild and several small companies that have cutting and sewing experience, and mobilized local sewists in the community to help sew thousands of masks. The masks are then sanitized by a local dry cleaner and distributed by the city to essential workers.
For me, sewing masks feels good. It feels like an important contribution to my community at a time that I otherwise feel pretty helpless and hopeless. I also felt like the repetitive, mindless nature of sewing so many masks, factory-style, distracted me from my anxieties, at least for a little while.
That said, after making over 200 masks over the past week or two, while also doing my full-time telework job, I am exhausted, both emotionally and physically, with tense shoulders and aching hands. I think I’ll take a break from mask sewing for a few days…
Meg is a former Sewcialists editor and when she’s not sewing masks, shares her garment sewing at @cookinandcraftin.
Kerry
In the past 10 days I’ve made slightly more than 100 masks for family, friends, and their families. At first it felt great, like I was doing something about this pandemic instead of letting it happen all around me. Then I started to get upset at the media coverage. I don’t know about you, but when non-sewists find out what I do for a hobby, I get patronizing looks or “isn’t that cute” kinds of statements (unless I’ve made a killer outfit, and then it’s all “YOU MADE THAT?”).
No, I don’t code or game or run a 3D printer. Yes, I sew practical yet pretty things. No, there is no such thing as having too much clothing/quilts/mug rugs, etc. It’s what I do to relax, and you don’t ask an artist if they have too many paintings, or a gamer if they have too many games.
I’m already tired of being patronized for my hobby. And then a world level crisis comes about that it seems like every government had a plan for and no one actually prepared for, and now people need our help and it’s all “where are the sewists to save me and my family?”
Why? Because of an epic failure in proactive management. Canada has had a plan for almost exactly this pandemic, including spreading of the virus by asymptomatic shedders, since 2006. That’s FOURTEEN YEARS, people. How is it that we don’t have enough masks for the medical profession, and no one ever thought about purchasing reusable cotton masks for civilians to prevent them from “speaking moistly” (as the Canadian Prime Minister memorably described it) to each other?
I mean, I can see how it happened. I spent 19 years as a high level bureaucrat. Everyone has a budget and you have to stick to it and funding the everyday crisis of health care is a lot easier to justify than carving off a percentage for that pandemic that will happen someday.
But 800,000 scientists worldwide got a warning on December 30th about a pneumonia of unknown origin causing deaths, and still no one stocked up on masks; still no one purchased ventilators.
Now it seems it’s up to hobby sewists and people who own 3D printers to put the health care system back to rights? In countries with for-profit health care, this is totally unconscionable. You should all be rioting in the streets, standing 6′ apart from each other. (If there was ever a Canadian-sounding protest, that is it.) For the rest of us, it’s sad, and a sorry commentary on our public health systems.
I love my family and I love my friends, and their families are okay, too, but after I’m done my last batch tomorrow, this mask factory is closed.
Kerry is a Sewcialists editor from Ottawa, Canada. She is full of rage.
Amanda
I’m not sewing masks.
I love helping. I love that I have this skill that could potentially help people, but, like, honestly I just can’t do it. The amount of information that is out there about what style to make or what materials to use is overwhelming. Couple that with the fact that each hospital/unit/office seemingly wants something different is just too much for me right now.
My family is incredibly fortunate to be financially stable during all of this so we’ve made cash donations. As far as I’m concerned, cash towards making face shields and stocking food pantries is just as good a deed as sewing masks. It also requires far less of my time, which is currently in short supply as my husband is working from home (in the space that my sewing machine is in) and I have to entertain a preschooler and an infant all day! I felt guilty about it at first, but then I realized my first duty is to be a good and present mother. Frankly, I can’t be that when I’m sewing all day. So instead, I’m expressing gratitude daily, and soaking up good weather and time with my kids (in between small panics).
Amanda is a tired mom of 2 boys sharing everyday normal life over at @mandabe4r. Maybe someday she’ll find time to finish something and post it on the ‘gram.
Gabby
I put off sewing masks for a long time, because I am angry that I’m being asked to pick up the slack for the United States federal government’s complete and total mishandling of this pandemic. We are currently in the position that each state’s governor is more important than the nonsense edicts we get daily from our own president. I… am in disbelief. Total disbelief.
Aside from my feelings on the politics of the matter, the governor of my state, and the governor of New York (where most of my close friends live) have asked people to wear masks outside the house whenever they need to leave (of course, essential errands only). I am not sewing PPE. I don’t feel comfortable. However, when friends and family ask for a mask, I will oblige, because that is something I can provide EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T MY FAULT THERE IS A SHORTAGE. Every single medical industry C-suite person needs to feel ashamed of their decisions to deny PPE budgets. It’s not my job to give my time, my fabric, my thread, my sweat, my tears, and my seam-ripping. I already pay (WAY more than) enough for my health care. Where’s that money? Inking the check of someone’s bonus? F*ck that. Capitalists can’t cry Socialist when times get tough. It doesn’t work that way.
Anyway, I’m sewing. I’m sewing more than I have in years. I’ll sew for friends, I’ll sew for family, I’ll sew for friends of friends. Figuring out how to production-line these small, complicated, and fiddly things scratches a brain itch for me. I love being able to make things for people I haven’t sewn for in years, or maybe ever. I like making things that are high quality and well-made, and I feel proud of my effort. On the other hand, I don’t want to have to feel that way about this particular thing. I cry almost every day about my kids having to wear masks just to go in the front yard.
This sucks. But, as needs must, I guess. So, I’ll sacrifice my stash, and make masks that look freaking dope for the people that I love. I understand everyone needs to do what works for them. And as an extrovert, if I can’t see and talk to people in person, the very least I can do is make for them.
Gabby writes Dear Gabby, and is currently venting steams of righteous anger in her basement studio, alongside her iron, pressing more mask pockets for filter inserts. Online @ladygrift.
Charlotte
I’ve decided (so far at least) not to sew masks or scrubs. As someone who isn’t an essential worker, and who can stay at home, it’s easy to feel guilty that I’m not helping in any and every way I am able. However, I also feel that sewing is my hobby, it’s my opportunity to relax and be creative when work is done, and that if I use up all of my sewing time and energy making masks then I’ll end up very miserable!
Instead, I’m going to continue to explore other opportunities to contribute, through monetary donations, supporting local businesses, and through other forms of volunteering. (In the UK, we’ve been asked to volunteer to provide transport and make phone calls for the health service — although the process seems very slow to get up and running.)
Sewing is only one of my skills, so I’m going to explore opportunities to volunteer my other skills, and keep sewing for myself. (P.S. If any voluntary organisations near me could benefit from project management support at the present time, get in touch).
Charlotte is a temporary Sewcialists Editor, who blogs at English Girl at Home.
Emilia
Coming from a country with universal healthcare, free for everything from blood tests to open heart surgeries, and living in another country with excellent coverage and a very affordable national insurance system, I’ve followed the situation in other countries with curiosity and a certain dose of bewilderment. Chiefly, I was quite frankly shocked the public was asked to volunteer time and money to making masks. Why should I have to fix the problems created by a capitalist system that exploit the less fortunate, where a right such a health is taken away from people, and hospitals are run for profit? Sewing masks would not give me a discount if I fall sick. In addition, since having sewing skills seems to be in such a high demand, why should I have to dedicate my own resources, in the form of fabric, notions, electricity to run the machine, wear-tear-swears, and most importantly my time — which is not free either — with no compensation? My point is, if you want to make masks, fine, do it, but be ready to think about the underlying problems. I was reading the newsletter of a fabric store and they wrote something along the line of “this is your time to give back.” But why?
In Japan masks are the norm most of the year, and especially in winter and early spring, when many have allergies, myself included, and the seasonal flu circulates. Wearing a mask is a sign that you care about your community, not just that you are allergic to cedar pollen. I also work in a lab with sterile mice, doing surgeries on animals and handling toxic chemicals, so masks are a necessity for us. Given the shortage, I was asked to make about 50 cloth masks according to precise specifications (sterilization being the most important factor) so that the pandemic would have a minor effect on our ability to perform our duties. And guess what: I was compensated for my time and materials. I also made a few masks for my family, because the weather is glorious and everything is blooming now, and I believe surgical masks should be left to medical institutions in this time of need. I’m not alone in this: many people have started crafting their own cloth masks, from the no-sew version to the elaborately sashiko embroidered ones, and even the government is planning to give cloth masks to every household (memes were endless, let me tell you). A guide on how to make masks even made it to a widely circulated newspaper’s front page a few days ago.
It’s fascinating to me how in this time and age, scientists are often belittled and not listened to and scientific research, both basic and problem-driven, is underfunded. I get that everyone wants to give something back at this point… but maybe giving your money and time to scientists so we can do our job to improve the human condition would be a better way to help than making masks.
Emilia is a temporary editor based in Tokyo. She enjoys looking at tiny brains, growing plants, dressing like a raven, and being opinionated. You can find her @emilia_to_nuno and on her blog.
Sophy
I’m sewing scrubs for my local NHS hospital where I am currently living in the United Kingdom. When I first saw the call for help I thought, yes, finally something I can do from home which makes me feel less of a bystander and more involved in helping. I felt like I could do something when I felt at my most powerless and anxious. I had been told to isolate by my daughter’s Consultant, but it felt to me that few people appeared to understand that it’s not just the elderly who are at risk (the number of times I hear “I asked all the old people on my street if they were ok” — please do check with everyone on your street because not all disabilities and vulnerabilities are visible). So in the midst of feeling scared, worried and judged that I wasn’t doing anything more, I had thought I that this act would be empowering. But my mindset has somewhat changed.
My issues with making scrubs for the NHS are twofold.
Firstly, the organisation of the drive has lagged behind the enthusiasm of home sewists. I ended up spending my own money printing patterns and buying fabric and notions. Although there is now funding and much more coherent planning in place, this has left me feeling rather disillusioned, because it felt to me that the time and energy that sewing takes was not being considered as a donation in and of itself. Taking into account both how much I spent on notions and my labour, these homemade scrubs are a seriously high value item. This is compounded by the media reporting which doesn’t reflect that — it doesn’t reflect the money spent and the skills involved, the dedication and perseverance in setting in sleeves, ironing seams and top stitching pockets.
Secondly, and more importantly, we should not have to be doing this in the first place. The government has had since January when the full scale of this virus was understood in Asia, through to its arrival in Europe and the devastation caused in Italy and Spain, to prepare and buy in what is actually needed. I had to go into the hospital for urgent tests for my daughter, and when I explained what I was volunteering to do, the nurses there told me no one was allowed scrubs in their department even though they had asked to have them. The nurses (understandably) didn’t want to wear their uniforms home and risk spreading any contaminants from the hospital. When I called through to the administration department to see if I could make specific scrubs for the paediatric staff, they told me that “all staff who policy dictates should have scrubs do have them” but then agreed they did need scrubs to be donated by the local sewing community, although this likely won’t reach the paediatric team I spoke to. The disconnect between political and bureaucratic rhetoric and the reality for staff on the ground is making me so angry. Why should we be volunteering our time, money and skill when we cannot even get an honest and candid admission that mistakes have been made and are still being made?
I want to help, and hate that doctors and nurses are being under served by those in power; and I do feel pleased and proud that the skills gained from a much loved hobby can be of use in a national crisis. But my emotional load is high at the moment and honestly I think it’s ok to admit that and take a break.
Sophy is a previous editor for the Sewcialists and is locked down in England away from her home in Hong Kong. She shares her makes on sophy_sews_hk, although these are few and far between in these turbulent times!
So, that’s us — our perspectives from around the globe, with the full range of takes. Let us know what you’re doing, or not doing, as the case may be! Are you sewing for the cause? Are you defending your sewing space as the last bastion of normalcy in an upside-down world? Are you a front-line worker who has no choice but to gear up and protect yourself as best you can?
Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, know that you’re very definitely not the only one to be feeling this messy ambivalence, this pressure to help, or this rage at the situation that we’re all in. From all of us to all of you, stay safe and be well.
Fantastic blog post – well done to all of you who are sewing (and those not sewing but contributing too). Not only is it exhausting making all those, just thinking about why must be shattering. I hope you all have some time out for yourselves to recharge.
Actually, since putting together this post, I have taken a few days off sewing — and it really has helped. I will go back to sewing this weekend but I’ve eased off the pressure on myself and now I feel much more able to carry on helping.
I haven’t made a single mask since this started. My situation is similar to Amanda’s, in that my husband is working from home in basically the same room as my machine (which lives in our bedroom closet) and I’ve got 3 kids under 5 to keep busy. So even with all of the extra time at home, my sewing time is still limited. I did give my mom about 22 yards of fabric and all of my nonwoven interfacing for her mask sewing efforts, though. I have an aunt (her sister) who’s a nurse in a hotspot, and a cousin and cousin-in-law who’s a nurse and a midwife, respectively. So she’s made something like 750 masks so far for their hospitals and the local birth center where the midwife works. She said that she sees it as her version of the WWII homefront efforts, plus it keeps her distracted from having to social distance from the grandkids.
Bravo to you for knowing what works for you — and bravo to your mother for those heaps of masks! And best wishes for health for your relatives working in health care.
I used my own materials to make about 85 masks for family, friends, a niece who is a nurse and the Hospice workers who care for my FIL in our home . I was happy to be finished with mask sewing as I was starting to resent the time and resources it took. Then a friend suggested I join a local sewing group making masks for local first responders. I felt guilty saying no: I have no children at home, I am retired so I have plenty of time, there is more fabric in my stash than I will ever use and I have the skills that could save a life. So I joined the group. Turns out the group supplies all the materials in kits, although for now I use my own thread. Each kit makes 25 masks. I decided to make one kit a week. This allows me to contribute to the community, while leaving time for me to sew for myself and pursue other interests and activities. It’s the right balance for me.
Balance is so key, isn’t it? That pressure to use your skills and go into production mode is really the same reason I choose not to sell my knits or my sewn projects on Etsy or anything. I want my hobbies to stay hobbies and not become a source of stress! But at the same time, the need for masks and other equipment is much, much greater than any pressure to sell pretty bags or cute hats or anything, and I do want to help in some way… Balancing all of that, on top of the stress and anxiety that everyone is feeling, is a huge challenge!
I only decided to learn to sew (actually self taught via YT videos) when my grandchildren were born. I wanted to be the grandma that would sew the cute summer dresses and costumes for Halloween. Not quite there yet. But I have taken the challenge of making simple masks for my immediate family. They are not as pretty as yours but they do the trick. Thanks for you beautiful posts. learning a lot. Be safe and God bless.
I have to admit, the mask sewing has been a good opportunity to practice my top-stitching and generally be more precise about my sewing! Practice makes perfect, as they say… Looking at the masks and other items as skill builders that help ME as well as equipment that will help others does help make sewing them a little more enjoyable. Good for you for taking on this new challenge!
Thanks.
Thank you! I’ve made masks for myself and my immediate family, but the thought of doing any beyond that and my whole body is screaming NO!!!! Just making the ones I did caused me to be exhausted and useless for 2 days. I sew for my mental health and because RTW clothes don’t fit me or my spouse. Making masks causes great anxiety, which I’m already struggling with. I also don’t have a large stash or a large income. I’m considered more vulnerable because of age and health conditions, so my normally isolated life is even more so. Thanks for those who are sewing things out of the kindness of their hearts.
Listen to your body and your heart! It’s like they always say in airline safety demonstrations: sort out your own oxygen mask first. If you’re not okay, then your ability to help others will be compromised! Be gentle with yourself and realize that keeping yourself healthy is the best thing you can do to bolster your immune system. <3
I made 3 masks – 2 for my 94 year old dad, for when he goes to the heart doctor, and 1 for my sister who takes him to the doctor. I just can’t get into it. I did make a quilt that we raffled off at work to benefit the Food Bank (Lincoln NE, US) – it raised $479! Food Banks need money too, for all the people that need help.
Oh, what a lovely way to help! Yes, the food banks are facing an incredible challenge. Bravo on using your skills to help them!
I’m proud of this community – the donations of time and money, the thoughtfulness, and the productive anger that supports individuals and communities while continuing to call institutions and governments to account! Thank you for these perspectives.
Beautifully put!
This was a great post, thanks! I’m in the wishy-washy camp, partly because there’re so many different opinions about to mask/not to mask and partly due to the fact that I seem incapable of actually getting anything DONE right now, which I guess is my way of reacting to the stress of all of this (and being laid off!). As someone who used to have a sewing side hustle, I also appreciate all the comments about the expectation of the general public that anyone who sews should be happy to do it for nothing anytime it’s needed ;(
It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? The opinions on whether masks help, the different pattern options, the different fabric recommendations… And on top of losing your job, too! How dreadful. And the loss of income must make the expectation to do something for free (something you used to get paid for!) all the more galling.
I’m going to make for friends and family – just wish there was a way to find sewists in need of income and pay them to sew!
Yes — and on a grand scale, not just little one-off transactions through facebook marketplace or whatever.
Wonderful post! And it reflects every single thing I’ve thought and felt about the situation, capitalism, gratitude, gifting, time, idiots in charge, and more. Thank you all! I feel less alone.
Thank you! I think one of our big goals here is ALWAYS to make people feel less alone, and that’s more true than ever in this weird new reality. There is SO MUCH to feel and it’s endlessly confusing to try to tease it all out, but working on this post was helpful to many of us, so I’m glad it’s helpful to you too!
This post is so validating! I’ve barely sewn a stitch since this whole pandemic thing started, because I feel all this pressure to make masks, but I just don’t want to. I’ve never enjoyed sewing “stuff”–I prefer to make clothes. I’ve also never enjoyed sewing things out of obligation rather than desire. I do high-end commissions for paying customers on occasion, but I keep it to a minimum because I just hate doing it. But I’ve also felt guilty sewing other things because I feel like I “should” be making masks. I’m still living with my ex at the moment, who is an “essential worker”–a bus driver. She’s supposed to wear some kind of mask at work. She’s been getting by with bandanas but I know she resents the fact that I could make masks for her & I’m just not doing it.
So many people I know who don’t sew seem to be operating under the assumption that I have this skill that enables me to “contribute,” so they assume I will. They don’t have any idea of the work & time involved. I have a 7-year-old daughter who is a fucking handful at the best of times, & now she’s at home with me all day everyday. I’m losing my mind with never being alone, never having any quiet in the house, never having more than five or ten minutes at a time to focus on what I need or want to focus on. Piling the weird obligation to sacrifice my time, effort, & stash to a system that had ample opportunity to prepare on a large-scale for this absolutely inevitable pandemic (I like to read about science & epidemiologists have been forecasting this kind of global pandemic for DECADES) just pisses me off. & when you add in the gendered element–awww, look at the sweet little ladies making an effort!–I just rage.
Living with an essential worker in a major metropolitan area with fairly pervasive community spread means I have a way higher chance of contracting the virus (if I haven’t already–I’ve had a bad cough for weeks now). With my kid at home, & living with my ex, & trying to figure out how I’m going to manage to hunt down a new place I can afford as a single parent in the middle of a global pandemic…I’m just maxed out, mentally & emotionally.
Oh my goodness, you have your hands absolutely full! Sending you all sorts of love and good wishes for improved health and living situation. I am glad if we’ve managed to help you feel a little less alone in all of this!
Dear Ciara, you sure are having a hard time. Your post struck a chord with me. I am nearly 70, and have gone through difficult times with relationships too. I hope you won’t mind if I ask you to sew three masks for your ex, however much you dislike her right now. Doing this will remove her negativity towards you for not making her masks, and your lingering guilt for not wanting to do that. It may help shift things for you in a way that may improve your situation. I hope things turn out well for you; give it time. I send you love and strength. Anne-Marie
Yes, Yes, Yes to all the thoughts on mask making!! I didn’t make any for a couple of weeks due to conflicting information on material and style. So when US *finally* said all should wear a mask, I picked one that didn’t seem too fiddly and pulled a couple of “what was I thinking” batiks out, then salvaged a bed sheet and made some for immediate family, a few on request, plus a few more just to have on hand. I did charge a minimal amount to the “on request” masks for time.
Part of me feels like a slacker because I’ve made so few masks. I totally understand the feeling you can get for helping out. Then again, soooo many disrespect home sewing yet stories abound of asked to do work for free because people don’t want to pay for it. And now we’re expected to use our money & time to make masks for the world for free because of “ooooo scary socialism” on health care changes. I bet every person who says that was helping to crash their banking sites looking for their handout check :-/
I think this post (and all the comments!) can stand as proof that whatever you choose, you’re not slacking. We’re ALL doing some serious heavy lifting, whether we’re staying home and obeying social distancing restrictions, or going out in the world to do essential jobs. Anything on top of that is extra, and in some cases, it’s just too much extra!
Thank you SO much to everyone who’s provided a perspective in this post. I’m really struggling with the idea of masks – of wearing them, making them, needing them. I’m also at an ebb with sewing – something I love to do do but not if I’m required to do it. I’m so impressed by everyone who’s working actively to improve their communities. I’m also very pro-community! But the idea of making masks also makes me feel vaguely sick. Perhaps it brings it all too close to home. On the other hand, I’m not even making masks for my loved ones (who want them and could use them) and for myself, when out walking, to protect others. Mind you, I barely ever leave the house but what about my peeps who need or want to? I’m truly all over the map on this. But one thing’s for sure. I can give money to good causes – my current fave is the foodbank. So I’ll do that until I find myself in some shape to sew for the world. Just want to say – those who are the beneficiaries of your work and skill are exceedingly grateful. I have a friend who has SO kindly made masks for me and my family and my gratitude is extreme.
As someone who IS sewing masks, the gratitude from people who have received them (and somehow, especially the selfies they’ve sent me with their masks on and worn properly!) is just about the only thing keeping me sewing. There are so many negative emotions (and nausea feels like an emotion in this case) tangled up in this particular sewing task… I’ve been talking with Gillian about the difference in our reactions — for me, sewing is NOT my passion or my therapy, it’s just a skill I have, and I can always escape to my knitting when I need to escape. But for her (and I suspect for many Sewcialists readers!), sewing is absolutely her passion and her therapy, so the invasion of these mask drives and other PPE requests is much more difficult to cope with.
Anne – you’ve nailed it – nausea IS an emotion!! In the past few days I’ve not been able to knit. I’ve given myself a repetitive strain injury (or it’s just my weird pain condition doing its thing – but really, the amount I’ve knitted lately is absurd). So not being able to knit while feeling sick at the thought of sewing (and I could really use some sewn things in my lounge wardrobe!) is leaving me in a really meh place. I hope that posts like these will help me to move to a new stage in my Covid process.
A brilliant post. Our voices need to be heard. The whole thing is crazy. Why the hell in 2020 have they asked “the home front “ to labour? Nothing as changed in 80 years.
Yes, yes, yes. A great post, thank you. It’s not our job to make masks, and once a healthcare system has got to the point where home-made masks are being requested for healthcare workers, well, the whole thing is a disaster and a few masks are not gonna help. Who are we kidding? If individuals in the community choose to wear masks, that is their own business, and I am willing and able to help if I am asked. The materials must be available to me — just because I sew, doesn’t mean I have an endless supply of quilting cottons on hand! And I have no access to elastic so the masks I make require ties. But I did make masks at the request of those family and friends who live in large cities where it is more difficult to keep a safe distance when in public. That way, they worry less when outside to get fresh air or grocery shop.
Yes, the distinction between sewing for family and friends, and sewing for health care professionals to use in their workplaces, is huge, isn’t it?
Wow. Validating is the word. Thank you. I’ve been struggling to articulate to friends and family why I’m so skeptical of the mask/PPE drives. Interestingly, in my local area I did sign up to make masks for healthcare workers, using kits that would be provided by the organizers, but they ended up cancelling the volunteer project because they found a local factory with facilities available. That was a better solution, imo.
That is a MUCH better solution! Paid people doing the work in a professional setting. Hooray! I hope that can become the norm again soon.
This is such a worthy post – thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts. The one thing I really picked up on was anger and frustration and rightly so. As you state, our governments have had sufficient time to prepare for this and even now they continue to drag their heels. I have twice volunteered with local groups here in the UK to sew scrubs and on both occasions my offers have been ignored- in the meantime these groups continue to publicise what they’re doing for the community. This makes me so angry and I find myself questioning their motives. I want to help but my offers to do so are ignored. A woman’s ability to sew has been both a help and hindrance throughout history – no change there then! For now I will continue to enjoy sewing as a creative outlet and an escape from the horrors of the real world.
I think there’s a lot of good will out there, but there are also a lot of people becoming community organizers who have no experience with this sort of work. A desire to help is one thing, but it doesn’t translate into the ability to coordinate volunteers and fabric and deliveries and so on! I’ve been lucky to find a local group that has done a phenomenal job, but that kind of disorganization has definitely turned off a number of the other contributors around the world. And yes! As you say, “women’s work” (sewing and cooking and nursing and more!) has been essential throughout history, and yet devalued even as it’s being called for.
My husband suggested that I sew some masks. I said, “No, I won’t be doing that. I finished the 4 hour census. I had one of the long, complex questionnaires as did my friend. I always fill out the yearly taxes.” In my head I thought I was a Brownie leader, a Cub Scout leader, a classroom volunteer, a Literacy Volunteer, a full-time working mother, etc. My husband has never volunteered for anything. I am a senior citizen in chronic pain who is barely hanging on. My exercise programs are closed so I can’t get the exercise that I need to keep moving. I am cut off from my friends that I see regularly.
Making masks using my own treasured fabric when I don’t feel well enough to sew my own garments is very low on my list. We all had warnings about future pandemics. We should have prepared better and ordered supplies ahead of time. I support local food banks.
I also call lonely relatives on a regular basis to make sure that they feel valued and loved.
I think you just gave a perfect illustration of the emotional labour that’s involved in all of this. Sewing masks and PPE is not just a mechanical action, it’s an act of caring and giving that — like so many aspects of “women’s work” — is undervalued and there’s an assumption that we’ll do it for free. Bravo to you for knowing what your limits are! I hope your pain is manageable and you get to sew for yourself soon.
I’m so pleased by this post. Last weekend I had a melt down because I was angry with myself at not being able to go further with making two masks. In the end, my partner made us masks to use, simple sewn ones. I’m angry and in disbelief too. I feel vulnerable and frustrated. And why, indeed, are people now using our skills when just a few weeks ago, we might be teased about being old fashioned women? Why aren’t they suggesting corporate and privileged men turn their woodworking and machining hobby skills into sewing?
You are SO not alone in your frustration and paralysis when it comes to making masks! When the topic came up in the editors’ chat and several people said, “wait, I’m not the only one not making masks?” we knew this was going to be an important conversation to share!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I, too, put off sewing masks for reasons that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. You all have articulated what I couldn’t seem to put into words. Pretty much everyone that knew I sewed, sent me texts, links, and FB posts as if I were living under a rock and somehow didn’t know this was something I could do. I was painfully, guiltily aware that there was/is a need, just as I am eternally annoyed that there is a need. That said, yes, I did make masks when my daughter asked for them. And then, I worried. Will the folks who ultimately end up with them, (as I knew she would freely gift them to her circle of people) realize that wearing it is an effort to protect others? Will they know that these bits of my personal stash offer them little to no actual protection? Will they be safe? Will they stay safe? Even though these things are out of my control, in this very difficult and out of control time, these are just a few of the many things that we all worry about. I digress, but again, thank you for validating my innermost thoughts.
Yes! The fear of someone misunderstanding what masks do, and acting as though they are better protected than they really are, is huge. Of course I WANT to keep all my friends and family safe, but what if I accidentally lead them to endanger themselves further? Suddenly I realize why so many things come with waivers and disclaimers. I’m not afraid of being sued, but I sure am afraid that someone will get sick or make someone else sick! I think this is why the making of masks involves so much heart work, as well as handiwork, and that’s something we really wanted to recognize with this post because it’s NOT being recognized nearly enough.
I don’t even tell people I can make masks and have only sewn a few, just for my immediate family. They didn’t ask for them, thankfully. I wanted to try to keep them safe. I’m also a LPC (licensed professional counselor) who would like to thank you for this post. I specialize in seeing kids, but also have some adults who work in healthcare positions on my caseload. I can work from home via telehealth, a system/method that I was never actually interested in utilizing btw, and spend most of my day talking other people down from their anxiety and panic about the virus.
Sewing is my escape from this and I had a severe panic attack when I started seeing all the mask making posts and requests pop up. It took me about a week to be able to read them and another week to actually be able to sew masks for myself and my husband. It took me about three days to make just the first one and I couldn’t breathe the entire time. I specialize in treating anxiety and have seen my own counselor as needed, but there’s something about sewing masks that makes me absolutely terrified. How am I supposed to retreat and tend to the self-care I so badly need, when I’m being guilted from all sides? Or so it seems at least. After this, my family members have been told that anyone who asks about the masks will need to be directed to Etsy. I can’t make any more than the few I’ve made.
I applaud all of the mask makers out there and appreciate what you are doing. I’m also here to validate the sheer magnitude of this and encourage boundaries, self-compassion, and guving yourself permission to stop or not start in the first place.
Thank you for your honesty and for modelling that boundary-setting and self-compassion! I have a lifelong anxiety disorder, and my husband lives with major depression and anxiety, so THANK YOU to the counselors out there who are helping people like us through these times. (In fact, some of the masks I made were for a colleague’s sister, who works in a mental health hospital — a small way of thanking the workers like her, without whom I might not still have my husband with me…) The work you are doing is so important. And, as I keep saying, making masks is not just a mechanical process, it’s an act of caring and involves a lot of emotional labour, so for someone like you who is doing emotional labour day in and day out, I can absolutely see why making masks would be just too much to ask. Again, thank you for the work you are doing!
I’m so happy to read the contributors different takes on the mask and PPE making. I have such mixed feelings too.
A friend told me that one of the nursing homes in my town is being proactive and in need of hospital gowns. I felt I should contribute as I opened a tiny, new sewing school last year.
I diligently picked up my bag of supplies at a local quilting store that is the hub for drop off and pick up. The bag contained a printed out pattern, instructions and several cotton sheets. One sheet was totally threadbare! I made the 6 gowns. They were boring and a pain to sew – set in sleeves! What? A lady I talked to the other day said she spent 85 hours on her gowns!!!!!
Then…My tenant is a midwife. She said the midwives in town are desperate for PPE. More home births, they usually get supplies from the hospital. So I made them 2 gowns, with my own fabric, and 14 masks. I kind of expected a note of thanks…silly me.
Making all of that caused me a lot of anxiety. I’ve calmed down since then.
Now, I am making masks and selling them from my studio through FB and Insta. I don’t want to sew more, but have to pay the rent. So funny that this amazing skill is thought of as “just a hobby” until times get tough!
Ooh, that mention about expecting a note of thanks really hit home. I’ve made masks for friends and family and colleagues. Some of them have been so grateful they actually cried (all that pent-up anxiety!) and one even sent flowers. But others have hardly said anything other than a transactional “thanks” when they asked for masks and I agreed. I was getting a lot more of the latter, and that was really dragging me down. But then, on a particularly dark day, I got the delivery of flowers AND multiple people sent me selfies of them wearing their masks, and I was shocked at what a difference that made to my mood. That simple recognition means so much! I’ve also been sewing scrub caps for the local hospitals, and the group of organizers (one of whom is a nurse at one of the hospitals) has been phenomenal about posting photos of the hospital staff sporting our caps — not that it should be a priority for health care workers to be thanking us or taking selfies, but that confirmation that the caps are appreciated and useful goes a long way towards getting me back to the sewing machine to make the next batch.
Great post! It was helpful seeing all the different perspectives and motivations.
I held off on sewing masks for as long as I could. I knew I could easily make them, and I definitely already had enough fabric and supplies in my stash. But as a healthcare provider, I go in to work at the hospital, and it’s non-stop information overload about COVID-19 (e.g. what today’s case counts are, what trends we’re seeing with our current COVID-positive patients, what new practice changes need to be implemented, etc). The thought of sewing masks once I got home felt like I would be giving up the precious few hours of reprieve I had from this pandemic.
Once the CDC made their recommendation about wearing masks while out performing essential duties in settings where social distancing cannot be easily maintained, I finally gave in and made some for my immediate family members and my best friend. I had many more extended family members, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances ask if I could sew them some as well. And I told all of them no. At first, I felt guilty. Luckily, that was short-lived. Why should I feel guilty? Sewing masks is not creatively fulfilling for me, and it’s surprisingly time-consuming. I am putting myself at risk every day by taking care of my patients, and I want to cherish the time I have after work by spending it with my family and sewing projects that inspire me and lift my spirit.
There are other sewists who do find mask making enjoyable or are counting on selling masks as a source of income in these scary times when people have been furloughed or lost their jobs or businesses. Realizing this made me feel a lot better because I could tell people that I would not be sewing any more masks but they could support someone else by purchasing a mask from one of these sewists instead.
BRAVO. Both for your work as a health care provider, and for recognizing your boundaries! And for using this as an opportunity to direct support to people who need the income from sewing — that forces recognition that it’s a skill that should be valued, and is worthy of compensation, too! Thank you!
I’m not sewing masks or scrubs or frankly anything! I’m also fed up that – again – the community is called on to make up for deficiencies in government and institutional planning. Here in Aus we have been told that masks are only necessary for frontline health workers.
Plus, I have huge questions about just how effective the cloth masks are. The virus particles are so incredibly tiny that cloth masks won’t prevent the virus from getting through, they give a false sense of security. People can pick up the virus in several other ways while still wearing a cloth mask.
I volunteer with two organisations, bake and fix bicycles as my gift to the world.Sewing has always been my hobby for me.
Yes, there are HUGE questions about how effective masks are. We have a post from our resident scientist, Emilia, on that exact subject! All the same, here in Canada the balance has tipped from the authorities saying masks are only for frontline workers, to encouraging people to wear fabric masks (still conserving the “real” masks for medical workers). We’re not at a point (unlike the US) where hospitals are requesting fabric masks for their staff — though some are asking for them for outpatients and so on. And I sure hope it’s a stop-gap measure until the supply chain can catch up! But at any rate, the pressure is definitely on here to sew, whether it’s masks for the community or scrub caps and gowns for the hospitals and other frontline workers. Bravo to you for your other volunteer work, by the way! Communities absolutely run on volunteers, even in times of health and prosperity.
I’m only making masks for friends and family. I’ve still ended up giving away almost all that I’ve made, as I’ve got a large family, and my sister in law called last night to ask for some (though she’s insisting on paying for them, which is a nice change). At the same time, with the preponderance of mask-making in my online sewing groups, whenever I start to sew one of the many projects on my ‘to do’ list (lap quilts for elderly relatives, shirts that actually fit me, new curtains to replace the really faded ones in my living room, the t-shirt quilt my husband really wants), I feel guilty and like I’m wasting my time. I don’t like the social pressure. I’m in awe of the people who are production-line sewing hundreds of masks, but at the same time, not happy or feeling good that they have to.
We all have our own balance to find, eh? I’m trying to recognize that the things I sew (or in my case, knit) for relaxation are doing a lot to keep me healthy through this. If I can relax, then I can sleep; if I can sleep, my body and my mind are in better shape; if I am in better shape, I’m bolstering what immune system I do have (I have an autoimmune disorder) and preserving my ability to fight off infections. When I feel like sewing is helpful and something I can do, I sew, but when I feel like it’s overwhelming, I’m learning to stop and do something else.
Thank you for posting this. I had no idea that other people were feeling the same conflicting feelings I’m feeling!!! I appreciate this post so much. Best wishes to everyone out there whether you’re making masks or not 🥰
You are absolutely NOT alone in feeling all those conflicting pulls! Whatever you decide to do, be well!
I live in the USA. I only sew clothing for myself and my husband. I had to sew us 4 masks because I won’t be allowed into the grocery store without one. I used stuff from my scrap bin, bits of jersey for the straps and old pillowcases for the cotton. I buy very expensive elastic for lingerie, I am not going to use that to for a face mask that I will be using a few times before PPE comes online for the population. My mask slips on my face, I find myself touching my face all the time to adjust it, totally defeating the purpose of wearing one. I also don’t think it works at all, hello the virus is super tiny. Everyone wore a mask during Spanish flu, it did nothing.
In one year I pay 30% of my income in taxes, I also pay $24000 a year in health insurance for 2 people. An N-95 is $1 each and a surgical masks is 50 cents. Everyone had a month of lead time to get their act together. No way in hell am I going to spend my time and my money making masks that will likely end in the trash in a few weeks. Yeah they can buy one for me for $20 each. Seems only fair. Also everyone I see outside somehow has an N-95 or surgical mask. If they didn’t hoard or maybe donated these, our healthcare workers would probably have what they need.
To the women that are making masks, you should be compensated! It’s always women that asked to work for free. People that save and learn skills should be rewarded in times like this, everyone else can cry me a river.
Oh, the rage you are feeling — and the amount you pay for health care! As a Canadian, it took a conversation with some American facebook-friends to really make me realize how outrageous it is that Americans are being asked to sew for their for-profit hospitals, while those same hospitals are cutting staff and salaries. At least here, if I sewed through my finger while sewing scrub caps for my hospital, I could go to that hospital and get treatment for free, you know? I’ve always had excellent care (and having an autoimmune disorder, I’ve spent more time than average in hospital) and the only thing I’ve had to pay for was parking, or a treat from the coffee shop. So if I’m feeling anger at “the system” for needing me to sew for it, you folks in the US are absolutely justified in feeling incandescent rage.
I want to thank everyone who has written here, said a few things that may not look as generous as we’re supposed to be as sewists, been their real selves. Thank you for your honesty.
I got a request by my neighbor to sew masks for her ob/gyn clinic. I was happy to do so as a favor for HER, because she’s been an angel and a friend over the years, but her clinic could pay me for my materials and time. I made some for her family, and gave her the pattern and her husband (a sailor) made them for the clinic. And then she got laid off. Not furloughed.
Health care in the US is a minefield, and I can see why some people get freaked out about single payer/national health care. They get their insurance through their jobs and a lot of people have gold plated coverage. I got married for that kind of health insurance. If you have a chronic health problem in this country, you’d better be wealthy.
I’ve sewn masks for my family, my neighbor’s, my other neighbor, and the kids at the coffee shop down the street where my kids got their first jobs. My extended family. The rest of you can pay me, like I pay for my health insurance, in cash.
I want to pick up on your notion that the anger here isn’t “as generous as we’re supposed to be as sewists” — wow. You nailed it! But why are sewists (and other crafters, like knitters and crocheters) supposed to be so generous? There’s so much to unpack in that little phrase, isn’t there?
because…women. You said it in the article. sigh. FUCK this patriarchy!
It angers me that there was a proposal years back (2016) for a certain governor to address pandemic concerns – to order ventilators for instance. He chose to table that and invest instead in other things which tanked. So yeah the politics have me seething. I don’t consider myself a 100% socialist, and I won’t apologize for that. I would think socialists would feel we all need to donate our stashes and our time for the betterment of everyone, or am I off base there? It’s an honest question. My answer is that I would do so, but would rather at least be paid back what I spent. No profit, just what I spent. Or at least a tax break?
I am blessed to still be working. I’ve made some masks, about 50 from my stash, for friends & family and my sisters clinics. My neighbor runs a non profit, and they were making masks before the pandemic for chemo patients and families. They were featured on the news, and I was happy to see not in a condescending way. However, she tells me that the donations have mainly been from individuals and small health care, though THOUSANDS of masks have gone to large hospitals. She put a shout out on FB for more volunteers to sew masks that have been cut. I told her I’d make a few up for them as I got tired of cutting. She sent me like 100 to sew- overwhelming for me. I could do 10 a day on weekends if I do nothing else. I’m going to do these as I feel like it. Period. I’m not going to put more wear and tear on my (expensive) machines. There will be no more machines purchased like what I have now. My hubs is retired and with the market tanked, he’s already going to have to go back to work eventually, and that’s with us reducing what we draw each month.
I think everyone who’s sewing PPE wishes they were being paid for their costs, if not their time! To answer your question, I’d say that in a working socialist system, the government would have an appropriate stockpile of supplies — not having cut it back or allowed it to dwindle. (I’m not going to get into whether or not a working socialist system is feasible…)
Hi. First of all, in a socialist system you’d still be paid according to your individual contribution. What you are saying – donating fabric and time – is not socialism, it’s charity. Socialism would have prevented this very problem from happening since healthcare would be…well..socialized haha.
I think your story rings a bell to many, and unfortunately you can’t really choose where your donations go to . I also find concerning that the public was asked to contribute but no directions where given: there is no particular evidence as what fabric works best (one paper said cotton, which? what thread count? What weaving density? so many unanswered questions!).
Thank you so much for this blog post. I thought I was the only one that felt ambivalent about this whole mask business. When this mess first started I wasn’t going to make masks, because I didn’t find that they were actuall protection. When our F.G. recommended front line workers to use bandanas in leue of masks, I was shocked and that night sprang into action. I organized a Facebook group here in Las Vegas, originally thinking to provide mask only here in Nevada, but it quickly grew. I started a fundraiser and people were eager to help. I reached and increased my goal every few days and bought all the cotton fabric I could get my hands on. I organized people I had never met to sew masks, providing them with kits of cut out masks and elastic that was donated to me from a friend who has a swimwear business and was shut down, in LA. I was working, cutting, distributing, making contacts with volunteers and groups to donate to and even sometimes sewing. I did that for 4 weeks straight. No days off, almost no hours off. 2 of my friends helped with deliveries and ideas for the group.
At first I think it kept me from spinning into fear and panic. I felt useful. Maybe it is something that could turn into something more sustainable. I had ideas for additional designs, even bought a 3D printer so I can make ear savers.
Then I noticed how more and more people are gauging. I had made contact with an acquaintance who has a design business. She was going to help me get something of the ground. We brainstormed and made plans. She wasn’t interested in making masks but was willing to help me get something started. Honestly, starting a mask business was not the business I had dreamed off, but there was a need and I wanted to help. At no point did I even consider making any money. Then that acquaintance just took off on her own. Having the resources to go into production making hundreds of masks a day, I was left in the dust making 20-30 a day while managing 6 home sewists and keeping them supplied and motivated.She started selling her mask first for $5, then $10 and now for $15 a piece! I get it, supply and demand!! At first I was like, oh well, its ok, I just keep doing my thing. Slow and steady. But for the last 3 days I just kind of lost my mojo completely. Maybe I am just tired and need a break.
Reading this post made me think a lot about what’s going on and I am glad to find out I am not the only one that is wondering why we are even in this position right now.
For now I will keep going but on a smaller scale. I will pace myself, fill the orders, but I will do other things as well. Having gone to a Buy 2 Give 2 for $10, I received quite a few orders. I even feel guilty about taking any money. That just shows how undervalued this skill is, that even we, with the skill set, think we should not charge when there is so much need. But how can governors and mayors make people wear masks in public and not provide them with masks somehow or recognize the people that sprang in to action, no questions ask? It’s just a bit disillusioning.
Thank you for reading this far and please stay safe and stay healthy.
Wow, you certainly have been in the trenches! And you’re seeing all the different sides of this: the need, the community organization, the monetization, the frustration… Wishing you the very best of luck with filling those orders and finding your own point of balance.
I appreciate your work as an organiser. I wanted to help sew masks where I live, but because of my disabilities (cognitive), stuff like choosing fabric and ordering it and working out how much is needed, it’s beyond my capacity. Organising is a proper skill, and a devalued one.
So I tried to get in touch with local projects, or get some people together to form a project, but fundamentally everyone seemed to be wanting to work as an individual. The project for our area has a fundraiser and is being run by a woman who owns a shop, and she doesn’t respond to emails: it’s *her* thing, not a collective, and it feels sour to me that it’s being associated with her brand.
Thank you for your organising work. It’s that, more than sewers, thst this kind of initiative needs to get off the ground.
Thank you for this post. It is helpful to see that I’m not the only one feeling resentful about making masks. Actually, I’m more resentful about the responses from the recipients… Either no response
Or a request to make more for their friends. Some have sent pictures wearing theirs and that helps, but responses for the first couple of dozen were non-existent. My husband is now using them for bartering: a loaf of fresh bread gets two masks, with strings as I am out of elastic. Well, thanks for sharing, y’all have helped me as well as many many thank-less unnamed.
I appreciate all your efforts!! Thank you
You certainly aren’t alone! I do like the idea of bartering, if you don’t want to actually charge for the masks. At least it’s a gesture that acknowledges that your sewing has value!
Thanks for the post. I live in Australia and there are no requirements to wear masks outside like in the US. And our case numbers are negligible (<100 a day for the last week) due to successful social distancing measures. I have zero stash where I am as this I'm interstate and have not much time due to working full time and health problems. Therefore I have zero desire to sew any masks or other PPE. Plus there is little evidence that sewn masks actually work and they could even be worse than nothing.
Honestly? Here in Canada, we were where Australia is now, not that long ago — and I absolutely didn’t want to make masks because they felt unsuitable and dangerous. But our distancing didn’t start soon enough, and we’re too enmeshed in trade and travel with the US, and now although the curve IS flattening, it’s still a terrifying situation. We’re not REQUIRED to wear masks outside, but the recommendations have shifted to wearing them. I still feel so ambivalent about sewing them. I am focusing on sewing scrub caps now, as those are actually requested by the hospitals and I don’t feel like there’s as much uncertainty about what works and whether they’re useful! I have received donated fabric and elastic for making them, too.
We are definitely lucky here in Australia. And I’m currently in Tasmania. So to get to my island one would have to undertake 2 weeks quarantine on the mainland and 2 weeks after arriving in Tasmania. We have also started to bring local more stringent lockdowns in Australia when there have been identified clusters. Sounds like a good plan to sew caps.
Thank you so much for this post and all the comments. I’m currently sewing scrubs and scrub caps for local NHS hospitals, and was wondering why I was struggling so much about the whole thing. Obviously it doesn’t help when a couple of the patterns I’m using were clearly designed for emergency use in disaster zones, and come with all sorts of disclaimers about only being used as a last resort – I’m left thinking ‘How the heck did it come to this?’
At least now I know that I’m not alone in my ambivalence, which is a great help. I also feel less guilty about alternating this with some ‘ordinary’ sewing of my own to keep myself sane.
You are CERTAINLY not alone! This is a mind-boggling situation, isn’t it? Last resorts are suddenly commonplace, and we are all trying to wrap our heads around it.
Thanks for this post. I felt overwhelmed at first with the huge amount of information and patterns and how do I pick the perfect one?
I’ve been alternating between feelings of resentment and anger over the need for masks and guilt from not wanting to make them. I am making them for my family though. It’s slow going but I do feel like I’m helping. Also using up scraps!
Here’s a mask making video that I hope helps bring a smile to everyone.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4c5eo_3-y0&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR095WCqWXhjkzIrJlcCLqM26-UqsxDw33xgNIrlT4v_w6o54SPRn3v2w2k
Hee! That video was making the rounds of the Sewcialists editors’ chat earlier today and we were all laughing uproariously. It does, at least, prove that sewing takes skill, eh?
Thank you for this article.
I had a bad gut feeling when this all hit. I could feel the panic in the calls for masks to made, along with the desire for people to feel like they need to be doing something to help. Being in Australia I had to sort out applied here, and found there was no official call for masks to be made. What I was coming across was scrubs hats.
I had a real concern that people would just make without thought and our health services would get these masks and just dispose of them.
I am part of a womens organisation that does a lot of craft. I knew we would get suggestions from well meaning people to masks, just like during the bushfires there as a call for making things like koala mittens and bat pouches. Interestingly, many donations at that time were not used as either too many or not made to the standard required.
Sadly we did not get friendly suggestions, we got rude demands. As an organisation we said no, we are already in contact with hospitals and they had not made any requests to us. Many hours of volunteer time fending of these requests in a polite way, just so we don’t get some idiot call us out on social media as being mean.
What we found was those asking really did not understand what they were asking us. They were doing their thing by being keyboard warriors and taking no responsibility for the burden they were placing on others. Which pattern? What materials? Who was supplying the materials? Why burden women, many on an old age pension to spend their time and money making something that was not even being officially requested. So much for relaxing weekends, I would be shaking and stressed from requests that would come through outside of work hours. Keyboard warriors don’t understand the many groups are run by volunteers in their own time.
I have sewn nothing during this time, too busy with work. If do I sew, I need to sew for myself or family for my own mental health. No mask has been sewn and if any ever are it will only be for my family and if the health department advises, not some youtube video from another country.
Good for you for standing up to those (ill-advised) demands and figuring out what was needed and what was not! Your point about the koala mittens and bat pouches and such is well taken — I’ve been thinking about that, and wondering how much of the need for masks/PPE is realistic need, and how much is giving people something to do. Unfortunately, the need seems all too real, at least for the PPE where I am. I wish we were in a position of having too many items made!
I’m so glad I found this post through the foldline Facebook group, it’s given me food for thought. I’ve seen posts about scrub making in the UK and several friends have ‘helpfully’ shared this with me as a person who sews. But I’m still working full time (only from home) , schooling a 7 year old and looking after my 2 year old. And whilst my husbands main role is as full time house hubbie for the kids when I’m around the kids want me – they don’t understand mummy is home but has to work and its stressful. Like others have mentioned sewing is my hobbie, a little bit of something that is just for me, it relaxes and destresses me and makes me a better wife and mum. But… I’ve been feeling bad and selfish that I haven’t jumped at the chance to use this skill to help others. In a slow sewer, I’m not going to be able to clothe a whole department but something is surely better than nothing…. Truth is I’m still undecided. I might sew scrubs, i might not but you’ve given me the confidence to make the decision I feel it’s right for me, my family and the NHS and not to feel guilty for it either way.
I’m glad we were able to help! I think nearly all of us have had to work through that guilt and sense of selfishness, whatever side we’ve come down on. Those of us making items still always feel like we could/should be doing more, so it’s not even a two-way split of sewing or not sewing — it’s a constant weighing of priorities and considering what feels feasible at any given moment. And that’s a decision that each one of us has to make for ourselves, not something that can be foisted on us by all those “helpful” posts about what we “should” be contributing!
Thank you for the article. Depending on the day, or the hour, I am in step with any one of the diverse range of opinions written.
My sister works on the frontlines as clerical/admin in King’s County, Washington State, one of the first hard-hit areas of the USA. We live far away from each other, and with the border closed, I can’t even travel from Canada to be with her. When someone you love is risking their life every day, fear is a great motivator.
The USA Federal Government has been a monster to its own people in its lack of foresight and action. They knew, they did nothing to prepare, and as such are complicit in the deaths of their own citizens. PPE is so low at the hospital where she works that they were told by management to NOT wear a mask because “it might scare the patients”. The FIRST priority is the health & safety of their employees!! And TOO LATE: The patients and population ARE scared, and rightly too.
When the Narcissist-In-Chief told 3M to NOT honour their contracts to Canada and Latin America, because of his own procrastination in ordering more supplies, frankly, that pissed me off. But that did not stop me from giving to Americans. I fought him the best way I knew how, writing ‘❤ from Canada’ inside each of the 24 masks.
I will continue to make masks and scrubs bags for people I know and love. This is my very early Christmas gifts to the community around me. It is also a barter system of sorts, to be able to ask for supplies and help in other ways.
It’s totally okay to use anger to fuel your sewing, if that’s what works for you! Love the little Canada messages inside the masks.
Yes, yes, yes. Everything about this post is spot on. Thank you to each one of you for taking the time to write out your thoughts.
I think it’s been really validating for all of us to find that the post resonates so deeply with the rest of the community, too! The gift of this post goes both ways.
I’m torn. I do blame our politicians (I’m in the UK) and their advisers for not being more organised, and not paying attention to anything other than Brexit for the last four years. But I also want to do something useful. If my skills can make life easier or safer for someone who needs it right now, it’ll help my sanity to do that (in the time I have between home schooling and trying to keep my own small business afloat…). So I offered to sew things for a friend who works on the front line in the NHS and I’m awaiting a delivery of fabric for some scrubs. I’m reluctant to make lots for people I don’t know personally as I suspect there are factories that can do this better and quicker than I can, but I can make two sets of scrubs to my friend’s specific needs and be confident that they’ll be useful. That said, now I’m a bit worried about messing them up!
It’s interesting, as a home sewist who is used to custom-fitting things, to have to transition to generic fits, isn’t it? Not knowing the recipient really changes the experience, versus sewing for yourself or loved ones. I’m sure your friend will be thrilled to have properly-fitted scrubs instead of ones bought off a rack! Best of luck with what you do sew, and with keeping your business and your kids rolling along, too.
Thank you. Fingers tightly crossed that we all get out of this OK 🙂
Thanks to all of you for your honesty and insight. Your collective thoughts are also mine. I’m a helper. I love to contribute. I enjoy sharing. But I simply cannot make masks, for so many reasons that I wasn’t able to articulate. The over-riding one was simply the expectation that I have skills, fabric & time, therefore it was now my job to make a piece of safety equipment that I have no confidence in. I changed my mindset when I saw a friend’s post that she was enjoying sewing scrub caps so much more than masks. I soon realized sewing scrub caps was way more fun. They feel more like a gift to medical workers; a colourful way to express their individuality under all that PPE, or hide their botched home haircut or way past their due date roots. I’ve sewn them for a week and used up about 12 metres of stashed high quality quilting cotton worth about $240. I’m done now and that’s ok.
Scrub caps ARE a different experience, aren’t they? Less fraught — and less fiddly too! What a stack of them you have made. Glad you were able to find your way to help, and glad you were able to identify when you were ready to be done, too.
I too have a lot of ambivalence about the mask making. I have made some for friends and family but my whole process evolved to now sending them all the materials to make their own because I have extra materials that are hard to find now. I am making them out of shop towels not fabric and then knit strips for ties. Making a simple pleated mask is not hard and I feel like people are capable of making their own. You could hand sew them, staple or even hot glue them. I taught my husband how to make them so he could have them for work. Yep. Add me to the list of people super pissed off that our leaders and hospitals could not somehow be prepared.
Making kits instead of finished masks is an interesting strategy! It separates out the value of the materials from the value of the skills, for sure, and allows for some good teachable moments, too. How are you finding the shop towels hold up? I’ve got a roll here to use as disposable filters in fabric masks, but I haven’t tried making a mask out of shop towels alone yet.
They are certainly a semi disposable mask. They do hand wash ok. But I wouldn’t do it more than a few times. And I also put them in the dash of my car and let the sun hit it for several days. The virus is gonna degrade if it’s on there. I make them double layer, so 2 towels together. You can tear off the ties and resew them onto another mask. I just think it is impossible to think that a small number of people who sew can possibly supply everyone’s request for a mask. Factories can’t keep up with the demand. And if there is another outbreak in the fall? Well, it just seems like it might be a good idea for everyone to take responsibility for making their own.
[…] Sewcialists haben auch einen interessanten Blogpost zu der Sicht auf die weltweite Maskennäherei […]
Excellent piece. I was directed here by a comment on my own blog- thank you. I am sewing scrubs- I am channelling the skills and experience I have of making loads of costumes in a short time, but oh bloody hell it’s DULL. I am a selfish sewer- I make things for me, occasionally my wife, and that’s IT. Costumes, pretty things, whatever.
Scrubs are so DULL…I have made 37 sets so far, and am just finishing another extended cutting session to get another couple of dozen ready. My wife is helping by standing at the ironing board pressing millions of bloody pockets round cardboard templates- we both have the burned fingers from THAT job.
I have ergonomically analysed my processes, and it’s pretty damn fast and efficient now BUT SO DULL.
I started making for my niece, a nurse on the front line, and gave her extra for friends, then got into a Facebook group sewing for local MHS trusts. I have spent a couple of hundred quid of my own, and have raised [to my amazement] another £1200. BUT I SHOULD NOT NEED TO!
I cannot go out and clap for the NHS when my neighbours also went out and clapped for fucking BORIS. I sit swearing, gritting my teeth [I have a broken filling to show for it] and sew. And sew. And sew.
This should not be happening, I should be able to focus my attention elsewhere, but I am getting some satisfaction by seeing the thanks and photos of the medics wearing the scrubs I’ve made. Priceless.
PLEASE people stop voting these utter incompetent WANKERS into power. NEVER AGAIN.
Bravo, for streamlining your process and for raising such a lot of money for these scrubs and these workers! But also, yes, we hear your anger loud and clear, and we share it!
I’m in New York City, which has been the hotspot the past several weeks. I’ve made just over 100 masks so far, and used up some deep stash fabric and ribbon. I understand and respect all these points of view, but for me, it’s an act of love. Almost all the masks have been given to strangers. I’m using my local diner, which has remained open, and whose staff have treated us like family through the years, as my main distribution point. Their staff are wearing my masks, as our others in my community, and that is giving me a place to put my hope that my community will recover from this plague. I’m working full-time and I have a child, so I’m plenty busy, but for me, the act of hope makes the effort worthwhile. Because I’m fortunate not to need compensation for my contributions, for those who have offered to pay (the people who have requested me to make for them), I’m asking for donations to charity, because, again, it is an act of hope and love, and that is my way to keep that while accepting the appreciation of my time, materials, and skill.
@okapikeeper
What a beautiful perspective! I think the point of this whole post is that there is no one right way to respond to all of this, or one right way to feel. I agree, the sewing can be a beautiful act of hope and love — and it can be a tremendous boost to the sewist! At times, it has absolutely been that for me, too. But at other times, it’s another pressure, and a locus of anxiety or anger, and I’ve had to learn to recognize when it’s one thing or the other, and how to adjust my expectations of myself accordingly. I’m moved by your words of hope!
[…] about how my feelings about mask-making have changed (and how they have not) since we put together this post about pandemic-related PPE sewing. Following one of my mask posts, a researcher friend sent me a […]