Sewing to support those fighting the frontlines of COVID-19

Community members support healthcare
workers by producing masks

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

During WWII, those not fighting or nursing on the frontlines of the war were encouraged to knit in order to support those who were defending them.
Today, there is no physical battle, but encouragement continues for those at home to return to crafting in support for those fighting another type of war.
As the numbers of those suffering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic grows higher, those in the healthcare, nursing and caregiving professions as well as first responders are finding it harder and harder to access protective face masks and mask covers.
That is where seamstresses, civic groups and volunteers across the country have stepped in to fill the need left by a mask and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) shortage.
Locally, the Jefferson County 4-H clubs, and volunteers Kendra Burrus and Tammy Wise-Thrash have offered their needle and thread to the cause by sewing cloth masks that have been donated to those fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.
According to Kendra Burrus, she has been sewing for almost 20 years, but only as a hobby.
“I saw the stories on the news and on social media about hospitals being short on PPE and that people were beginning to sew the mask covers. I saw a pattern someone had posted and checked it out. It looked simple enough, so I made a sample,” adds Burrus.
Burrus and her friend, Wise-Thrash, began sewing masks and contacting people they knew in the healthcare industry.
If their contacts' hospitals allowed them to use fabric mask covers for the N-95 masks, the two women mailed masks to the nurses, free of charge.
“We started with making some covers for the Jefferson County Fire Rescue,” said Burrus. “I also have a friend who has a connection to a hospital in Albany, Ga., so we made a bunch to send with her. We have made them for friends who are nurses, CNAs or other healthcare workers”
While some seamstresses are making fabric masks that use carbon filters inserts, Burrus and Wise-Thrash are making mask covers. Their covers go over existing PPE, such as N-95 masks, and extend the life and prolong the protective ability of the equipment.
“When exposed to moisture or other bodily functions, the wearer can take the cover off, get a fresh one and continue with his/her work,” says Burrus.
The other groups in the county that is making masks are the 4-H youth with the Explorer 4-H Club, Hickory Hill and the Working Soldiers 4-H Club.
“Since the beginning of the global outbreak of COVID-19, the supply of PPE is alarmingly short for medical professionals here in Jefferson County and across the country,” writes John Lilly, the Jefferson County Extension Director and 4-H Agent. “Administrators at both of Jefferson County long-term care facilities, Brynwood Health and Rehabilitation Center and Cross Landings Health and Rehabilitation Center, indicated a dire need of face masks for their residents and staff.”
With that need in mind, the 4-H youths pulled out their fabric stashes and sewing machines and got to work.
According to Lilly, he had reached out to the 4-H staff and club leaders about getting involved in a service project for sewing masks, and within an hour, the club had stitched together its first mask.
Many of the youth participating in this service project have been involved, in the past, with the county's sewing and fashion revue project and frequently participate in the Extension Office's February and March sewing classes, so the task of sewing simple masks was an easy feat to accomplish for these young seamstresses and tailors.
“This class gave them the skills needed to work the sewing machine and follow the pattern,” says Heather Boyd, one of the Explorer Club's adult leaders.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many of the spring events that are planned annually for the county's 4-H'ers have been canceled or postponed indefinitely, but Lilly expresses pride at how his group of kids and club leaders are continuing to bring the 4-H spirit into their time of quarantine and social distancing.
“Jefferson County 4-H members are using the time away from school because of the coronavirus to help a greater cause – create protective face masks to help those on the front lines,” says Lilly. “This type of project teaches youth the importance of giving back, making a difference and honing life skills such as goal setting, planning and organization, social responsibility and self-motivation, among others.”
The club plans to continue sewing for as long as there is a need for face masks and has already produced many protective masks for the local nursing homes.
According to Boyd, the majority of the fabric used for the masks has come from the 4-H families' own fabric stashes at home. Gladys Neely, the 4-H Program Assistant in the county, also provided the 4-H'ers with elastic, interfacing and 4-H patterned fabric that the Extension Office had on hand; one of the children who did not have a sewing machine at home was also granted borrowed use of one of Neely's machines.
Lilly says that the masks that are made by the Explorer 4-H Club, Hickory Hill and the Working Soldiers 4-H Club are being delivered on a weekly basis to the nursing homes.
Burrus says that she and Wise-Thrash have produced over 100 masks covers, but she hasn't had any worries of running out of fabric material.
“I am definitely not having an issue with fabric,” says Burrus. “I have drawers of scrap fabric that I joked with my husband that have been put up for 'such a time as this.'”
While she and Wise-Thrash have had to make adjustments to their patterns, due to running out of elastic, they have made due with other materials, such as ties, paracord and clips, which she says have only contributed to creating a “cool design” for those who end up owning their masks covers.
While both groups have been sewing masks as quickly as they can, both have confirmed that there is always room for more hands to help.
Burrus notes that Archbold Hospital in Thomasville, Ga. is now providing approved supplies if people would like to volunteer to sew masks for their nurses. Those who would like to assist the hospital are encouraged to call (229) 228-2925, Monday through Friday.
The pattern that Burrus and Wise-Thrash are using can be found at instructables.com/id/AB-Mask-for-a-Nurse- by-a-Nurse.
To partner with the 4-H seamstresses and tailors, contact Gladys Neely at gjul6nly@ufl.edu or by phone at (850) 342-0187 (leave a message with extension 103) or John Lilly at jgl@ufl.edu or by phone (850) 342-0187 (leave a message with extension 101).
At this time, neither of the two groups are making masks for personal use to be given to community members; they are both focusing on the immediate need felt by healthcare workers and first responders.