COVID-19 affected every single person in every country around the world. What does this have to do with sewing? I never would have known that I love to sew if it weren’t for COVID-19.
I work in long term care. I remember watching the news and being horrified at the reports and videos of the elderly from long term care facilities being wheeled out as covered corpses. Long term care facilities were being shut down due to the quickly spreading virus that was killing the elderly and the infirm at alarming rates.
We needed personal protective equipment (PPE). We needed it desperately. By March of 2020, PPE either couldn’t be found or the prices had increased incredibly high. We ordered PPE and were told we’d get it in 5-6 months, if at all. This wouldn’t do. We care for the elderly. COVID was killing the elderly. I was scared.
I put out a call on Facebook for PPE. The local public responded by raiding their garages and their work sheds. PPE started to flow in. It still wasn’t enough. Between all of five entities on two campuses about 30 miles apart, we had over 200 residents. Over 200 residents (plus their loved ones) who trusted us to protect them. Add to that the 225 staff members who also needed to be protected. We desperately needed more PPE than we could get in.
Again, I turned to Facebook and put out a request for homemade masks. The masks started to come in, but it was slow – people couldn’t find elastic and 100% cotton fabric was hard to find. I had sewists, but no supplies to give them.
Again, I turned to Facebook and asked for supplies. The supplies came in. People are so generous! I’d come in to work to find a bag tied to my office doorknob with a note that just said “From XXX”. Sometimes I’d get several yards of elastic, other times 7 or 8 inches. Then one day, a fellow Rotarian contacted me. He had contacted a company he works with that could give me 200 yards of elastic! 200 yards! I nearly cried. This same company provided elastic to us a couple of times.
I was directing sewists and I had no idea how to answer most of their questions. So in early May, I decided it was time for me to get a sewing machine and make masks also. I mean, how hard could it be to sew elastic on a rectangle?
I searched for 2 weeks and wasn’t able to find a sewing machine in any store within 30 miles of me or online. Finally, I started looking at sites I’d already been to. I found 2 machines in stock. I opened another tab and did a little Google research on those machines. I picked the one I thought was best for a newbie. I went back to the tab, and that machine was now sold out. So the other machine won! I placed the order and quickly checked my email for the confirmation. YES!! My order was successful. It said my machine would be delivered in 2 weeks!
Two weeks later, I received the first of several emails letting me know there were “shipping delays due to COVID”. I was frustrated, but I knew things were hard to get. I mean stores were out of some obvious items and some bizarre ones: meat was hard to find, veggies, canned goods, and toilet paper.
Finally in late July, my sewing machine arrived. I sewed my first mask on August 1, 2020. I hated it. Those rectangle pleated masks are putzy and can get so thick that they’re hard to sew. But we were desperate for PPE, so I kept sewing. After a week, I decided to look at YouTube videos and found some 3D masks that looked easy to sew. GAME CHANGER! They were easier to put together and to sew in an assembly line fashion. I could easily cut and sew 25 per night after work and about 150-175 per weekend.
Next, we needed scrub caps and isolation gowns. My sewists were the BEST. They stepped up to the challenge and convinced me to try them also. After making over 500 face masks, I was incredibly bored and up for a challenge.
I made 125 scrub caps and 10 isolation gowns. The scrub caps were fun! They involved curves and bias tape, fun new things for me. I really disliked making the gowns. They took 4 yards of fabric and were basically a bunch of straight lines. Anyone who’s seen my work knows I sew a straight line like a drunken sailor!
My first isolation gown 
Headbands with buttons to help with ear pain from masks 
My first scrub cap 
I love dragonflies…
In October 2020, I decided to try my hand at making clothing. I fell in love! So much so, that I decided in November that I was going to sew 32 items for Christmas gifts. This falls under … What was I thinking???
I completed a total of 35 items for Christmas and that was nearly the end for me. I took 2 weeks off then started sewing for joy again. I can sew because I love it, because it calms me, because it brings me joy. But I cannot sew mass quantities. I admire those who can. I find that strict deadlines and huge quantities stress me out and steal my joy.
