Pioneers Stitch Together (Even While Apart) To Sew Masks During Pandemic

Healthcare workers are begging and pleading for them. Citizens across the country are being urged to wear them. And now anyone with a sewing machine is being called into action to make them. Quality fabric face masks are in high demand to help slow the spread of Covid-19, the novel Coronavirus, that is sweeping the world.

Crafty Pioneers across the country are dusting off their sewing machines and putting their time quarantined at home to good use. Using simple patterns that are available to download online, Pioneers are digging through fabric swatches and sewing face masks at record rates. They are donating the masks to hospitals, healthcare facilities, and even friends and family.

Here are some inspiring stories about how our Pioneers continue to help others ‒ while doing their part and staying home over the last few weeks. And check out the links below for the patterns to either sew a mask, or make one without any stitching required at all.

Texas

AT&T Pioneers in Fort Worth have created and donated over 700 fabric face masks in the last few weeks. Local nursing homes, hospitals, and cancer centers are the beneficiaries of all their hard work. Thanks to Luanna Lopez Bailey, Sharon Payne Thompson and Shannon Hart for their time and dedication to helping those on the front lines fighting Covid-19.

West Virginia

A few members of the West Virginia chapter have been busy with needle and thread while stuck at home. Kathy Kidd has stitched dozens of fabric face masks for donation to various organizations. And Pat Reveal has crafted heart-shaped pillows with drainage tubes and donated them to local hospitals to help women as they recover from breast cancer surgeries.

Maryland

Members of the New Vision Pioneers in Maryland are also spending their days making fabric masks, as well as crafting headbands with buttons to help secure the masks. Some were distributed to other Pioneers who couldn’t sew the masks themselves. Others are being donated to nurses at the University of Maryland hospital as well as other local organizations the chapter has worked with in the past.

Iowa

In Iowa, Pioneer Kathy Battles has worked with her quilting guild to stitch many, many masks. So far, they have donated over 2300 masks to a local Des Moines hospital, and provided 600 masks to fire and police departments. She notes that they are requesting many more!

Arizona

In southern Arizona, Pioneers Sherry Daughtry and Mo Ryan found some good-looking models to benefit from some of the face masks they created ‒ the Tucson police department. They have also been donating the many masks they have created to other individuals and organizations that need them. If you are in Arizona and can make some masks to donate, here is a healthcare foundation  that is looking for donations.

Get Crafty and Start Making Some Masks

If you are ready to make some masks of your own, or to donate, here are few tutorials to check out.

For those with crafting skills and sewing machines, here are a few patterns  and tutorials to download from JoAnn Fabrics. And here is another tutorial  from Mask Crafters.

If you can’t sew at all and you need something for yourself or family in a pinch, here is a tutorial on how to make a no-sew mask . Anyone can do this one!