How To

Help By Sewing Masks for Healthcare Workers!

Many of our generous members have asked if there’s a way they can sew or donate masks for hospitals and health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic. We have searched diligently for reliable recipients for your hard work and located some reliable resources who are still accepting donations and volunteers! One is Sewing Masks for Atlanta Hospitals, which is currently in need of 3000+ masks her day, and has supplies to create kits for 30,000. That may sound like a lot, but when you do the math: that’s TEN DAYS’ worth of masks for a city with a population of nearly seven million.

Here at the League of Dressmakers, we have a very personal connection to this need: one of our core founding members, Elaine D., is an ER nurse who is working night shifts to meet the needs of the population in her metro area. We can’t go support her in person, but we can show our support in other ways! Sewing superheroes know how!

You can help! Visit the Sewing Masks for Atlanta Hospitals site and register to volunteer or donate. Simple as that.

Prefer to keep it local to your own town or region? We’re big fans of that, too (the League of Dressmakers is based in Atlanta). In your own community, consider one or more of the following:

call local hospitals and ask if they’re accepting donations or working with an organization who can
contact local elder-care organizations and ask if they need additional masks
utilize resources like NextDoor and Freecycle to locate neighbors who can connect you with local hot spots of need
visit your elderly neighbors and determine if they have home health care workers who move between clients and could benefit from your masks

Need a tutorial or pattern?

Dana over at Made Everyday has generously offered not only a pattern for face masks, but a revised version that utilizes fabric ties based on feedback from medical professionals. You can download it here.

Kerry over at Kid Giddy includes step-by-step photos in tutorial format.