Today I am sharing a picture of women who volunteered to gather and sew masks for the Red Cross 1917 to 1918 timeframe.
Amazingly, we are in a position in the United States where we, who can sew, need to rally and sew masks for our Healthcare workers again.
I have been in contact with my local Health Department and Volunteer Department for my local Hospital. My local hospital is asking for donated masks and the pattern they have asked we use is
EDIT: Click this link for a great video tutorial alternative! from Missouri Star Quilt Company. The end result is the same mask but with less steps and a step by step video tutorial. They just released this tutorial today and it is a great visual on how to make one! Less fiddly in my opinion!
I highly encourage you to scour your local community news and ask if your local hospital is looking for donations similar to this. Call your local Health Department and ask if you can volunteer and make masks.
I know some hospitals are providing kits while others simply want you to make from stash and donate. So call and ask what they need for your local area.
I have seen people on Facebook Marketplace advertising making and selling masks for $1. If you can’t sew or aren’t in a position to be able to, I encourage you to reach out to those people and buy some to then donate on behalf of your community.
How am I preparing to make the masks I will donate?
- I am stash diving. I have ribbon, bias tape, elastic and fabric in my stash.
- I am pre-washing and drying the fabric I am using so when the hospital washes and sanitizes their donated masks the masks do not distort.
- I am making masks with elastic, some without elastic and with fabric ties.
- I am looking to see if I can also make child size masks.
- I am spreading the word as much as I can.
- I am also vlogging my experience to share awareness and to help someone who may need a visual as to how to make one.
This pattern is simple and beginner friendly.
As Rosie the Riveter is known for saying:
Also… a little side note. I might be the only girl who at 19 decorated her dorm room with WWII American Propaganda posters…. But I had the We Can Do It Rosie Riveter poster hanging in my room all of my sophomore year of college. I hope she is looking down proud of us as we rage against this pandemic together. I will be updating with a new post soon as I complete masks of my own this weekend.