Last Monday I shared my thoughts on making cloth masks at home in this post. In short my position was that I would be waiting for specific directions and requests from local healthcare authorities before undertaking production of cloth masks. I wanted to be sure my supplies and energy would be reserved for the nearest health facilities.
By Thursday I was asked by an online community publication, ClutchMOV, to write a tutorial for the cloth masks being accepted by a neighboring hospital.
This week, I noticed a Facebook post shared by friend announcing that masks were being accepted by the main hospital serving our county. I called to confirm and get more information. The coordinator for MMH’s Volunteer Services, Cindy Hall, was happy to speak with me about mask donations (N95s and homemade cloth masks). She reported to have been consulting with the Infection Control department for guidance. The homemade cloth masks being accepted should be 2 layers of fabric with either elastic loops (if available) or fabric ties; no specific pattern was suggested. Cindy also shared that she has volunteers making masks from surgical grade materials. As of the morning of Tuesday, March 31st, the donated masks were approved for use by the pharmacy department.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve become accustomed to constant change. The CDC’s recommendations for mask use by the general public may be shifting. The story reported by NPR I listened to this morning discusses briefly, “The idea wouldn't be that a mask would keep you from getting sick, but it would maybe stop you from spreading the virus to others.”
For some interesting data on which home-sourced materials are best to use for making masks see this page. (My understanding is that most of the data comes from studies that followed the H1N1 pandemic.)
Since the local calls for mask donations are just starting to be put out here, I only have experience making the mask for the style previously blogged for ClutchMOV. I’ve heard anecdotes of the elastic on these types of masks breaking down the skin behind the wearers’ ears. As such, I’m going to investigate some other options. Another sewing blogger shared 5 options here.
Stay well, friends. And above all, STAY HOME.
Updated April 2, 2020 to add resonating content.