tldr; Got a sewing machine? Want to help? Please sew this N95 mask-cover pattern and then contact me through the Contact page on this website to coordinate delivery to UW Valley Medical Center by mail or pickup. I’ve also created a Facebook Group for this effort.
I have been talking directly with UW Valley Medical Center (here in the Seattle area) about a sew-along to make N95 mask covers to extend the life of the virus-filtering N95 masks.
This are the covers that go over the N95 masks, the covers that they (ideally) change between patients. Because it extends the life of something we know stops the virus I think it’d be more effective for doctors than a mask that tries to replace the N95.
This is what they said when I proposed the project to the UW Valley Medicine folks (Donation@valleymed.org)
“What a great way to help extend N95 life, which we are preparing to deploy. Yes, these would be extremely useful! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Huge thanks for your support!
liz”
Note: The N95 cover is not the pattern they have posted on their website. That is for a general mask worn directly on the face. It will keep droplets off your nose and mouth, but is questionable about what benefit it adds in terms of protecting you from the virus.
I pitched the N95 cover to UW Valley Medicine instead for several reasons:
- It extends the life of the N95 filters known to protect from the virus.
- It does not use elastic, which makes it sanitization-friendly (elastic degrades with heat.)
- It can also be used as a general mask if the N95 filters run out.
Because I’m a belt-and-suspenders kinda gal, I double checked with the UW Valley Medicine folks about which pattern I should organize around.
Here’s the email I just got:
“Morning Syne,
We are getting amazing community support for the general mask pattern on our website so would love for your group to focus on the N95 covers. Those will directly help our most frontline caregivers. Thanks so much for your support, it means the world to us!”
So we’re approved for this pattern: https://www.instructables.com/id/AB-Mask-for-a-Nurse-by-a-Nurse/
I will personally do a (socially isolated) pickup of any set of masks of 10 or more in the Seattle/Tacoma area, if folks don’t want to go to the post office. (I mean, right now there are only 3 people offering to make these. If lots more join in, I reserve the right to modify this.) I am assuming that the delivery of requested medical supplies counts as an essential service.
I’m not a quilter, so I have only a modest amount of quilting fabric on hand. Though I know some quilting supply stores (like www.gossypiumquilt.com) are still doing online sales.
Ping me through the Contact page on this website if you’re interested in helping out with this.
I’ve also created a Facebook Group to share ideas, photos, and encouragement.
Thanks for considering it!
–Syne