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Area residents helping with face mask shortage
SIKESTON — During a recent conversation with her daughter, who is a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Scott County resident Tricia Selby decided she wanted to help protect not only her daughter and those in the healthcare industry but anyone else who wanted it.
“We were talking about supplies, and I saw a face mask pattern on YouTube so I made her some masks and sent them to her,” said Selby, who lives in Bell City and owns Tricia’s Creations.
She then wondered if others in the area were in need of masks and reached out on social media.
“I have a Facebook page because I crochet all the time, and I asked if there were any people who needed them,” said Selby, who has been off work during the outbreak.
On Thursday, Selby said she had orders for 300 masks, and she was still receiving requests.
“I sew from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and try to get as many finished as I can,” she said. “When I go back to work, I’ll sew from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. I know how bad they need them, and they’re not just asking for two or three; they’re asking for 15 and 25.”
Selby said the pattern she uses was one she found on YouTube created by a doctor or nurse. Her daughter also recommended a pattern to her, which was the same pattern Selby was already using, she said.
Selby is offering the masks free of charge. She said it’s just her way of giving back.
“I’m not a nurse or anything, and I thought this was a good way to help out the ones who need it themselves,” Selby said.
Selby estimated, so far, she’s made about 100 masks. Mask requests have come from Sikeston, Perryville, New Madrid, Bloomfield, Chester, Illinois, and Olive Branch, Mississippi. In addition to those in hospital settings, she’s made masks for nursing homes and daycares.
Selby estimated it takes her 8 minutes to make one mask, adding she cuts the elastic in advance.
“I’m just happy to do it,” Selby said.
When making masks for groups, Selby said she tries to send one of each pattern — two at the most — so individuals can keep up with their own masks.
“As soon as I make them, I put them in an envelope and I don’t handle them again,” she said.
Others in the area have also been working to help with the shortage of personal protection equipment by making face masks.
Sara Sanders Duff, who owns Sweet Pea’s Monograms and Boutique in Sikeston, and her mask-making team will soon have 150 face masks completed.
“When I first saw a video on Facebook, I thought I would give it a shot. My grandmother has always loved sewing and even bought me my first machine at 8,” Duff said. “We made a few and posted on my business page and saw how much of a need there was for them.”
After that response, Duff said she asked her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law to help cut material.
“They would cut, and my grandmother and I would sew them,” Duff said. “My friend saw the post and reached out to help cut material, too. I’ve had several people reach out to donate to cover the cost of materials.”
Duff’s team includes her grandmother, Vicky Sanders; Duff’s mother-in-law, Nichole Duff; Nichole’s mother, Phyllis Williams; and Duff’s friend, Molly Uthoff, and Uthoff’s, mother Jana Uthoff.
Duff doesn’t take orders for the masks; she and her team are making batches and taking them to medical services in Sikeston. She stimated so far, they’ve given away over 100 masks. Some have gone to Missouri Delta Medical Center, Bertrand Nursing Home, Missouri Delta Cancer and Infusion Center, Jolly Building and pharmacies, to name a few.
Like Selby, Duff does not charge for the masks. She said some community members have reached out to her to donate to help cover the cost of the material.
Currently, Duff said she has plenty of material; it’s the elastic that is difficult to find. While she’s ordered some online with rush shipping, it will still be early to mid-April before it arrives.
She and her team making the masks using material straps, but if anyone has 1/4-inch elastic, they will gladly use it, she said.
“I’ve enjoyed making them and feel like I’m helping in a small way,” Duff said. “Plus, it keeps me in the house and is an easy distraction.”
Amber Thorne of Benton also turned the effort to help into a family affair. She, along with her 12-year-old daughter, Addy, and 10-year-old daughter, Brenly, recently made some face masks.
“Addy and I have attempted to make a few masks, but I’m a bit sewing-challenged,” Thorne said. “I spent more time fighting with my sewing machine than producing masks. We did manage to get a few made, and I hope to make more.”
In addition to help others, Thorne said she appreciated the time spent with her daughters.
“I enjoyed teaching my girls how to handle a needle and thread,” Thorne said. “Brenly gave up on the mask idea quickly and resorted to sewing pillows for her Barbie dolls. Addy, on the other hand, managed to hand-sew her own mask.”
Thorne said they tried to make the masks three-layered with a cotton fabric and flannel in the middle. She also used a metal wire to allow bending and formation around the nose.
“It’s tricky to get a snug fit,” she said. “I made a quick trip to Walmart to get fabric and ran into several others that were doing the same thing.”
Thorne said she and the fellow mask makers shared ideas with each other like using elastic hair bands since they were out of the 1/4-inch elastic.
“It’s been so heartwarming to see so many people dusting off their sewing machines to try to help,” Thorne said.
She noted her Facebook feed has been full of stories of friends doing the same.
“It’s a terrifying idea that we may need to rely on homemade masks, but, unfortunately, it’s the situation many health care workers are facing,” said Thorne, who is also a board-certified family nurse practitioner.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the homemade masks only as a last resort because they are not nearly as effective as surgical or N95 masks, Thorne said. “Many suppliers are on back order with no timeframe of availability,” Thorne said. “We are all just taking things one day at a time and trying to be as prepared as possible. We take for granted how blessed we have always been to have supplies readily available to us.”
Want to help but can’t sew? Selby and Duff are not asking for donations; but if anyone wants to help by donating material or funds to purchase supplies to make the masks, they can contact Selby by text or phone call at (573) 620-4881 and email Duff at saras955@outlook.com.