In the early stages of COVID, when masks were in short supply I found out a local senior's home was looking for volunteers to make cloth masks. I was out of school, had lots of time, and liked to sew. So I got to work to keep busy while making a positive impact in the community. As word got out, friends and family also began requesting masks. I created a proposal: For every mask I was commissioned to sew I would also donate a mask to a senior centre.
This is such a complex time to look back on. Looking back to March 2020 I know many people learned about how they react to stress. I realized that when I’m stressed, I need to keep busy. I stress-sewed 300 masks in two weeks. I turned our family dining room into a production assembly line with different stations for cutting, ironing, pinning, and sewing masks.
I worked out that all faces are different and if people were going to be comfortable I needed three different sizes and a little tutorial to help people measure their faces. I had several fabric options, and changed the elastic offering four times as feedback came in. I also made three Incredibles-themed masks for a five year old with an autoimmune disease custom fit to his tiny face. His mom wanted something he would be willing to wear so even made a special delivery that included a note from Edna Mode- the superhero costume maker from the movies. That was definitely a highlight. I’ll never forget watching from the car as he opened his front door to discover his special surprise. COVID was a hard time for us all. It felt good to make that memory for a family that had extra reason to worry.
As my stress levels lowered and I began to adjust to online schooling I learned another important lesson. I could no longer keep up with the mask demand and I felt tremendous pressure to continue sewing masks because people wanted them. Starting the project was easy. In the end, I had to learn how to stop a project I could no longer do. It was hard to let go of the sense of responsibility I felt, but I am glad I learned how to stop so I didn't burn myself out trying to do everything all at once. In the end, I made over 300 masks. While most were sold locally, I shipped masks all over Canada and even one to Arizona! I had earned enough money to cover my fundraising needs for the Germany exchange trip that would eventually be COVID-cancelled.. (More on that in another post. Don’t worry! It has a happy ending!)
