Sewing skills

With more time spent at home while social distancing, some Jay County residents are turning to their sewing machines to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that wearing masks or face coverings when out in public to help prevent the spread of the disease. Cloth masks provide an alternative to wearing medical-grade masks, which should be reserved for healthcare workers.

Jay County High School junior Hannah Outcalt’s plans to enter the healthcare field were her inspiration for making and donating masks.

“I want to study physical therapy in college, and I realized that if I was older, I would be the one dealing with this shortage,” she said.

She and family friend Tonya Fennig, who also drove Outcalt’s bus to school in the mornings, have collaborated to sew and deliver the cloth masks. So far, they’ve donated them to Miller’s Merry Manor in Dunkirk, Marion General Hospital and other essential workers.

Outcalt found the idea online, but came up with her own pattern. She’s been sewing since her freshman year, with some of her past projects including a quilt as a birthday present for her dad, an apron and pajama pants. Outcalt said she’s spending her time at home — aside from sewing masks — completing her e-learning assignments and working on gymnastics conditioning.

For the Hartmans, sewing masks has become a family affair. Rihanna Hartman, a seventh grader at East Jay Middle School, her parents, Amanda and Jason Hartman, her grandmother Julie Swoveland, and her younger brother Carter have collaborated to sew several hundred masks since March.

They have a makeshift assembly line set up, with two sewing machines, an ironing board, stacks of materials and a place to cut the fabric.

“When Mom and Dad get off work, we come out here after supper and work for like, at least three hours,” Rihanna said.

The family has donated masks to essential employees at police and fire stations, nurses, a hospice in Wisconsin, organizations in Ohio, Kentucky and Boston and the Department of Child Services in Jay County, where Amanda is the local office director.

Those in need can also order masks on Rihanna’s Facebook page — “Ri-Ri’s Scrunchies” — for a donation. Amanda said a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to the community.

The family has found various ways to make the work fun. Amanda and Rihanna will compete to see who can fill their bobbin with thread first. They have posted a video of their bobbin-racing to Facebook.

They also filmed a video of themselves wearing the masks and posted it to TikTok, one of Rihanna’s favorite social media sites. The family also plans to make a photo slideshow after the pandemic is over and has asked the recipients to send selfies of themselves wearing their masks.

Rihanna said she first wanted to make masks for her mom to wear to work at DCS.

“She posted on Facebook a picture of it, and then it just took off,” Rihanna said. “People started asking for them so we wanted to help people out as much as we could, so we started making them for people.”

Diana Bartlett, a rural Jay County resident, is making and donating masks along with other members of Helping Hearts Blanket Ministry through Union Chapel Ministries in Muncie. She started sewing them in March and has made several hundred so far.

“I started keeping a count and then after 226 I thought, ‘OK, I just need to make them, I’ve got to quit counting,’” Bartlett said.

In Jay County, the group has donated to IU Health Jay, Miller’s Merry Manor and Persimmon Ridge Rehabilitation Centre. Other recipients include Albany Veterinary Clinic, St. Vincent Hospital, Marion General Hospital and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

The blanket ministry group, which was formed more than 30 years ago, donates around 700 blankets each year to area hospitals, nursing homes, pregnancy centers and youth organizations.

Bartlett, 70, said she’s always enjoyed sewing, having learned when she was a little girl. She noted that she and the other members of the blanket ministry have been putting their skills and their time at home to good use, working on both the masks and blankets.

“When we can ever all get back together again for our regular time, we’re going to have a lot of blankets for a lot of people,” Bartlett said. “It’s a blessing, it’s a gift from God to be able to have a talent like this and then be able to use it to help others, especially now.”

Those who want to make their own masks at home can follow directions from the CDC at bit.ly/CDCmasks. Included are instructions for no-sew masks as well.