Mask-Making Initiative BY CIRCLE CREATIVE COLLECTIVE 2020 OVERVIEW
SUMMARY
SEWING FACE MASKS FOR ULSTER COUNTY During the early onset of COVID-19, Circle Creative Collective saw the urgent need for masks to be sewn for the community’s frontline workers at the time when there were almost none available for purchase in the Hudson Valley. Before there was much research on the topic, our team met with local doctors regarding the functionality, safety, and design of hand sewn masks. From there, we designed and developed our own masks to best fit most face sizes as well as meet the greatest safety needs within our capability. Starting a Facebook group that gained rapid speed, Sewing Face Masks for Ulster County served as a central virtual meeting point for sewists to exchange patterns, materials, and resources, ask questions, and celebrate the growing community of over 450 dedicated members and local sewists. The community exchanged fabrics, elastic, metal for nose bridges, and more, excavated from the backs of closets and basements and shared generously along with skills. Within less than a month we began distributing mask-making kits to those willing to volunteer their skills to sew masks to be donated to local frontline workers, organizations, and individuals in need. Our small team at Circle also sewed, along with organizing and distributing.
8000 Masks | 70 Locations In just over four months, we were able to donate over 8,000 masks to more than 70 locations, not including our collaborative efforts with NY Masked COVID-19 Avengers!, Karina Dresses, COVID-19 Mask Making Initiative, and Mask Makers of The Gunks. For many, this round-theclock effort was not merely an act of service, but offered, as craft does, an outlet for stress, a way of safely connecting to others and channeling anxiety into a sense of purpose, as well as easing feelings of isolation. Any donations received went directly to the purchase of materials.
Mask Design Circle designed three evolutions of face masks. All masks were/are made of high thread count cotton fabric, have an adjustable nose piece, and a pocket for the filters provided. As we heard that the initial over ear design was hurting nurses’ ears, we developed a version that fits comfortably around the head. All along we tweaked the design so that it would fit best, be effective, and would be easy and fast to sew.
Early patterns that were on the internet took about 15-20 minutes to make. As we developed our design we were able to bring the total making time down to just about 7 minutes each. This mask pattern was then adopted by other local groups like COVID Avengers and Karina Dresses who created and distributed many thousands more.
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NOSE PIECE DESIGN PROCESS Circle designed and developed a nose piece which was a huge upgrade from the pipe cleaners or twist ties that were being used by all home sewers. We asked a local industrial designer to come up with a solution made from sheet metal. Once we had a suitable design we worked with two local machine shops to have these pieces laser cut from sheet metal. These pieces are still being used and requested by mask makers... a powerful story of collaboration and local ingenuity.
ELASTIC AND TIES Once elastic was near impossible to come by and we'd gone through the community's stores of elastic and ribbon, we transformed hundreds of t-shirts into high quality jersey ties. These cotton ties are now preferred by most as they are stretchy and very comfortable. We are still distributing these to local sewists.
FILTERING SOLUTIONS Circle tested various filter materials and with the generous donation of Mad Hatter Chimney sweep, we transformed high density vacuum ash HEPA filter material into many thousands of filters to fit our masks. This was an ongoing process requiring many volunteers.
Circle's Mask Kits Circle created a mask making kit that sewers could pre-order and pick up for free at one of our four local drop boxes. Each day for many months we provided the cut fabric, nose pieces, ties, filters and instructions to make hundreds of masks. We had volunteers picking up and dropping off masks and materials to our central location daily.
PREP FOR DISTRIBUTION Each and every mask that was sewn and dropped to us was properly sanitized and repackaged by Circle personally before distribution. In the early days before we created kits people were dropping off many styles. We then had to match the same style of mask to the location that could best utilize that size or style. Many styles would only fit women or children and had no way of adjusting them. We had two volunteers that dropped masks to the appropriate locations daily.
VIDEO INSTRUCTION Over the course of this time Circle created detailed instructional videos during the whole process to help the sewists in the making process and guide the wearers to follow safest practices and protocols. These were shared to our Facebook page, Sewing Facemasks For Ulster County, as well as our Circle Facebook page, and on the stress-busting craft and creative hub that we started during COVID called Circle Skills Swap.
Hand-Sewn Masks by Local Immigrants In partnership with Ulster Immigrant Defense Network, Circle created a pattern and mask kit to be made by immigrant women in Kingston who are hand sewers. These kits also included all basic materials sewists might need like needles, thread and pins.The instructions were translated into Spanish and the kits were dropped off weekly. Circle paid these women for these masks in order to provide them financial means to support their families in these times due to Covid. This initiative is now being continued with other products that we are developing with the women. We now call this project COSER A MANO.
Production & Distribution Partners Lora Shelley, Artist: Drew illustrations for our mask instructions and for our step by step instructions for our masks kits Natalie ZuĂąiga: Translated all kit instructions into spanish so that we could provide to immigrant communities in Kingston Rosendale Theatre: Drop box location YMCA Kingston: Drop box location Mountain Laurel Waldorf School: Drop box location Skate Time 209: Drop box location
Hudson Valley Current: A distribution channel Scott Gibson of Studio Wingnut: Help machine cut fabric to size for kits Jay Reader of Knightly Endeavors: Cut straps with fabric donated by Karina Cousineau Malachi Trent: Volunteer distribution management and nose piece design Methods Tooling of Saugerties and Kolb Machine Inc in Kingston: Nose pieces laser cut from sheet metal Unused t-shirts donated for straps by Hudson Valley Current, High Meadow School and Maya Gold Foundation
Daily Work for 4+ months Sewing masks to meet the need Early morning prep for pickup by volunteer distributors Receiving and sorting of masks by FB group sewists Photographing and thanking sewists on social media Managing our facebook group which was getting dozens of questions and comments daily Developing our website to take orders for kits and masks Taking and fulfilling orders for our kits Cutting fabric to size to fit our kits Cutting elastic or jersey yarn to size for kits Sanitizing all masks received by washing, drying, and/or baking, ironing Quality checking each mask before distribution, we were receiving from 50-500 per day Providing daily distribution route and maps for volunteers Daily packaging and mailing masks out through the USPS
Masks Donated To Vassar Hospital ER Dutchess County Wound Care Highland Police Dept Ark Mid Hudson Group Homes Family of Woodstock Family Inn and Darmstadt Shelter YMCA Food Distribution, weekly drop off Skate Time, Rondout Food Distribution Town of Woodstock Food Distribution Woodland Pond at New Paltz Hudson Valley Hospice Ellenville Hospital Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico Navajo Reservation, New Mexico Protect Native Elders, CA Harambee, Kingston Kingston Mutual Aid Tech City Mobile COVID Testing Center
Kingston EMTs Vassar ICU Shandaken EMTs NYSDDSO in the Kingston and Woodstock Orange Regional Hospital Town of Olive Police Dept. Family of Kingston Kingston ER Planned Parenthood in Poughkeepsie Ellis Hospital Medics Mobile Life Unit EMTs New Paltz Police Dept Rochester Food Pantry Ulster Immigrant Defense Network Clinton Avenue Church, Kingston HV Current/Satisfy Hunger Food Distribution Washbourne House Domestic Abuse Shelter Ulster County Child Services
People’s Place, Kingston Golden Hill, Kingston Gardiner Rescue Squad Crystal Run HealthCare Family Of Kingston The Arc Mid Hudson Family of Woodstock Child Care Woodland Pond needs more YMCA Food Distribution THRIVE ON! Kingston AS WELL AS: Home Health Care Workers Dozens of Individual Nurses Senior Residences Many more individual front line workers who reached out directly Individuals without means to purchase
Mask-Making
Partner Collaborations Circle worked to unify the local mask initiatives so that we would have more capacity and more quickly reach people in need. We partnered by sharing distribution channels and supplies with other local mask making groups including: • NY Masked COVID-19 Avengers! • Karina Dresses • COVID-19 Mask Making Initiative FB Group • Ulster Immigrant Defense Network • Mask Makers of The Gunks
Naturally Dyed Locally Sewn We worked with 10 of our most dedicated sewers to provide a line of masks to be sold online in our “shop.� All sewists were compensated financially for this specific work. We provided over $1000 in funds to these sewists, a small but gratefully received sum since they too were financially impacted by Covid. More than that, every person involved in this project felt they were part of a greater effort to thwart the spread of illness, connect with others, and do creative work that felt essential in small but important ways. As of today we are not actively producing masks, but we do have the capacity to pick up again if needed in the future.
COVID-19 Truly Amplified the Values and Mission of Circle. Because of the mandatory quarantine, all educational workshops of Circle’s ceased, so our team also organized a Facebook group, CIRCLE SWILLS SWAP, inviting the community to share what they were making during the times of physical isolation as well as posting our own videos of what we were creating from home. This aided many in transforming anxiety and boredom into an opportunity to slow down, connect with those around them, and learn to create with their hands using materials they had readily available.
At a time when there was no other option but to stay at home, craft served, and continues to serve as a conduit of creativity, mental wellness, and mutual aid, as well as a pathway that restores value to essential and timeless skills.
Thank you! We want to express our gratitude for your support during this time. All this absolutely could not have been done without your generous contribution.
CIRCLE CREATIVE COLLECTIVE Weaving The Fabric Of Community One Traditional Craft At A Time info@circlecreativecollective.org
845.481.0739
in-circle.org
62 Plains Rd, New Paltz, NY 12561