A group of sewers have rallied together to ‘do their bit’ and create hundreds of protective gowns from duvet covers for heroic care home staff at risk of catching coronavirus.
In just two weeks almost 20 residents of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and the surrounding villages have whipped up more than 250 garments which provide extra coverage over their regular scrubs.
The team of volunteers is working around the clock to create the patterned, lightweight robes after receiving a plea from a local care home desperate for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Villagers in Ashbourne joined forced to create protective gowns out of old duvet covers to help staff working in care homes in desperate need of PPE. Embroider Cathy Reavy, 62, has made 40 in less than a week
Staff at Ashbourne Lodge Care Home have started using the gowns when treating residents. The villagers began sewing the garments after receiving a plea from a local care home desperate for personal protective equipment
Organiser Jeremy Elvin, 52, drops off old duvet covers to people in the village and then drops them to care homes in the area when they are finished
They plan to deliver them to six care homes across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and hope to make 500 more in the coming weeks.
Following a template created by one of the squad, each gown takes less than two hours to make at home with just sewing machine and scissors.
Organiser Jeremy Elvin, 52, from Ashbourne, said: ‘It started out with us in the village responding to a plea from the manager of a care home for gowns.
In a variety of designs the protective gowns are worn by care home staff over their usual scrubs and give them an extra layer of protection. Gowns by Sarah Pollard
Sarah Pollard designed a basic template which the villagers have used to make more than 250 gowns so far. They plan to make 500 more in the coming weeks
‘Many of the people in the village know their way around a sewing machine and suddenly we had gowns piling up ready to be delivered.
‘We put out some posts on Facebook about what we were doing and it really took off from there.
‘There are so many people in the local community wanting to help out either by making the gowns or donating duvet covers.’
Business owner Annie Gardiner, 47, visits her mum through the window at her care home. Annie has made 25 gowns so far
Mr Elvin has been busy ringing up hotels and residents asking for donations of duvet covers to keep up with demand for material from the volunteer sewers.
He collects the duvet covers from villages in the area and drops them off at the sewers before taking the finished gowns to staff at the care homes.
An experienced sewer can expect to complete a gown in just under an hour and Mr Elvin is collecting over 20 new gowns every day.
Embroiderer Cathy Reavy, who lives in the nearby village of Alstonefield, had her first batch of 29 gowns collected on Monday.
The homemade PPE is already being worn by care home staff and she has made another 40 in less than a week.
The 62-year-old said: ‘There seems to be a never-ending need for the gowns from care homes.
‘I’ve set myself up in the village hall with a sewing machine and people leave the duvets in the porch.
Cathy Reavy set up her sewing machine in the village hall. People leave old duvets covers in the porch for her which she then transforms into protective gowns
‘I’m making more every day. It’s like a production line.
‘They’re quite straightforward to do and even if you can’t sew you can cut the shape out – everybody can use a pair of scissors.’
Some of the volunteers have expanded their product range and are now making drawstring wash bags out of pillowcases for care home staff to put their uniforms in.
All the gowns are sterilised when they arrive at the care homes but some volunteers have been taking extra precautions.
Annie Gardiner, 47, a local business owner, puts the gowns in her tumble dryer when they are finished to kill any germs picked up while they were being made.
Annie Gardiner has made 25 gowns so far and says it can become exhausting making them because it is so repetitive
A gown designed by Annie Gardiner. Each gown takes less than two hours to make at home using a sewing machine and scissors
Ms Gardiner, who has made 25 gowns so far, said: ‘It’s quite exhausting making them and I’ve had to take a couple of days off to recover because it’s quite repetitive but every little helps.
‘Duvet covers and sheets work well because they can be washed at 60 degrees and they’re easy to fold away.
‘It’s amazing that the things we are making are going to the people on the frontline who need them.
‘It has brought people together for something useful.
‘We’re not key workers on the frontline but we can do our little bit.’
Sarah Pollard, 49, the volunteer who created the template for the gowns, said: ‘I’m surprised how many people came forward to help.
Sarah Pollard created the template for the gown and has been using her sewing machine outside in the nice weather to create the much needed equipment
‘Ashbourne is an amazing community and there are so many people doing great things.
‘People around here are doing as much as they can to help.
‘Every single one of our home sewers is trying to do their bit.’
Ashbourne Lodge Care Home is just one of the locations where the homemade PPE has already been put to good use, with staff wearing the protective gowns over their scrubs.
It usually takes less than two hours to design the gowns using the basic template and sewers only need a sewing machine and a pair of scissors to make them
Care home manager Rachel Easter, 52, said: ‘The staff here are at the frontline and it gives them reassurance and an additional layer of protection.
‘The government guidelines say care workers don’t need hospital level gowns but if you’re caring for someone with Covid-19 you want to have something more than a pinny.
‘We’ve received about 100 gowns so far meaning we no longer need any more which is absolutely fantastic.
‘It has been such a brilliant thing to see the power of community effort.
‘The support makes the staff realise that the general public are thinking about them when they come out here and do a frontline job.
‘It makes you realise that other people care about you and your safety.’