Volunteer sewers stitch gowns for Hamilton midwives
When Trish Blackwood received an email saying that midwives in Hamilton were looking for volunteers to sew reusable isolation gowns, she put aside her quilting projects and got to work.
“I thought, if that’s something that I can do to help the midwives, who I worked side-byside with many moons ago, then I feel great doing that,” said Blackwood, a retired neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
In the first few days, Blackwood made six gowns with leftover material from other sewing projects. Then, she was told more material had been donated, so she made 15 more.
“I guess word got out and people were donating old sheets, which is perfect because that’s what they need,” she said. “They don’t have to be pretty. They have to be practical and functional.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread to Canada from other parts of the world, The Hamilton Midwives started taking inventory of their personal protective equipment (PPE). At the end of March, they ordered N95 masks, which have yet to arrive, but couldn’t source disposable isolation gowns.
“Nobody has them,” said Susie Martin, a registered midwife with The Hamilton Midwives. “And so we’re like, OK, if we can’t find disposable gowns, the next best thing is fabric gowns.”
Martin put out requests on social media for both sewers and fabric donations. She said they were hoping to get 45 gowns for their practice, but have received more than 100.
“We’ve actually been able to outfit all of our midwives,” she said. “We’ve outfitted Lincoln Midwives and now we’re starting to help other practices in Hamilton, too.”
Trish Gration, who has been sewing for 50 years, made 15 gowns for The Hamilton Midwives.
“I saw so many people making masks for hospitals and doctors and nurses,” she said. “I thought if I could help somebody that’s not quite as much in the news, that might be a better way to use my resources.”
Another volunteer, Trudy Sykes, said she was keen to have a project to focus on while physically distancing at home.
“I like to sew and I like to do crafty things,” she said.
Sykes made a total of five gowns — two from flowered sheets she had in the closet, and three from donated material. Each gown took her about an hour and a half to make.
“I know lots of people that have old sheets in their cupboards that they just don’t use that they’d be willing to donate,” she said.