Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)

[Dancefortwo]

Speaking of, Joann's Fabric Stores are giving away the materials necessary to make masks, and then collecting finished masks and distributing them to the hospitals where they are needed.

I read that some people are using twistie ties sewn into the 1/4 seam at the bridge of the nose, for the flat wire.

Yes, I saw that on the Joann website.  But from what I can tell the material they're using is a woven cotton cloth.  Wovens have tiny holes in them where the weft and warp threads overlap so they're rather porous.  What the hospitals want in a non woven simiar to a mesh or a felted material and except for the color interfacing is about as close as it gets to medical mask material.   Thanks for the info!

I just spoke with the manager at my local Joanns, and it appears the kits contain an outer cotton, but an inner non-woven.
What the hospitals want is ANYTHING, as studies show that when used correctly, any fitted masks reduce infection rates. 

Nurses and doctors are using their medical grade masks, and covering them with the homemade ones.  They can then discard the homemade, put on a fresh homemade, and continue using the medical grade underneath for much longer.

For those who run out of medical grade completely, They would prefer a home made one of interfacing lined cotton to nothing at all.  So let's not discourage people from making what they can.  As Thump keeps telling me in another thread, don't let the prefect be the enemy of the good.

Still, if you can get interfacing, certainly use that! 

Thanks.  So I'm going to be spending a good part of today cleaning my drapery workroom and converting it into a medical mask making system.  If you've ever been in a upholster's shop that's exactly what my drapery workroom looks like.  I've got bolts of fabric all over the place and I need to have some semblence of order otherwise I can't concentrate. I need to get it as sterile as possible.  That probably ain't gonna happen but right now it's a total mess.  It's great to be doing something otherwise I'll sit around reading about virus stuff on the internet.    Hope you're feeling better.