Everyone from high-profile fashion designers to crafting communities are pitching in to help combat the shortage of essential supplies–specifically, face masks–in hospitals due to coronavirus. JoAnnFabric and Craft Stores is the latest to help by giving away free at-home mask-making kits for people to complete and donate to hospitals.
The kits include free pieces of fabric, elastic, and other materials required for mask-making. For those who want to help but have no idea how to make a mask, JoAnn has created a step-by-step YouTube tutorial. To get the kits, customers can take advantage of JoAnn's ship-to-home and curbside pickup options. All open JoAnn stores will act as collection points for the masks once they are completed. All customers have to do is drop them off, then JoAnn will take care of donating the finished masks to local hospitals in need (where they will be used at the hospitals’ discretion).
In stores, JoAnn will be offering free, in-person classes for people to make face masks as well as covers, gowns, and other items to donate to America’s hospitals. The classes come complete with sewing machines, instructions, and materials. The class sizes will adhere to the CDC-recommended guidelines for social distancing and local restrictions, of course.
The face masks will go to hospitals that are near JoAnn stores, but the fabric company is also working to provide fabric, elastic, and clear vinyl to bigger hospitals who are in need of these supplies.
If you want to help out or are out of crafts to take on, this is definitely a useful project to take on.
Kelly Allen is the Associate Editor at House Beautiful, where she creates design, culture, and travel content online and in the magazine. She’s been on the team since 2019, writing features on dreamy TV sets and movie filming locations, in-depth city guides, and inspiring home tours. From researching ethereal estates to discovering can’t-miss set decoration details onscreen, she’s always eager to answer burning pop culture questions through a design lens. In her five-year career, she’s built a strong network of designers across disciplines to tap for their invaluable expertise. Her background includes honing reporting skills while tackling viral news for Delish and contributing to Cosmopolitan’s entertainment coverage. When she’s not watching every new film and TV show, she’s browsing vintage home stores, attending industry events, and wandering around New York City—highlighting it all on Instagram.
