Maggie wearing a mask made out of vacuum bags (Photo – Reg Green)
This my wife, Maggie, wearing a mask she has just made out of vacuum bags!
By Reg Green
She is the costumer for the Pacific Opera Project of Highland Park and the cloth is being stocked for future operas.
The pandemic has given it a more urgent use, however, and through networks of other women, who come together online, masks are being made and sent to hospitals, nursing homes, fire departments, and bus drivers all over the US. Maggie’s group, Relief Crafters of America, has 60,000 members and can be found on Facebook. Another group is Masks for Humanity.
Worn alone, a cloth mask stops about half as many small particles as the normal medical mask. If worn with a disposable mask it allows that mask to be reused. So far about sixty have been sent from our house alone.
A mask made out of vacuum bags material (Photo – Reg Green)
Vacuum bags
But just as any dynamic company improves with time and innovation, someone experimented and found vacuum bags could be turned into much more effective masks. Prices vary according to type: Maggie bought a batch of microfilter bags costing about $1.50 each and they are taking her about 15 minutes to make. Cloth masks take longer but can be made from any unwanted tightly-woven 100 percent cotton fabric lying around the house.
With new ideas and volunteerism like this springing up everywhere, does anyone doubt that the economy will bounce back once the virus passes through the system?
> For anyone who likes sewing, this video demo should give enough information on how to make them.
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