Open Arms of Syracuse has made over 600 masks

By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

A year or two ago, retired English teacher and avid sewist Edwina Hay founded Open Arms of Syracuse to make teddy bears and hats for migrant children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. The group has also made items for Syracuse City School District students and homeless people who use the services of In My Father’s Kitchen and the Rescue Mission.

Now, Open Arms of Syracuse has expanded its mission to create face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Hay’s group has sewn more than 600 masks for healthcare workers, essential employees and others looking to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Open Arms has distributed masks through two Facebook groups: Trish Hester’s CNY Masks for Medical Heroes and Pam Milac’s Baldwinsville Helping Baldwinsville – COVID-19.

Hay, who retired from Durgee Junior High school in Baldwinsville and now lives in Syracuse, said giving back comes naturally to her.

“I just enjoy helping other people. I’m very fortunate to have friends who want to go on this journey with me,” she said. “Doing this mask-making has truly helped me through this quarantine period. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning and do something.”

Back in March, Hay put feelers out on Facebook to see if any of her contacts — including former students who work in health care — needed masks or if they wanted to join her in stitching some. Requests for masks and offers of donations flooded in.

“I had a ton of donated fabric from all sorts of people because people know I’m a quilter,” she said. “Holy mackerel! I was not expecting the response I got.”

While she is quick to credit her friends Ellen Kimball, Jean Rosch Hathaway and Cynthia Wells for their contributions, Hay said she has made about 500 masks herself.

“I’m getting a lot of credit that I really don’t deserve,” she said.

Hay shared her tips for producing face masks efficiently and easily:

• Materials: Hay recommends using 100% cotton fabric for the masks themselves and “tarn,” or T-shirt yarn, for the ties.

“I was using twill tape but I ran out,” she said. “You take strips of T-shirt material and turn it into a ball of yarn. I’m such a packrat — I don’t throw anything away.”

Hay makes her masks reversible, with a more feminine design on one side and a more masculine print on the other. She is looking for patriotic fabric too.

• Pre-wash your fabric. While people should wash homemade masks before wearing them, sewists should also wash their material before they begin.

“I never know if the cat’s been on it, to be honest,” Hay said.

• Keep it simple. Hay admitted she found patterns for contoured, fitted masks challenging, so she is sticking with the easier pleated rectangular mask, which can accommodate an adjustable metal nosepiece for a more customized fit. She recommended starting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s instructions (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html) or searching YouTube for a simple tutorial to sew rectangular masks. After experimenting with a four-layer design, Hay now makes three-ply masks.

• Let it rip! Hay snips a notch in the side of her fabric at the needed width for masks and then tears pieces off. Then, she uses a rotary cutter to cut the strips to the correct length.

“It rips down the grain of the fabric. If you tear your fabric it goes so much faster,” she said. “It’s a little messier because there’s threads everywhere, [but] it squares up the fabric and makes it run true.”

Hay added that tearing the fabric apart is quite cathartic if you are harboring pent-up frustration from being stuck at home.

After the pandemic, Hay is hoping to teach a sewing basics class, possibly at Canton Woods Senior Center in Baldwinsville, where she leads the book club. Open Arms of Syracuse plans to return to its original mission once CNY has weathered the COVID-19 storm.

“When all this is over, we’re going to go back to the bears and back to the hats. We’re basically a philanthropic group,” she said.

Hay said her grandmother taught her how to sew.

“I feel really close to her when I’m making masks,” she said. “I know Grandma would be very proud of the fact I’m using the skills she taught me.”

To join Open Arms of Syracuse, visit facebook.com/groups/1685112491609141.