A team of Fenland sewers have made and donated 65 sets of scrubs and 250 laundry bags for those on the coronavirus frontline thanks to donations from local people.
Jayne Walpole, who runs Stitch Studio Sewing School in Wisbech St Mary, decided to round up a team of volunteers to help the NHS while her business was forced to stop when lockdown began.
Instead of teaching dress-making, Jayne has been co-ordinating a growing team of local sewers, mostly Stitch Studio learners, who have been working from home and busily making scrubs for NHS staff facing a nationwide shortage.
The team’s voluntary work was given an extra boost thanks to financial donations totalling £425, with the money used to purchase fabric. Local people also donated linen and architects Peter Humphrey Associates printed several sets of patterns.
Jayne said: “It’s a been real team effort and all sewers have been so generous with their time and commitment. Without them we could not have achieved so much to help the NHS, so a big thank you, for a fabulous sewing team.”
The scrubs have since been donated to hospitals in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire while the masks and laundry bags were given to local care homes.
Sandra Dade, ward manager at North Cambs Hospital, said: “Myself and all the staff on Trafford ward wanted to say a massive thank you for the lovely scrubs.
“They are fantastic and we know they have taken a lot of time to make and obviously made with so much care and attention to detail.”
A spokesman for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn added: “Thank you and your super-talented teammates for the fantastic scrubs you’ve made for us. The scrub sets are going to be very popular indeed and the quantities you have produced are really helpful.
“Please keep up the great work – we are all truly humbled by the efforts being made to support us at this time – you really are doing ‘good works’.”
A spokesman for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust said: “I have heard nothing but praise and appreciation from my frontline clinical colleagues regarding the quality of PPE kit that has been donated by your lovely volunteer stitchers.”
Jayne has also been running Sew Happy meetings and online classes. For more details, email jayne@stitchstudio.co.uk or call 07584 341160 or visit www.stitchstudio.co.uk
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