During this strange and unprecedented time, with uncertainty ruling the headlines and feeds, it’s been wonderful to see how local communities have come together. For us, an antidote to all the chaos has been seeing the relationships between neighbours, friends and strangers bloom as we are having to rely on those nearest to us more and more.
At Lucy and Yak, we have spent the last few weeks trying to find ways which we can best help out all of the incredible people still working. We launched our NHS discount and had a giveaway for other key workers, as a little thank you to you all for everything you are doing to keep us safe and keep things as normal as possible.
But we just knew we could do more to help! We have our wonderfully talented seamstresses and machinists in Barnsley, and some keen sewers amongst our team in Brighton, and wondered how we could best make much needed supplies for hospitals while still keeping our teams safe.
We came across the Facebook group ‘For the Love of Scrubs’. Scrubs are in increased demand due to PPE requirements, and hospitals are experiencing great shortages. Set up by Ashleigh Lindsel a Nurse for the NHS, the group aims to organise, empower, teach and encourage anyone with the ability to, to sew scrubs, scrub hats and scrub bags for our NHS key workers. The group has over 40,000 members, and as our research continued, we found more and more sub-groups up and down the country bringing people together to help support their local hospitals. Representatives from each hospital can put exactly what they need, which sizes, which colours, and people can reply and donate.
The groups are so accessible, anyone can join in! We’d recommend joining just for your daily dose of the warm and fuzzies. There are print out patterns available to download, fabric shops are donating or discounting polycotton material for the cause, but even bed sheets can be used! Community hubs have been set up in churches, school halls, even people’s front gardens to act as drop off and collection points for sewers and NHS staff. It is amazing to see everyone helping in any way they can!
We've included lots of links down below so you can find what hospitals in your local area need specifically.
Our local groups in Barnsley and Brighton and have had some wonderful members of staff volunteer their time. We’ve bought polycotton from a local textile’s shop in Barnsley to make scrubs - Trish and Amanda have been hard at work sewing them up! We've had bedding donated from friends and family down in Brighton to repurpose into scrub caps and bags, which the lovely Sophie and Jasmine have been working their magic on. And this is just the beginning!
We encourage you to find your local group and get involved! There’s a need for fabric, sewers, drivers and monetary donations– something for everyone! We’ve created a list of all the groups we’ve come across so far! If you can’t find your local one here, search ‘For the love of Scrubs – YOUR TOWN’ on Facebook.
Since then, our Barnsley team have sent off their first batch of scrubs too, bound for hospitals in Brighton and Barnsley!
Thank you so much to all the key workers for all your hard work and bravery!
Happy sewing everyone! Send us pictures of your final pieces. We truly are all in this together.
Accepted fabrics for Scrubs:
- Polycotton (some hospitals may have colour preferences so check on your local group!)
- Prewashed Bed sheets! (As long as they can be washed on 60 degrees)
What does the NHS need?
- Scrubs! (Local hospitals may need particular sizes so check on your local group!)
- Scrub bags
- Scrub Caps
- Mask extenders
- Ear protector head bands
- All the love and support we can give them!
For the Love of Scrubs Original Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1500699350098765/about/
PPE Maker Network (for Non-NHS Key workers)- https://www.ppemaker.net/
ScrubHub website – search for your area! https://scrubhub.org.uk/allhubs/
Find your local Group!
- Barnsley - https://www.facebook.com/groups/580710285870673/
- Brighton - https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/sew4nhs.html
- Birmingham - https://www.facebook.com/groups/LoveOfScrubsBham/?ref=br_rs
- Cambridgeshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/220601579173538/?ref=search
- Chichester - https://www.facebook.com/ChichesterScrubs
- Cornwall - https://www.facebook.com/groups/654428122063837
- Croydon - https://www.facebook.com/groups/230123334776239/
- Cumbria - https://www.facebook.com/ScrubHubNWCumbria/
- Derbyshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/668295117290441/
- East Sussex - https://www.facebook.com/groups/534206817473391/
- Gloucestershire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/557201198255709/?ref=br_rs
- Herefordshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1271280199728016/?ref=br_rs
- Hertfordshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2871026046315142/
- Lincolnshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTLOSLincs/
- Liverpool - https://www.facebook.com/groups/814828949025213/
- London (North and East) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1664878276997558/
- London (South) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/518022602204292/
- Manchester and East Lancashire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/221226992295476/?ref=search
- Milton Keynes, Bucks, Bedfordshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/658776968016478/?ref=search
- North Devon and Exeter - https://www.facebook.com/northdevonandexeterscrubs/
- Nottingham - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTLOSNottingham/
- Norfolk - https://www.facebook.com/NorfolkScrubsVolunteers/
- North West - https://www.facebook.com/groups/RVScrubHub/
- Oxfordshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/268651897468471/
- Plymouth - https://www.facebook.com/groups/862604270885596/
- Scotland - https://www.facebook.com/groups/525437301744593/
- Sheffield - https://www.facebook.com/groups/259241045240974/
- Shropshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2891351880954543/
- Southampton - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1596850240464124/
- Swindon and surrounding - https://www.facebook.com/FTLOSGWH/
- Surrey - https://www.facebook.com/groups/664436424129212/?fref=nf
- Teesside - https://www.facebook.com/groups/250378839479730/
- Wiltshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/570748493849689/
- Worcestershire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1308432019547448/
- Yorkshire - https://www.facebook.com/groups/Yorkshirescrubs/?ref=br_rs
Collated by our wonderful Events Manager, Ellen!
Masks
If you don’t have a sewing machine, or do but don’t feel confident enough to make items for hospitals, our tech manager Jasmine has put together a simple non-medical grade mask, downloadable here, or viewable below, which you can make for yourself!
Whilst these are not desired by hospitals at this time (as they are not medical grade), and there has been mixed advice on wearing masks, we know it's now mandatory to wear them in some countries and areas, so want to give the option for those wanting or needing to wear them!
If those of us who can, source or make our own face masks, this should leave the medical grade masks for the Health Care Professionals who really need them.
Our stylist Soph has created a tutorial taking you through exactly how make them here.
If you're not a sewer at all, take a look at our blog from a few weeks ago here, which has lots of ideas of other ways you can lend your time and get involved in your local and wider community.
