A GROUP of sewing enthusiasts from Oakley has made thousands of items of personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the coronavirus pandemic - and is now taking on new challenges.

Caroline Worley set up the Oakley Stitchers in March, after an appeal for material donations from members of the community, to make hospital scrubs, was met with an overwhelming response.

“I saw that there was an issue with getting scrubs and things, and the need for them was getting quite desperate,” Caroline told the Gazette.

“I bought some material, which was expensive, and made a couple of sets. The need just kept getting greater.”

Wanting to do more, but knowing she couldn’t manage alone, Caroline took to the local Facebook group to ask for help.

“The reaction to that one very small notice was unbelievable. Absolutely unprecedented” she said.

“People wanted to know how they could help, saying they were sewers or weren’t sewers but wanted to be involved. I ended up with three eight-foot piles of material outside my door!”

To make sure everyone could coordinate their efforts safely, Caroline set up a “pop-up, help yourself shop” outside her house, where people could pick up and drop off materials.

Between March and August, the group of around 150 volunteers produced over 1,000 sets of scrubs, as well as over 4,500 other items including masks, ear-savers and headbands.

The group’s first aim was to support local organisations, but soon they were sending out parcels to places across the UK, including Ayr, Norfolk, Kent, Torquay, Wales, and central London.

“We remained an entirely independent group. The way the national organisation Love Our Scrubs worked was more of a business model and for the people that were helping here it was more of a hobby. We could offer what we had, but I wasn’t setting targets or anything like that,” explained Caroline.

“It was a complete and utter win-win. The level of mental health, and feeling a part of something, that was so important and helped so many of our stitchers. A lot of them were shielders, so it was an opportunity just to be able to do something useful and to meet lots of other people. It’s just a shame we haven’t been able to meet in person.

Another big project was keeping boxes, in locations across the local community, stocked with handmade face masks, which could be purchased for a small donation.

Caroline - who is studying for a full-time masters in law online - hopes that, despite the upcoming lockdown, the PPE crisis seen in the first wave of the virus will not return. However, a poll of the group members showed that not one of them wanted to stop helping people.

The group has “had to diversify a bit”, and now includes lots of knitters and crafters as well as sewers. It has now embarked on a whole array of new projects.

These include a recently completed trial of Alzheimer's comforters - a range of different items for people living with Alzheimer's to have and hold, to help settle them when they are distressed by lack of interaction, or while nurses get themselves kitted out in PPE. These included ‘twiddle muffs’, knitted angels, and peg dolls.

“During lockdown, if you had Alzheimer’s there was no way you could comprehend what was happening,” said Caroline.

“Lots of nurses were being redeployed and routines were being upset.”

The group has also connected with cancer charities The Pink Palace and Knitted Knockers, which creates prosthetics for people who have undergone mastectomies.

It is also now making drain bags and PICC line covers for cancer patients, cuddle packs for premature and newborn babies who have to stay in hospital, and chemotherapy care packs, among other projects.

Caroline stresses that the group’s help is not only for the NHS, but all frontline workers.

“It’s for anybody that needs it. The idea is that we use our hobby to help someone who needs something.

“Some of the stories that I had coming through were heart-breaking. Everybody focuses on the NHS which is great, but frontline staff also includes carers, it includes volunteers, and many others.

“I don’t think anything is going to take away the fear. Frontline workers are honestly outstanding people. They are all doing something that no one else wants to do.”

Caroline says that the Oakley Stitchers team has been “amazing”, and hopes members of the community will support them to be able to continue providing help for those in need.

“This is not me, this is a team effort,” she said.

“I am a very small cog, and I could not have done what we have done together. The team has been absolutely amazing and I think all of us are really proud of what we’ve done.”

To support the Oakley Stitchers visit: oakleystitchers.org.uk or justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oakleystitchers