Orland Park resident Pat McLaughlin has been sewing since she was 13 years old, but it’s probably safe to say she has been in front of that machine more in the past few months than she has in her entire lifetime.
It started as a light-hearted gesture for friends, but to date McLaughlin now has made more than 1,200 face masks for people throughout the Chicagoland area.
“We had company for St. Patrick’s Day and I made masks for everybody, not knowing that just a few days later we were all going to be in quarantine,” said McLaughlin, who used Irish-themed fabric for her company’s masks.
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It wasn’t long after she was shopping in an Orland Park grocery store and noticed the employees weren’t wearing masks. Thinking they might like to have them, she went home and assembled 30 face masks to bring back to the store. Soon she was making them for friends of the family and before she knew it, she had requests coming from quite a few people.
She has sewn the now-required face masks for family, friends, nurses, doctors at four hospitals, a fire department, staff and residents at two retirement centers, as well as for staff and residents at two assisted living facilities, a library and just about anyone who has made a request. “Anybody who asks me for a mask, I try to accommodate them,” she said.
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Gone are the days when McLaughlin was making clothing for her children and for herself, draperies and other home decor. But not the sewing machine nor the accessories and other assorted notions.
And now the stash of fabric she’s had stored in bins is finally being put to use. “I had a little bit of this and a little bit of that and I kept it because I told myself I was going to make something out of it some day. Fifteen years later, it was still in the bin so I just started using my leftover fabric for the masks.”
She is spending four to six hours a day measuring and cutting fabric strips and elastic. Plus, measuring and cutting reusable shopping bags donated by Mariano’s in Orland Park, Moraine Valley Community College and other friends to use as a filter for the masks. McLaughlin said Kathy Foster, donated 200 yards of elastic just as she was running low, and Darlene Mstowski and the Sheet Metal Workers union cuts and donates metal strips to be used as nose grips.
The donations of materials from friends and acquaintances that heard about her charitable endeavors have been a welcome sight. One such contribution came from a woman who no longer sews. “She had a bin of fabric that she said I could have. Turned out to be a 35-gallon bin full of beautiful fabric. I’ve been working with that for a month now,” McLaughlin said.
She’s also had some help from friends and family with cutting and assembling. Most are picking up the bags of face masks from her front porch, but those who weren’t able have had theirs delivered by friends and family members.
“I felt like I had to do something,” said McLaughlin, who retired from her job as a pharmacy technician. “It feels wonderful to do this. You know, it’s not going to change the world, but it’s a big help to the people who need them.” And, she says she’ll keep making them as long as people need them.
McLaughlin isn’t charging anyone for her face masks. But she is asking for something in return. Once you don the mask, snap a photo and send it to her.
Anyone who has fabric or elastic they would like to donate, can email McLaughlin at gogmac54@gmail.com.
