Top hats: Sewing for Aussie heroes

WHAT began as a small project among four best friends, including Anglesea’s Deb Elliott, has evolved into a mass sewing project, with hundreds of Australians sewing hats for nurses.
Ms Elliott said the project began on March 24, with a close friend and member of the Rotary Club Sunbury, expanded to Anglesea, then onwards to Melbourne and Perth.
“Nurses don’t normally wear hats on hospital wards, but they want to now, as they’ve been informed that the virus can remain on surfaces for up to four days.
“Many staff are female, and while they do wear their hair up, it is an area that is left vulnerable. Male and female nurses want to protect their families as much as possible and do not want to run the risk of taking the virus home with them.”
Ms Elliott said the hats aren’t intended to replace Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) but are worn underneath to help keep nurses from pushing hair off their faces.
“We now have nine people running the project and our Facebook page. We have over a thousand members making hats and laundry bags all across Australia, that we’ll gift to the hospitals for free.”
Janine Langley from Clifton Springs has been sewing her whole life and said she finally has a project to help work through material she’s built up over the years.
“I saw the group on Facebook and started making some caps. A friend of mine is a nurse working on the frontline, so I called her and asked if she wanted some and she couldn’t believe it.
“She’d been looking online, and they were $50 each. I’m sending her some, I’ve made around 35 and the rest I’ll send to Anglesea and they’ll get distributed from there.”

Ms Langley said she was happy to be able to do her part, however small, to help those in need.
“I’m and occupational therapist by trade. I have such respect for the nurses, doctors and staff on the frontline. I can sew and have material so knew I’d be able to help.
“I’ve been using beautiful material I’ve collected over the years. I thought…why shouldn’t they be fashionable underneath their scrubs?”
For Ocean Grove’s Jenny McIntosh, the project was an excellent way to look beyond the four walls of her home.
“I’ve sewed my whole life. I thought it was a really good cause. With the way things are going, we’re spending so much time in our own environment, it’s nice to be able to help in some way.”
If you would like to be a part of the project search “Helping our Hospital Heroes Australia” on Facebook.