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04/08/2020 08:30 AMShe didn’t plan it this way, but Debbie DeLillo is now a leader of a mask-making village of sewers, pattern cutters, and others helping her to donate hundreds of the protective face coverings to those who need them most.
“It is taking a village to keep up with the demands,” says Debbie, noting that, on April 3 alone, “two women ironed and cut over 300 masks for me to sew. It is heartwarming to see the outpouring of help.”
In some cases, the masks are being used to extend the lives of N95 respirators and surgical masks worn by medical professionals; in others, the masks are making life a bit less stressful for those staffing offices at medical buildings or working in nursing homes.
In addition to the 300 masks lined up for sewing and delivery over the past weekend, Debbie says about 400 masks have been made and given away in the past three weeks.
The North Branford mom, grandmother, paraprofessional educator, and crafter found her first mask pattern and got to work shortly after being sent home with non-essential staff from The Sound School in New Haven, which closed on a March 12 as a precaution against COVID-19.
“I was one of the very first ones in the state who got sent home,” says Debbie, who also heads up her own craft making business, The Resourceful Queens. One of the reasons she thought of making masks to help out was because her husband, Dennis, works for Yale New Haven Hospital and said there would be a need, she adds.
“I started to make some masks to fill in the time, and offering them to people who might need them,” says Debbie. “And then, it just seemed like they kept on needing them, so I called my friend Maureen and she said, ‘Sure, I’ll help.’”
Like Debbie, Maureen O’Grady of Wallingford, owner of Vinyl DeLites, is a member of the Connecticut Crafting Community (CCC). The two have been friends for more than 30 years and on the craft-show circuit together for more than 20 years.
At the time Debbie gave Maureen a call, “I had an embarrassing amount of material at my house,” says Debbie, who had just received yards of cotton fabric she’d ordered in January to make “fidget mats,” (activity mats that are helpful to those with autism).
Maureen was happy to help get sewing. Once their first masks began coming off the sewing line, Debbie put out the word—and photos—as a post shared on a North Branford community Facebook page.
“The next thing I know, it was unbelievable,” said Debbie of the response to her post. “We had people who were getting in touch to say they had made masks for us to distribute, and other people who were asking us for masks to help them out. On one day [April 2], we had 84 requests.”
Home manufacturers can’t make the N95 protective masks that front-liners use, but they can make those with pockets that allow filters to be inserted, says Debbie, noting that some of her CCC peers are making those types of masks.
The type of mask Debbie, Maureen, and their helpers are putting together are of the type that can be used as a general face covering (the masks’ three layers “break up” respiratory transmissions) or as an added layer of coverage to extend the lives of surgical masks being worn by professionals, Debbie explains.
“Some of ours are being used to go over the one mask that [some] nurses are getting to use for two weeks,” says Debbie, speaking to The Sound by phone. “And they’re being used by lot of people who work in healthcare offices who are the ‘second-liners,’ like receptionists and housekeepers. I just got a text from a [pharmacy] pill technician asking if she could have one.”
Making the masks is actually a time-consuming task, even for pros like Debbie and Maureen. There are several steps needed to get them right. The elastic-band fitted masks require two layers of cotton and one of cotton flannel, with pleating, ironing, and two-step sewing as part of the process. They can be washed and dried for re-use; Debbie includes instructions with each.
Within a few days of working on the project together with Maureen (who’s now up to making about 80 to 100 masks a day and is “a little bit faster than I am,” says Debbie), it was clear more hands were needed. In addition to her own family’s assistance, Debbie decided to ask for help from the community.
A North Branford resident of 29 years, Debbie notes she’s lived on “both sides of town,” including the past 20 at the DeLillo’s Northford home. She’s also a mother of three daughters, now grown: Amanda, Melissa, and Cindy (these days, Melissa is part of The Resourceful Queens team; Dennis also assists Debbie with aspects including the Queens’ woodworked offerings such as birdhouses). Cindy, a marine biologist, has been helping Debbie with social media, while Amanda is cheering them all on while also being a busy mom.
Debbie says she misses visiting with her grandkids and daughters, who are all in their own homes during the state’s Stay Safe, Stay Home period.
Debbie was involved in her kid’s school programs, including years as a North Branford High School theater “drama mama.” Several years ago, she and a group of friends established a grassroots group, The Angel Fund, which ran for seven years and helped local families faced with needs due to medical issues. She also volunteered, for many years, with the Arthritis Foundation and with fundraising to fight breast cancer.
“A lot of people know me from other things I’ve done in town,” says Debbie, “but there’s also lot of the people who are helping me that I’ve never met before!”
One way people are helping the mask-making effort is to send money for materials, via Venmo (message Debbie on Facebook @theresourcefulqueens for more information). A $5 donation covers the cost of making a mask. Others are donating materials for the 6-inch by 9-inch masks, which use quarter-inch elastic to fit over the back of the head. Others are pitching in to help with steps of the mask-making process, or by making entire masks and bringing them to Debbie to distribute—one woman recently brought 42 masks she’d made, Debbie shares.
“I have a bin in front of my house, where people are dropping off material or taking away material to cut into patterns for us,” says Debbie, who is spending 8 to 10 hours a day at her sewing machine.
Debbie says her group of helpers are also now tailoring some of the masks to meet certain requests they hadn’t originally considered.
“Maureen has started making kids’ masks—we didn’t think about that at the beginning,” says Debbie. “And we’re running out of more masculine” fabric patterns.
Debbie expects to keep fielding numerous requests for masks in the coming weeks. With continued help from the community, she’s confident those requests will be filled.
“Maureen and I are so appreciative of the care and love that everybody’s putting into making these. It’s really very heartwarming,” says Debbie.