{"id":1428,"date":"2020-04-08T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/?p=1428"},"modified":"2023-02-03T11:43:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T16:43:53","slug":"how-to-sew-a-diy-medical-hood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/hobby\/how-to-sew-a-diy-medical-hood\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sew a DIY Medical Hood"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were recently contacted by a Sailrite customer who created his own design for DIY medical hoods that are used in conjunction with PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) machines to keep medical workers safe when treating a COVID-19 patient. George Warner was generous enough to take time out of sewing hoods to answer our questions about his hood design, share his instructions and drawings, explain his motivation to help, and how he\u2019s hoping other DIYers will join in the fight against COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tyvek
One of George’s early hood designs made from Tyvek material.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q. What was your reasoning or motivation behind wanting to design these medical hoods?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> <\/span>Our daughter is a third-year resident at one of the larger Boston, Massachusetts, hospitals in internal medicine. Her friends, who are our friends, are Emergency Room doctors, pediatricians and anesthesiologists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They will be intubating people for ventilators and are very at risk during some of these procedures. We are trying to produce hoods to fit positive pressure respirators known as PAPR units. PAPRs are a type of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) used by medical personnel to safeguard workers against breathing contaminated air. The low pressure, positive pressure keeps contaminated air from getting into the hood and potentially infecting the medical worker. These hoods have plenty of room in them. For added protection, you can wear an N-95 Mask inside of the hood and it is not going to get dirty.\u00a0 They just came out with safe ways to re-sterilize these masks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q. <\/strong>Do you have a background in design work? Are you already familiar with these PAPR units?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> <\/span>I’m an architect and I have worked on building houses, boats and kiteboards. I have had two of these PAPR units for building and construction purposes for 20 years. Instead of breathing dust, you’re breathing clean filtered air, even when sanding or grinding metal with carborundum (silicon carbide) discs that produce very fine dust.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few companies make these PAPR units, but there is no reason to expect that production will be ramped up in time to meet the impending surge. In the United States, we have the advantage and luxury of a small head start on the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the medical outlets and industrial outlets will be scoured and empty in short order. The units have HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q. <\/strong>What is your goal in making these DIY hoods for PAPR units?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> <\/span>To get these PAPR hoods in the hands of frontline medical workers who are at risk of contracting the coronavirus when treating COVID-19 patients. I am hoping that by sharing my design and story, other DIYers will help out and start sewing these hoods to donate to local hospitals in need.<\/span><\/p>\n

For anyone interested in sewing these hoods, please be aware that they are not up to medical protocols, neither are they CDC approved as PPE. However, in a very short amount of time, no emergency room or ICU in the United States will be able to fully meet the PPE standards of a normal day. When that happens, medical professionals will get sick as they have in China, Italy and Spain. There are thousands of sick doctors in Europe right now. They can\u2019t treat anybody. They are the ones needing treatment. My goal is to make these hoods in order to keep medical workers healthy so they can continue to treat the sick without getting sick themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q. <\/strong>What materials are required to make these medical hoods?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> <\/span>I have been using a medium duty white tarp that is easy to clean and not so difficult to sew. We have experimented with Tyvek\u00ae polyethylene dumpster bags and with Tyvek house wrap. The commercially made hoods made by 3M use a fabric called tychem, that is very similar to the Tyvek paper that is used for post office envelopes. My latest prototype using Tyvek house wrap worked well and sews easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also experimented with Stamoid\u2122 Light and clear vinyl window material from Sailrite. The window material from Sailrite is excellent. It is strong and cleanable and still flexible enough to fold inside out in the sewing process. The 30-gauge vinyl is great if you have a Sailrite sewing machine that can easily handle it, which I do. A 20- or 12-gauge clear window vinyl might be better for home sewing machines. I\u2019ve used an old windsurfer window and it worked great. Others are using clear file folders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stamoid Light fabric is really great in many regards but a little stiff and difficult to maneuver in the tight turns. It is strong and will be easy to clean. Again, my Sailrite sewing machine was able to handle this vinyl material, but I\u2019m not sure how a home sewing machine would do. Hoods can also be made from Dacron\u00ae sailcloth, which is easier to sew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q. Are you making your medical hood design available to the public for anyone who wants to make and donate them to hospitals? If so, where can people find your instructions and design illustrations?<\/b><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> We created a hood tutorial on the Instructables.com website. If anyone needs additional help, they can contact me through the website. The sewing is an intermediate skill level I would say. I would say that most Sailrite sewers should be able to do this. There will be a short video of the most difficult section. You can test this on a piece of scrap material and see how you do. You\u2019ll get it quickly enough!<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instructables.com\/id\/Protective-Hood-for-Powered-Air-Purifying-Respirat\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Note: Neither Sailrite nor George Warner makes any claim that this medical hood design will protect the medical worker from contracting the coronavirus. Positive airflow is a safe procedure, but there are many elements that only the user can control. We are not an authorized medical or health safety authority. Use at your own risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"george<\/p>\n

If you would like to help sew medical hoods for your local hospitals, please use the link above to George\u2019s written instructions and drawings. Please check with your local hospitals that they are accepting DIY medical hoods and other protective gear beforehand. Sailrite would like to say a big thank you to all DIYers out there who are donating their time, talent and sewing supplies to help provide their communities and medical facilities with face masks, shields and other protective equipment. Together we can save lives and help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Who We Are<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Sailrite is your one-stop DIY shop! We are a passionate crew of do-it-yourselfers who strive to equip you with the supplies and how-to knowledge you need to tackle your next project. Do you want to learn upholstery, leatherwork, canvaswork, hobby sewing, bag making or more? We have the fabric, tools, hardware, sewing machines and notions you need to master any DIY. And even if you’ve never sewn before, our tutorials and how-to videos are designed for beginners and experienced crafters alike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start your DIY journey today: www.sailrite.com<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were recently contacted by a Sailrite customer who created his own design for DIY medical hoods that are used in conjunction with PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) machines to keep medical workers safe when treating a COVID-19 patient. George Warner was generous enough to take time out of sewing hoods to answer our questions … Continue reading How to Sew a DIY Medical Hood<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[13],"tags":[78,80,79,20],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hood-collage.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/padSoq-n2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2055,"url":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/hobby\/sewing-quilted-coats-ultrafeed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1428,"position":0},"title":"Stitching Pieces of the Past: Quilt Artist Kathleen McVeigh","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"What do you see when you look at a quilt? 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And while the casual camper might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Outdoor Living"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_7939.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2461,"url":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/marine\/dodger-ultrafeed-learning-to-sew\/","url_meta":{"origin":1428,"position":4},"title":"A DIY a Day Keeps Boredom at Bay","date":"June 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What happens when an avid sailor tears his Achilles tendon and is looking at six months of recovery time? If you\u2019re James Craig \u2014 you learn how to sew! 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