ITEM GIVEN AWAY IN ONEONTA

Crochet Club Makes

1,750 ‘Mask Mates’

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special To AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – Wearing a mask is that much harder if it doesn’t fit, said Emily Phillips.

“I got masks for my partner and I, and mine kept falling off my face, and his was pulling on his ears,” she said. “I reached out to a crochet group on Facebook, and they had patterns for ‘mask mates’.”

The crochet band is designed to lift the back of the elastic off your ears – ideal for those who have to wear masks for long periods of time.

She tried several different patterns – some were too big, some too small – before she combined them into a belt-like design. “It’s a long skinny band with 15 button holes,” she said.

“This way, the size is adjustable, it holds it closer to your face, while keeping the elastic from pulling on your ears.”

She made several and gave them away at the Green Earth, Latte Lounge and Sal’s Pizzeria. “Word got around,” she said. “And people started asking for them.”

Springbrook asked for 800. Amphenol asked for 400. Hannaford asked for 75. “In two weeks, we’ve made 1,754,” she said.

She is assisted by 23 crocheters, including six from The Chain Gang, a local crochet group. “They made 1,000 of the masks themselves,” she said.

Some crochet and sew buttons, others just crochet, and Phillips delivers the bands to her 21 button sewers. “My 90 year old neighbor sews buttons, and I’ve got an 11 year old who’s doing it for a Boy Scout badge,” she said. “They feel good because it’s something they can do for the community.”

She was recently featured on “Small Talk With Jill,” in a post that garnered donations from across the country. “People made and sent me some from Rochester, Iowa, even Texas,” she said. “People know what’s going on here in New York and they want to help.”

To fulfill the orders, however, she  is seeking donations of one-inch buttons, which can be dropped off on her porch at 11 Birch Street. “Look for the masked flamingos,” she said.