BETTY Clark has had some time on her hands in isolation.
The 74-year-old from Rathmines wanted to use some of that time to help protect herself and her family by making some face masks.
But where to start? Well, Mrs Clark started with a handwritten letter to her local newspaper - the Newcastle Herald, suggesting it should print a sewing pattern so readers could make their own masks.
And so, here it is.
"I've been getting the paper for years and years, and I thought it would be good for people in the same situation as me if the paper printed a pattern to use," Mrs Clark said.
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She already had some plain masks, but plans to make some "pretty" ones for herself and her grandchildren.
Pick up Friday's Newcastle Herald for the pattern to create your own mask.
This pattern was created by Newcastle woman Karissa Shrubb, who works as a freelance product developer and pattern maker.
Ms Shrubb started making masks for friends and family back in March, and also posted a downloadable pattern to her business Facebook for people to create their own.
"I wanted to have a free pattern available, because not everyone can afford to buy one," she said.
She has since stopped making masks as her usual work has picked back up, but said she had been contacted a lot in the past fortnight about the face coverings.
Rundle Tailoring in Newcastle has also seen a huge surge in demand for masks. The business has been making face coverings since April, but has employed five new factory staff this week to keep up with orders.
"We've just been inundated," Bronwyn Rundle said. "They've been selling so well. As soon as anything new has been announced in the media, we see a spike in sales. We've had to knock back large quantity orders."
Ms Rundle said the business was fortunate it did not use elastic in its masks as there has been a shortage of the material, but said fabric supply had also been a challenge. The business is quoting customers a four week wait for the masks, and they are only available online to be posted out.
"We don't want to have too many in the store, we need to keep our staff safe," Ms Rundle said.
