They are an essential tool for effectively combating the disease: like masks, gowns represent a major stake in the "war" that France is waging against the coronavirus. But as patients continue to pour into hospitals, is there enough equipment provided by the state? No, deplore on Europe 1 Hélène Lajoinie and Olivier Bal, at the origin of two initiatives aiming to provide gowns to the carers on the front line.
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In just a few weeks, from her workshop in Sarthe, Hélène Lajoinie has gone from wedding dresses to the overcoats of caregivers. Specializing in bridal creations, the seamstress makes blouses for nursing staff in her region. "I don't have any equipment but I can manufacture!", She laughs at the microphone of Europe 1. "The demand is impressive", with "around fifty blouses" which should come out of her workshop. "It's a lot of manufacturing!"
"One sheet, two blouses"
On Europe 1, the professional "invites all the seamstresses to do the same, because it is not very complicated": "On a sheet two people, we make two blouses. And it is much faster than a dress bridal, with a tailoring time of 45 minutes to an hour for a blouse. If we put it together, it can be not bad, "hopes Hélène Lajoinie.
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Tutorials to make your blouse
Olivier Bal has nothing to do with the creation of blouses, or even the creation of any garment whatsoever. He is a writer, author of thrillers and, recently, co-founder of the faisuneblouse.com site. Alerted by a doctor friend "alarmed by the shortage of equipment and protection", he launched an educational site "in a weekend" with his wife.
Concretely, faisuneblouse.com "lists tutorials, instructions and blouse patterns so that seamstresses can find models", explains Olivier Bal. "They are encouraged to contact the nursing staff in their town themselves to deliver the sewn coats."
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Since the creation of the platform, Olivier Bal has been divided in front of the influx of visits: "It is reassuring and a little worrying", he confides to Raphaëlle Duchemin in La France bouge . "We had a goodwill effect, a lot of people came forward, there was very good momentum around this. There are hundreds or even thousands of blouses sewn and distributed."
But on the other hand, "we see that we have more and more requests from professional institutes, institutions like nursing homes, retirement homes, psychiatric centers. They have big requests for 100, 150 We do what we can to help, but we feel that there is more and more distress in terms of equipment at the moment. "