News
Former sewing student helps organise NI Scrubs across the province
Published: 30 April 2020
Former part time Belfast Met student Angeline Murphy has been volunteering her sewing expertise and fundraising efforts to help meet the demand of scrubs that are urgently needed for key workers. The scrubs, hats and bags that are being made by volunteers from the NI Scrubs group allows for frequent changes while on duty as they can be boil washed which makes them more hygienic than ordinary clothing.
Angeline said of her introduction to sewing course at Belfast Met’s Titanic Quarter Campus,
“Sewing was a hobby for me and I really enjoyed the course which has given me far more confidence with my sewing, especially in using bigger sewing machines, and to understand the technical jargon.”As well as working as a marketing manager for Firmus energy, Angeline’s passion for sewing led her to set up her own bespoke dress making side-line Angeline Murphy Design, and to be a contestant in series 4 of the BBC Sewing Bee, and the residential ‘Sewing Queen’ for RTE Today.
She said of these successes, “I made it to episode 5 of the The Great British Sewing Bee competition so was really pleased to be picked from over 20,000 applicants across the UK.
These experiences have really built my self-confidence, as well as giving me a platform to share my passion with others and teach sewing.
“I feel passionately about how sewing can improve wellbeing as you are able to create something with your own hands. During a crisis like this you realise how important it can be to have a skill like this, especially when we don’t have access to buying fast fashion.
“I’ve been absolutely amazed by how many home stitchers there are in Northern Ireland, and it’s great that these skills are now being used for the greater good.”
Angeline has fundraised more than £25,000 on her Go Fund Me Page to help provide fabric for the army of stitchers to sew up scrubs! You can find the go fund me page here