Clothing sewers have stepped up in the UK to cover for a shortage of cotton uniforms worn by hospital staff with thousands working in what have become known as "scrub-hubs."

While there has been plenty of attention on a shortage of PPE for UK frontline staff tackling patients with coronavirus, there has been less focus on the huge demand for scrubs - the cotton uniforms and laundry bags to clean them in.

Many overseas suppliers are having difficulty fulfilling orders and hospitals are running short. In response, thousands of people across the UK have dusted off their sewing machines and got to work in the "scrub-hubs".

Pre-lockdown, Mariane Roesdahl could be found creating historical period clothes at her business Camden Costumes which caters to film, TV and theatre productions.

"Within a day the whole industry was shut down, I had to furlough my staff and pack up and go home," she said. But a week without work prompted Mariane to look online for something she could do. There she found film location manager Jess Waluga, whose work had also come to an abrupt halt.

Jess had begun making pyjamas to give her something to do when a friend alerted her to the shortage of scrubs in hospitals. Her social media appeal for funds to buy material soon brought in plenty and she appealed for volunteer sewers. It led to the North and East London Sewers group being born and growing to over 800 volunteers in just a matter of weeks.

Strangers before, Jess and Mariane now spend long days together cutting material, which is delivered to the homes of hundreds of sewing volunteers.

"Everyone's super grateful for what we're doing, there's a definite need, they really need what we're providing," said Jess, who adds the group have supplied about one third of the 4,000 or so scrubs requested through Britain's National Health Service. However, requests continue to come through from hospitals and clinics.

The scrubs are needed because of the large number of workers who have entered the UK health service in recent weeks, and because they must also be changed more frequently to avoid passing on the virus.

Often made from donated duvets, pillowcases or spare material, the scrubs are proving more colourful than traditional ones. The volunteers have been sharing photos and animations of their work online....to encourage each other.

"We have tailors, we have costume makers, we have drag queens, we have housewives and bankers. We have all sorts of levels of skills that are getting involved," said Mariane.

Both Jess and Mariane says that while they are fulfilling an important role it is also an opportunity for them to keep busy when they could be worrying about their work situation.

"At a time when people are feeling very helpless and hopeless and just want a purpose and something to do," said Jess, "We're providing that for our community as well."