Great videos here from a health care worker who sews, pattern link, in-depth sewing instructions for anybody who is in need or more step-by-step assistance. Also with analysis of CDC recommendations including fabric, filter material, and she shows how to use a disposable baking tray for the nose wire which is frankly brilliant. Lots of suggestions for material substitutes for anybody running out of this or that. The videos are long but worth watching.
Here is an excellent page of lab tested material. Surprisingly, teatoweling scores the highest out of all fabric! Which is really confusing since they are mostly such a loose weave, I’m utterly baffled by that. I do have a package of Aunt Martha’s tea towels, @kittykill recommended them for embroidering on. They are really large so lots of fabric. I also read about boiling cotton for 10 mins to shrink the weave up at tightly as possible, I am going to boil my tea towels and use them for mask lining.
First, a question: I have had a front loading washer for the last 20 years, which is generally gentler. My current one required that I put things of similar size as my masks into a lingerie bag so they don’t get sucked into the water waste tube. It seems like the agitator of a top-loader might catch on the elastic or ties of masks and create a tangle, so I have been telling recipients to use a bag, but maybe they don’t need to?
Second, masks:
Friday afternoon and Saturday Morning, I got these 7 done! The skulls and flames are going to a nurse in Florida who saw the skull one I made for a mutual friend in New York. He only requested the skulls, but I wanted to make this flame material into a mask so bad, so I’m sending it as a surprise. Either he’ll have two or one can be for his husband.
When a wife of a friend saw the same NYer post her masks she asked about getting some made. Turns out she has a little peanut head! She sent me a pic of her wearing the standard “womans” size mask (as per the patterns I’ve been using) as it reminded me of one of those jokes about making your bra into a mask and having it cover your whole face! So these 3 are my first “child - 7-12 years” sized I’ve made. She is not in healthcare, but is working so I asked her to be candid about how many does she really need.
I wanted to make sure her wife, my friend, had what she needed, too, so she decided 2 would be a good number since the wife is mostly working from home. She’s an AMAZING wood finisher, so is wearing PPE while working, so these are for going out and about.
I took those last two pics before adding the elastic to give my neck a break.
Third, another idea:
A friend sewed a channel on the nose bridge and used a pipe cleaner/chenille stem that she can remove for washing. She is immuno-compromised and hasn’t left her house/yard in a couple of weeks except to pick up packages that had been delivered to her office. I thought it was a good solution for making just a few masks using only materials she had on hand.
They look amazing and I love seeing your fabulous fabric selection!
The removable nose wire is probably a good idea, no matter what sort of metal it is, that stuff isn’t meant to stand up to laundering.
In one of the links I just posted there is advice to launder masks like you would a bra, then to shape and air dry. It couldn’t hurt to run an iron over them after that, I think the shaping helps create a better seal around the face.
The virus can’t live outside the body on surfaces for long so absolute sterilization is not necessary, these aren’t being worn in place of N-95s for care workers either so I think regular cleaning is just fine. I would recommend washing in a mesh bag though, just to prolong the life of the elastic. The one thing I like best about channels rather than sewn in is that it can be replaced.
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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I have been sending instructions with the masks I make for people to use whatever alternative straps and nose clips that they want. Some are taking out the head elastic and just making ear elastic straps. Some are substituting old t-shirt strips…whatever makes them comfortable is fine with me…as you said, the fabric part will last as long as it is good cotton and sewn well…
I imagine I will just keep making them and replacing any for whomever needs them…the requests are coming in like crazy from my FB posts…what an odd way to reconnect to friends and high school buddies, etc. At least they want to do something!
Exactly, like a bra. But that takes more explaining to the menfolk who have never washed a bra! And probably don’t have a mesh bag and my have never even know about their existence. I’ve never offered any other advice on the washing, drying, etc. These people are adults with internet access and theoretically a couple decades of experience cleaning things they wear. Well, other than telling them they should wash before wearing, just to be safe.
@AIMR Are you getting that any of that elastic back at all? Seems potentially wasteful in a way that would normally make me unsettled and these days… oof! For my last batch I ended up sewing two smaller pieces of the same elastic together to get a piece that was long enough.
I think this to myself nearly every single day, lol. Some people ask for real basic instructions for things you’d think would be the easiest answers to find on the googlie. Maybe they are just lonely and want to chat? I dunno, lol.
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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I have rolls and rolls of elastic…I am sending extra elastic in case people want to change it up…
I will be getting another spool of 50 yards on Wednesday…it is black but I like black better anyway…I have some white on order but that won’t come for another 3 weeks…I am trying to keep elastic and toilet paper in the pipeline at all times
I’ve been making the Craft Passion pattern. Working in batches and chaining pieces together, I’ve got it down to about 20 minutes per mask. The ironing is probably the most time-consuming part, but I do like the results. I’m sewing for my co-workers, and these have to be worn for hours at a time. The single strip of knit fabric goes on bottom loop first, then put the mask on your face and tighten using the top loop and cincher. A great part of this style is that you can loosen it to hang around your neck for drinking water, etc. without fully taking it off or touching it much (just touch the side channels).
I’ve only got one challenging person to fit, and it’s my boss - I drafted an extra large at his request, but it’s still slipping off his nose as he talks. I’ll have to experiment with an accordion style folded mask.
Your fabric is gorgeous! And I like your tie idea, is it a strip of tshirt?
See the tie-dye mask on my mister’s face a bit further up? That’s the one that fits him best, he’s got a long pointy nose that’s soft after the bridge and a floofy beard under which he has a small chin. He is also a bit trickier to fit, the accordion style doesn’t suit him. I’ll finish drafting that pattern and post it here if you’d like to try it.
Thank you, I will try yours when I can! The fabric is from a yard of knit I had stashed, it feels like a thick t-shirt material. I cut it the less-stretchy way, which on a t-shirt would be vertically.
I tested and tweaked some more patterns. I’m not happy with the style that has a completely flat bottom edge, it doesn’t cup the chin as well as it should without having to gather the side seam and that can cause the front to buckle.
I did a couple variations of edge stitching on the front seam and found it doesn’t make much difference with or without. I’ve fused some interfacing layers inside and that I do like, also the thinner extended sides are good. A small adjustment to the front peak made a big difference to comfort around the eyes. I am nearly there I think. I just need to find someone to do a computer draft for me, I am so not techy in that way.
I like mask patterns where the ties/ear loops are threaded into a channel rather than sewn directly into the mask (so the ties are removable/replaceable). I have a mask that someone made for me with the elastic sewn directly into the mask and after a few washes the elastic is already looking kinda iffy and I know it’s gonna be a hassle if I have to replace it since I’ll have to unseam part of it.
I’ve tried out a lot of patterns including some with the elastic sewn in and when I thought about replacing it, I knew there might be some stitch picking involved. I decided though to just cut the elastic off as close to the mask as possible then sew on a replacement by lining the edge up with the edge of the mask and sewing close to the side, then folding the tie over onto it’s raw edge and stitching again so it’s sticking out in the correct direction and the edge is enclosed inside that newly created seam. Does that make sense? I’d do it on the outside of the mask so it didn’t add uncomfortable bulk against the face or disrupt the seal around the face either.
I think I have been cutting at a standard 18-20", varying because I don’t ha e time to measure. And the knot adjusts how tight it needs to be for the individual. And of course, it depends on how stretchy or not stretchy your elastic is. The stuff I got is very soft so it stretches a lot but still has a comfortable hold. It almost seems too close when putting it on initially, but then it is very comfortable.
Not pattern feedback but cleaning feedback: I know it’s hard to come by right now, but I have a bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol and I put it in a spray bottle. When I get home, I take my mask off and spray the front and back sides of the mask until damp and let air dry. When it dries, there is no smell left.
Solutions of 70% alcohol should be left on surfaces for 30 seconds (including cellphones – but check the advice of the phone manufacturer to make sure you don’t void the warranty) to ensure they will kill viruses. Pure (100%) alcohol evaporates too quickly for this purpose.
Obviously, you should still wash your masks in the machine as well, but this is a good way to disinfect it inbetween washings, especially if you don’t have many masks or aren’t in close contact with anyone while wearing one. (Like, if you wear it to go for a walk but aren’t around people.)
This video shows how to make a mask that sits under the ears around the back of the neck rather than over the ears behind the head. It closes with a button and a hair elastic for the loop but could be done with velcro, a snap, etc. The tutorial is long and I can see several ways to tweak it to improve things so I’ll give it a go and post my results. I like the idea though, good for people with glasses, sensitive or small ears. The pattern is here.
I made a couple masks over the weekend using Pretty Handy Girl’s pattern that @AIMR posted a while ago and wanted to share! I really like how they came out. I used her suggestions of coffee bag ties (I got 2 nose pieces out of one bag tie) for the nose clip. It is a little wide and tricky to sew around, but it gives a good seal around the nose and helps prevent glasses from fogging if you wear them with it. I also used t-shirt yarn for the adjustable straps. Super easy and really helps with the fit I think.
It was a little tricky to keep straight which end was the nose and which end was chin - I thought I messed it up once, only to realize later I probably had it right, lol. I will likely default to the craft passion pattern for super quick masks, but think there’s a lot of good stuff in this one!
