@photojenn, thank you for the questions.
-I’m using whatever interfacing I have on hand, a variety of weights. If it’s quite thick & stiff, follow the recommendation to trim away the seam allowance before applying to the fabric to reduce bulk. Although non-woven is preferable, woven is ok. It adds another layer of fabric which increases filtration of moisture & particulates.
-Use any wire that won’t rust out. I’m not sure pipe cleaner is a good choice. I’ve seen people using garbage ties, florists wire, cut & folded soda can or aluminum baking pans, etc. So long as it’s strong enough to mold firmly to the face & hold it’s shape. If you’ve got thin gauge, twist a few strands together to make a thick enough strand.
-I’m leaving the elastic untied so it can be fitted to the wearer. For our masks, I tie the ends together tightly, trim them then pull the knot into the fabric channel.
In no way is this necessarily the best option, but I’ve been using a dead soft 16 gauge aluminum wire. I (obviously) have a lot of wire on hand for my jewelry work and I’ve tried various options. I like the aluminum because it is so soft and pliable but the 16g makes it sturdy enough to hold shape. Also, it doesn’t rust. It can often being found labeled as “armature wire” or “floral wire” and this is an example for reference. You should be able to find something similar at Joann, Michael’s or likely even Walmart’s craft department too. There might be better options, but of what I have on hand, I’ve found it to be a good balance. It’s also pretty inexpensive and readily available and since you only need a few inches per mask, a little goes a long way.
(edit to add, since it’s counter-intuitive, as it pertains to wire, the SMALLER the number of the gauge, the thicker and harder to bend it is and the HIGHER the number of the gauge, the thinner it is. So 14g is thicker than 16g. If you can’t find 16g, you could try 18g or even 20g perhaps in a pinch, but anything more than that will be too flimsy. I found in the aluminum right around 16g was the sweet spot for me.)
This is an amazing tutorial! My mask-making is on pause for the moment, but I’m bookmarking this for if/when it ramps up again.
The pattern was clear and very well written. The only extra thing I’d suggest is maybe the length of the wire? I know in some other threads people were saying that if the wire was too short that it would cause issues poking the sides of the nose. Otherwise, excellent! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this. You’ve saved me a ton of headache.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! And thank you so much for making a computer pattern draft, I added it to the tutorial along with a wire length suggestion. I’ll cut up an aluminum pan later and show how strips of that can be used for the nose wire too. I’ve been using plastic covered garbage ties but I’m running out and all my clever neighbours buy those bags with the string ties already included. Who knew a day would come when we’d all long from our depression-surviving grandparent’s junk drawers.
First attempt took me way too long, and i didnt use heavy enough wire, but turned out cute anyway and much more comfy than elastic on the ears. I am not the fastest at sewing in the best of times and well these arent the best of times.
2nd attempt was very quick. I quadrupled the wire - worked great! I only did interfacing on the front halves and i think that was a mistake. It didnt hold its shape as well as doing interfacing on both front and back.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful pattern!
P.s. in case anyone was wondering, 45" shoelace makes a great tie, but 54" worked better for hubby.
Woo! Good for you, girl! I think shoe laces would make a great tie. I’ll check the stores for those next time we’re out. Elastic isn’t to be had anywhere, nor hair bands.
It looks like you did different stitching than I did. The kids are helping me make a video so the sequence can be watched for those who are visual learners, I personally learn best by watching then doing so I guess others may be the same as me. It is simpler than what you’ve done I think, it’s just one line of continuous stitching all the way round the mask, including the wire, back tacking one time only when the stitching overlaps where you started.
That would be SUPER helpful. I really don’t do well handling just written directions when it comes to sewing. It’s too new to me and I have to think too hard about it that trying to follow just a written pattern is challenging. SEEING it though really helps it click for me.
I made 5 yesterday for my mam and the pattern is great. Crochet hook-genius!
I used iron on interfacing on just the one side and it works, I didn’t topstitch the lining to the front (it didn’t occur to me at the time)
I made a few different colours because my 90year old mother is very dressy and she’ll want to coordinate masks with clothing choices.
I also passed the pattern onto two of my sister’s, I had no trouble with any of the steps. However the only thing they had trouble understanding was the relationship between the inch square, and how to get it to the correct size-when tracing from a computer screen. So potentially a line about that in your details. But having said that, you can’t plan for every single bit of incomprehension.
Overall, I think it’s great work. I will need to add ties , but they’ll have to be neat and colour coordinated for my mother to wear them! Off to sacrifice some more tees
Link to your pics? How long did each one take you? I’m averaging 20 mins each.
There is a new image @Kwality570 drafted for us that can be printed out, it should print the right size so long as you don’t choose the “fit to size” option on your printer.
Do not stitch the centre front to the lining! The centre front edge stitching is just on the front curve & is optional. Hopefully we get the video done soon & y’all can compare it to the written instructions to let me know if there’s anything could be explained differently.
I’ve no pix. I had to get them in the mail ASAP to get to my mam. I completely forgot to take any pictures.
I’d say they’re taking 10-15 minutes each. But I’m not pinning and not pressing, I’m using the edge stitching to neaten the edge. And I’m using tee-shirt yarn.
It’s honestly a really good tutorial x
Excellent! I knew a quicker stitcher could cut down the time. I have been pinning, I don’t usually but I have and ironing quite a bit as well along with the extra edge stitching down the front which can be fussy so I do that part slowly.
Did you see the tip on using nylon stocking for ties? I have some from when I felted wool stones, I’m going to try it.
I did, but the tees are working fine now. When I can’t sacrifice any more I’ll try the nylons.
I couldn’t get Kwality570’s image to print at the exact size- I had to increase the image to 200% (the max allowed on my mom’s printer), and the 1"box is still a smidgen shy (almost 1/8"). But, I’m just going to cut it a little bit bigger. But, I’ll be making at least one mask using this pattern today (I’m sort of being overruled).
Did you copy it into your computer files and print from there? I can always email you a copy if you’d like. Or try the trick of getting it up on your screen in the right size and tracing it, that’s honestly how I do everything, lol.
I posted a quick tutorial on making nose wires from an aluminum baking pan or soda can.
I had the same issue and was never able to get the 1” square to be the perfect size. I tried printing from chrome and downloading to my computer first.
I wish I was more techy. If anybody figures out how to upload a PDF or post is somewhere else online that’s linkable, please let me know!
Here’s mine! I made the large size at the scale that I printed it out. It fits me well, I think. I like that it doesn’t go high up on my face- I was wearing one before that was hitting the bottom of my eyes.
The directions were great! I missed a couple of steps, but I was sewing another style at the same time. When I looked back at the directions, it made perfect sense 
Wonderful! It fits you great! I first make the HK pattern but it’s flatter across the top and I found where it hit the eye uncomfortable too. The craftpassion mask had a good nose curve but the flat bottom doesn’t cup the face for a good seal. And so many have a folded over elastic channel that is way too thick. This one fixes all those things for me.