Daily life as we know it has drastically changed. Terms like ‘social distancing’ and ‘ flattening the curve ’, unknown just a few months ago, are now part of our everyday reality. In the face of catastrophe, it can feel scary, overwhelming, and most of all, frustrating. We are crafters. We are makers. We are doers. And right now, there doesn’t seem to be a lot we can do to help our families and communities. But with new recommendations from the CDC, that say we should all be wearing masks when leaving the house, and with hospitals across the country putting out the call for handmade cloth masks, we makers have been given a mission:
OUR MISSION - Protect each other, and protect those on the front lines, by making masks & caps.
The Details:
You may craft masks for yourself, your family, your neighbors, or hospitals & healthcare workers. It does not matter who they are going to; they all count.
Some hospitals & health care workers are requesting scrub caps or similar hair coverings. These are quite welcome in this challenge.
You may enter this challenge as many times as you wish, in batches of 1-3 masks. If you wish to make just 1 mask, that will count as one entry. If you make a set for you you & your spouse, that counts as 1 entry. If you make a set for your kids, you may count that as one entry. If you make dozens for your local hospital, you can submit them in batches of 3 per entry.
You must post all your entries here in this thread. THIS ROUND will count anything made starting June 1, 2020.
When posting an entry, please use the header below, so I can make sure to count all your submissions.
Your entry may not be submitted for any other contest in this community.
All entries must be posted by midnight on July 31st.
Each submission will get you 1 entry into the prize drawing.
At the close of the Challenge, I will use a random number generator to draw a winner from all submissions.
The winner will be announced on July 15th. I will contact you via Private Message, after the announcement.
If cheating of any sort is discovered, the applicable entry and votes will be disqualified.
The winner of the Lettuce Help Our Communities Challenge - Round 3, will receive a $20 Amazon gift card!
Answers to some FAQ: You said I can submit in batches of 1-3. Does that mean if I make 50 masks, I can submit each one individually and get 50 submissions in the contest?
No. I’m asking everyone here to be thoughtful in what they submit. Think of this in terms of grouping your masks. A set for you & your spouse can be a group. A set for your kids can be a second submission. If you make a few for your next door neighbors, that can be a submission. If you make 50 masks for your local hospital, please submit them in batches of 3. So you could do 16 submissions of 3 masks, and 1 submission of 2 masks, giving you a total of 17 submissions.
My hospital/health care worker friend is in need of scrub caps. Can those count?
Absolutely.
Can I use stash fabric?
Yes. You can use stash fabric, elastic, and bias tape. Please check with YOUR hospital that you are donating to, for their specific guidelines on what they are accepting
Do I have to use a specific pattern?
No. You can use any pattern you wish for masks for friends and family. If donating to a hospital, please follow their specific recommendations & guidelines though. They have them in place for a reason, and need to be able to easily clean and sterilize masks & caps.
I have an awesome pattern to share. How do I do that?
Awesome. Just post the link here, and I’ll add it into the list above.
I want to help, but don’t know where to look. Do you have any patterns for me?
I have linked 3 patterns above in the first post, and will continue to add to it.
Title: Harry Potter Masks
Masks for: myself and family
No pattern to share… I cut a bunch of patterns out (many from LC) quite a while ago, and now don’t know which is which.
Same fabrics, some new. I had cut out a large number of blanks and then run out of interfacing. Finally found some interfacing that would not take 2 months to arrive and made up the last of the cut out masks. There are 29 here. They will go out on Sunday to the local hospital group.
I’m going to have to cut into the fabric I didn’t really want to use…you know, the stuff you think you will use for a project. Someday. But it’s a small sacrifice and I can always buy more. I just can’t bring myself to order fabric for masks with all the useable fabric I have stashed. Next batch will be brighter and more fun.
1 Like
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
5
**Title:**The Baby is Coming Masks for: Nephew and his Wife Pattern Link to Share: magpie’s pattern
Long story short…I made 4 masks for my nephew and his wife because they were required at the hospital where she is having a baby. I mailed them two weeks before they were due. He sent me a text saying he never got them so I hurriedly made 4 mores and sent them Priority Mail. Turns out that both packages arrived the day before they had to go to the hospital. At least now, they have 8 masks to use or share…since I was in a hurry, I forgot to take a picture. They sent me this one.
My one friend asked me for patterns, and was quickly overwhelmed by all the information/options I sent. I made her and her husband a couple masks until she gets her feet under her to make her own.
I had made two masks for friends that did not get delivered in a timely manner, they were still sitting in our car. On Sunday we were taking the foster kittens in to the shelter for a check up and realized we had forgotten our masks. So we broke out the gift ones. But then our friends called and wanted the masks later that day. Whoosh, I sewed up two more in a hurry. Whew. I have 10 inch Robert Kauffman Zoology squares left over from a baby quilt. I use those for the fun and special masks.
So many fun masks! I gotta say, I’m really quite jealous of some of your fabrics! In particular, I love @Abbeeroad 's computer chip fabric and the paisley one next to it! Where did you get those??
I sat last month’s contest out because I’d won a prize in the first month’s, but I suppose I’ll throw my hat in the ring again! So I’ll put this here as my first entry:
Here are a few of the masks we have currently completed and waiting to be donated, being displayed by Maccha the turtle.
So far Mom and I have given away nearly 200 masks, including 60 to the Navajo Nation, and we plan to get another box of 50-60 to them in the mail tomorrow. We’re still cranking out tons, so I would like to offer them to people here! I know this thread is for people who ARE making masks, but if anyone who can’t make them for themselves would like homemade masks, please just ask! I am quite happy to ship free masks, free of charge (if you’d like to pay for them, please donate to your local food bank instead). Please just send me a message if you’d like any masks!
Those fabrics are so old! I actually got the circuit board fabric from @AIMR in the 50 projects in I don’t even remember what year craftalong on deadster (2012 maybe?). The paisley I think I got from JoAnns. Or maybe Walmart. I used it to cover a wire framed deer head Mr. Road made (inspired by the old faux taxidermy swap!). Masks sure have been great for stash busting!
The hospital had lots of donated masks, and they are starting to give them out to visitors that don’t have one with them. AND, stocking up for the 2nd wave in the fall. Was that ok? Wow, hospitals know what is coming. Of course it is ok.
This about half of what will be donated this week. The monkey one is one of my personal masks. This week’s fabric is remnants from baby quilts.
Now that Mom and I have gotten into a rhythm with our mask-making, we’ve been making lots almost every day. I find it really relaxing to just go through the repetitive motions of sewing, and it kinda helps me wind down before trying to sleep, as well as helping my mental state just by knowing I’m doing what I can to help. Here are the ones we made last Sunday:
So far we’ve donated 140 masks to the Navajo Nation and about the same amount to others. We’re getting another package ready to send to the Navajo Nation tomorrow!
Wow, love those masks @roler. I agree that making masks does help with the general anxiety levels. It’s almost a compulsion with me.
This is the last batch for a while. Connecticut is doing an amazing job of slowing down the spread due to slow reopening and mask/distance requirements. Now we are requiring 14-day quarantines from certain states. It feels so incredibly weird.
And I have to dismantle and re-configure my craft room. We are putting a door way to our new porch right through the craft room wall…which currently has bookshelves covering all access! But I want that porch!
The colors are similar to the last batch with some superhero fabric thrown in. These will be done by the weekend…about 30 masks total for this batch. That puts me over 300 masks. Not bad since I work full time, foster kittens, have a veggie garden and planting beds to maintain, love canoeing, and love to read. Oh, and the multitude of Zoom meetings that have sprouted like weeds lately.
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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Title: To the Beach Masks for: Niece and Family Pattern Link to Share:@magpie’s curved mask
My niece and her family are going to the beach with their 8 year old son. She is a nurse and needs a break, but she is very aware of the need to be safe. She asked if I could make her son a mask since she has plenty. I decided to make the whole family the same mask. I found some metal nose wires online that can be tacked to the outside of the mask and they are washable and bendable. I really like them a lot!
In most of the following pictures, these masks are done with all the sewing steps, but still need a few threads trimmed and the elastic added. My mom usually handles that while we’re watching BritBox or something together.
I wish I’d taken pictures of some of this fabric before we cut it. A friend of mine who works for a fabric company (her JOB is drawing designs to be printed on fabric; isn’t that awesome??) sent me a bunch of huge flower panels to use for masks. Each panel was about a yard square, with one gigantic flower printed on it. We weren’t sure what they’d look like chopped up into masks, but I’m LOVING how they’re turning out!! The purple and red ones in the photo above are from that fabric, as are some upcoming blue ones.
Title: 6/23 Masks Masks for: Navajo and others Pattern Link to Share: same
@roler and @marionberries, I am duly impressed by the number of masks that you’re each making! I’ve used a few different patterns (the CraftPassion version, @Magpie’s first version, and one at statethelabel.com).
I have a question about elastic vs ties- are you finding that people are expressing a preference? I just watched a friend struggle with her mask because the elastics weren’t tight enough and it kept slipping- how do you make them so they’re the right size- not too big, but not too tight?
And roler, do you send a cord or elastic with the ones you donate?
