While I won’t go into the importance of wearing a mask because quite frankly, I don’t believe it needs to be discussed. I also believe that the majority of the population chooses to care about others as well as themselves and the media hyping of a few consumers’ takes on conspiracy theorists is far fewer than those who would benefit from learning to DIY their own reusable N95 style face mask. So here it goes, right into it.
The Backstory
I started making these masks after joining the Facebook Group “Sewing Masks for Atlanta Hospitals” for donations mid Isolation of the COVID-19 outbreak. They were delivered to hospitals during the first wave back in March of 2020. Since then I’ve become quite the mask-making expert and think it’s time for this walk-through on the basic steps.
Sewing 101: Tips and Tricks
The Fabric
The best fabric for this project is 100% cotton because it washes well and is easy to work with. Cotton is also recommended… so you have to. All of the fabric below was purchased for less than twenty dollars at Joann Fabrics. They always have some kind of special sale going on for any given weekend.
Wash the fabric before working with the material on the highest heat setting to kill off any germs or bacteria that may be lingering. This also helps pre-shrink and prevents colors from bleeding too much from future washings.
I found if you plan on making several masks it is easier to use the pattern I supplied to make a cardboard cutout. This helps preserve the pattern for many tracing moving forward.
Use a button stitch on the side flaps for extra holding security of the elastic bands. This helps ensure the bands won’t come loose or break stitches.
Using ties instead of elastic was requested by the area hospitals. Cut 2 inch strips of fabric measuring 3 feet long and fold over lengthwise 2 times for a total of 4 fabric layers. Replace the elastic with these strips sewing them down the winged edge.
Tip: Medical industry or service industry professionals should consider the above to prevent chaffing.
Elastic Adjusters also work if you choose this route. Simply increase the elastic’s length by 4-inches when cutting.
I hope this helps bring something fun to everyone as we all work through this difficult time together. COVID will one day be a distant memory in the past but we all need to work together to help each other through this. Hopefully, you can use this tutorial to mask masks for friends and family to help stop the spread of the virus.
If you have any questions please reach out by tagging me on Twitter and Instagram to show off your work and how you’ve shared your skills.
You will also need to download and print Palmer Proper’s DIY N95 Inspired Face Mask Pattern I created to trace on the fabric.
