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.
N95 Styled Face Mask
- Pins
- Fabric scissors
- Sewing machine
- 1/2 yard fabric (100% cotton)
- ¼ inch elastic bands (2 pieces cut into 4 inch lengths)
- Thread
- Use the pattern to trace and cut 4 pieces of the fabric. Two of these will be outer pieces, and two will be inner pieces. Label the fabric pieces in the area between the stitch line and the end of the fabric with either “top” or “bottom” (hehe) depending on what the label on the original pattern was.
Pin and then sew the curves of two pieces together (the middle area of the final mask) ensuring that the pieces are sewn together with the fabric fronts facing each other and the top part matches the top and the bottom reaches the bottom. The fabric will come out with the pattern facing outward in the final step. Don't worry! Repeat this step for the remaining two pieces cut from the pattern we traced.
There should now be two pieces that were made from the original four we started with. This is where top and bottom sections of the fabric will need to be sewn together as well as inserting the elastic or ties into place.
Starting with the top section, pin the elastic pieces in the same place where I have it labeled them on the pattern cut out in between the two fabric pieces with each fabric piece again facing front side together. This should be about an inch from the unsew smaller edges. After pinning, sew these pieces together. Repeat this step again for the bottom section of the mask using the unsewn ends of the elastic pinned to the bottom of the mask.
- The mask can now be folded outward. When it is folded outward it should closely resemble what the final product will look like with the exception of the edges of the mask fabric in between the elastic bands. Make sure the elastic bands are held tightly with a slight tug on each part of the band where the elastic meets the fabric section where it was sew together.
- Fold the unsew outer edges of the mask inward and pin together flat, one enge together on each side. Sew a ¼ inch from the folded flap section and continue sewing around the entire border of the mask to complete the final step! This helps lay the mask flat when wearing. That’s it! You did it!
You will also need to download and print Palmer Proper’s DIY N95 Inspired Face Mask Pattern I created to trace on the fabric.
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