I didn’t intend on making these by any means until the day came when one of my husband’s clients refused to meet with him unless he wore a face mask. Truth be told, I think the whole face mask thing is a little over inflated BUT, if for no other reason, it makes people feel safe…
I must stress that these masks do not prevent Coronavirus. They are intended as another layer of safety so long as you practice social distancing guidelines and maintain a six foot distance between you and another individual. Learn more about the use of cloth face coverings and how to help slow the spread of Covid-19 here.
I used a mask pattern from Lingua Franca in size small, I think they run a little big. I then watched the sewing machine tutorial on how to piece it all together. In this video she shows you how to stitch by hand. Because I didn’t have elastics, I pulled out some leftover ribbons and used them as straps. You can tie them behind your head, like Glor did, or you can tie them behind your ears. I made the masks out of one of my husband’s old dress shirt. If you happen to have any leftover fabrics laying around the house you can most likely use it. And mix matching patterns, stripes with florals, etc., is also a fun idea and would look great!
I made these by hand stitching the pieces together because when I pulled out my old sewing machine, which hadn’t been used in ages, it didn’t work, (time for a new one). As it turns out, they are incredibly easy to make. I followed the ‘sewing machine’ directions but stitched it all by hand. She’s very talented and explains the craft very well, step by step and it was perfect. After stitching everything together I pulled out my iron and gave them a nice press. They look fantastic and fit perfect!
Glor and I are in the final part of crocheting a granny square baby blanket for my son’s puppy. Because dad needed these right away we pushed the blanket aside and got to work on this instead. From start to finish I’d say it took us about an hour to make one mask by hand. I don’t think that’s bad at all considering I was meticulous with the stitching. We’re gonna do a few more with other fabrics but first we’ll finish the blanket for puppy.
