Why wear an ugly MASK, when you can make your own! It seems, with the recent health crisis, we now have one more article to attend to before we walk out the door of our home: A Mask!
America has the cleanest shopping carts in the world, now that we all wipe them down each and every time we use them, so why not do the same when you take your seat in an airplane? And while you’re at it… Put A Mask On! Good Grief travel has totally become a hassle.
I am leaving for a fabulous trip with my adult son. We will fly across the U.S. from the east coast to the west coast, hang out with another son for a few days, and then rent a car to drive up the Pacific coastline. The last thing I want is to pick up a care-less travelers germs and have some bug knock the wind out of our sails. So, I attempted to buy a few face masks online. Not ugly hospital/medical masks, but something a bit more attractive. Something, maybe, cute! But, none could be found. (shock) Not even on Amazon, not anywhere. They all said, “Sold through third party seller”, with no promise of a date of arrival. With nothing being made in China right now, therefore nothing being shipped, I knew I had only one choice: MAKE IT MYSELF! Boy, was I glad I did!!
If you can sew, these come together in less than 30-minutes, and cost me about $1.25 for one, as apposed to the expensive masks I was seeing online, with no date of delivery. I have not tried a hot glue-gun but I think it would work as well.
What you will need and the measurements to make your own pattern:
- Fabric – preferably 100% Cotton – 16 inches high x 8 inches wide. Or if you choose to use a vibrant fabric that may have dark dye, as I did here, you may want to use a white gauze cotton fabric to line the mask (which I did here), in which case, cut two 8 x 8 square pieces of fabric.
- Elastic Bead String for the strap – found at a craft store. Cut 2 strings, 8 inches long for a woman and 10 inches for a man.
- Pipe Cleaner – also at craft store. Cut 4 inches. This will act as the bending part across your nose.
What you will do for a mask with a lining
- You will put right sides together and sew across the top edge.
- Strategically place the elastic string/straps on the edges/sides (1/2 inch down from the top and 1/2 inch up from the bottom), on the right side of the fabric. Stitch them in place
- Now sew up the sides, front to back (right sides together) as you did across the top
- Turn the sewn fabric right side out, and press the edges. Your straps should now be sewn into place and showing on the outside.
- Before finishing the bottom raw edge, you will slide the pipe cleaner all the way up (inside), to the top, and stitch around it to encase it into place.
- Now you can turn the bottom raw edges inward (I fold them inward 1/4 inch and press them), and sew them together to give a finished edge.
- On your ironing board, you will fold 3 or 4 pleats (shown in the video), both thicknesses of fabric together, and press them into to place, until your sides become 4 inches high. Sew the pleats into place.
YOU DID IT!
What you will do for a mask using same fabric on both sides
- Remember this piece was cut 16 inches high and 8 inches wide.
- Simply fold it in half (right sides together), making it 8 x 8 inches and follow the above directions for mask with liner, omitting the first step!
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.