DIY Fabric Face Mask Tutorial

In light of world events and in keeping with personal health and safety, please wear a mask…better yet stay home!

I hope you all keep safe and healthy by wearing a mask when in public along with all the other necessary steps to ‘flatten the curve’ . While it is not medical grade and not intended to be so, it will help! As a maker, my immediate response was to make them for myself and friends. If you can not get hold of a commercial one, making your own fabric mask is easy, as an added bonus you can decorate it however you want! There are many tutorials online, mine has been adapted from the Craft Passions website. You will need to download the pattern from their website ( you can also follow their instructions if you so wish, download option 1 or 2).

https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/#face-mask-pattern

If you would like to read up on why it is important to wear a mask , this article from The Washington Post makes it a little clearer.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/28/masks-all-coronavirus/

Another very interesting article about infectious diseases and our eco system from the New York Times is well worth reading.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/sunday-review/the-ecology-of-disease.html

OK, on with the making…

Read all instructions before starting your project.

This project can be hand sewn if you do not have a sewing machine.

NOTE: Be sure to disinfect/wash mask often!

Materials

1.     Main fabric (natural fibre) – 12” x 6”

2.     Wadding fabric (natural fibre, as used in quilting) – 10’ x 6”

3.    Lining fabric (natural fibre) – 10” x 6”

4.     Round cord elastic – approx. 16”

5.     Face mask sewing pattern

Tools

1.     Sewing machine/hand sewing needles

2.     Sewing thread

3.     Iron

4.     Spray adhesive/pins

Making

1.     Download mask pattern and print out (use the 2” scale marking to check if you are printing it in the right size).

2.     Cut out desired pattern size.

3.     Iron all fabrics.

4.     Spray adhesive/pin wadding to lining fabric.

5.     Fold main fabric in half with wrong sides together, pin paper pattern to main fabric, allow space around pattern for seam allowances.

6. Cut the fabric with ¼”seam allowances – except the ear side seam, cut fabric with 1” allowance.

7.     Repeat the same as the main fabric for the lining/wadding fabric, except zero seam allowance for the ear side.

Sewing

1. With right sides facing each other, stitch ¼” along the curved centerline of the face mask of the main pieces. Clip along the seam, to allow for easing of the curve.

2.     Press seam allowance to 1 side and top stitch close to the seam on side of pressed allowance.

3.     Repeat same for the lining pieces.

4. Place main and lining pieces together, right sides facing, align the centre seam line, pin and sew top and bottom seams.

Optional: Trim the wadding allowance down to the stitch line, this will reduce bulk along the seams.

5. Turn the face mask right side out, press seams and topstitch near edges, the main fabric of the side ear area is longer than the lining piece. This is for the pocket of the elastic band.

1.     Fold and press ¼” at raw edge of the side ear, fold again so that the first fold edge sits over the lining raw edge and press down.

2.     Stitch a straight line, make sure to do lock stitches at both ends.