One of my lovely readers, and a very special lady she is, asked me about making masks this morning. I’ve made a fair few now and I have a bit of knowledge about making and wearing them. I thought I’d share part of the email I sent back to her here on my blog too. It’s knowledge and I love to share knowledge. I will say, I’m no expert, and others might have different opinions but this is what I’ve learned after a brutal summer making and wearing face-masks.
This is probably the easiest (once you’ve measured) and lightest mask I’ve made. I can actually breathe in it, despite the heat. I still sweat like I’m a waterfall, but it’s easy to breathe in. Click this for link.
This is another one I use for pleated masks. Click this for link.
I like the pleated masks most and have found that an 8 by 8 inch square will fit most people, but may be a little big on those with smaller faces. I like to have most of my lower face covered so it’s the size I prefer the most. Adjust the size of the elastic to make it fit better.
A few things I’ve learned about cloth and patterns:
- You can trace the patterns off of your screen, most of the time. There will be a box in most PDF patterns that says to adjust the size of the PDF file to match your screen to make sure it’s 1 inch square or something along those lines. I’ve made several patterns that way. Our printer is out of ink and the new cartridges have skyrocketed in cost so nope on new ink. To clarify, when you open a PDF file you can make it bigger or smaller to make it easier to read. There’s usually a magnifying glass with a plus or minus sign on it. You click those until that square matches the measurements you need.
- We don’t have guidelines for what masks can be made from. I have some that are definitely better for winter and some that are more appropriate for summer. Simon’s favorite is this cloth I found online.
“Unique hand block pattern from Jaipur. A pinky red. 100% summer weight cotton. 110cm wide.
Traditional hand block and dye techniques are used to make this wonderful rural cloth. Part of the Rajasthan Express collection, developed and exclusive to Merchant & Mills. This fabric is hand dyed. For the first wash, place the fabric in the washing machine drum at 30 or 40 degrees with a handful of table salt. This will fix the dye to prevent it running.” - I am mainly using muslin for the back, although it is diaper muslin, and is better than most other muslin I’ve seen.
- Some patterns instruct you to use one single piece of fabric for the front and back. I use two different pieces because I just prefer to use a piece of muslin as the backing.
- Avoid cheap elastic if you can. Some of it will melt when you place an iron anywhere near it. I’ve bought some from local shops that have ruined entire masks because the black elastic melted without me realizing it until I pulled the iron away from the mask.
- I’m not sure silk would be good to use without putting cotton as a backing and maybe even a third piece in the middle. I think it would also be hard to breathe in, especially during warm weather. I’m sure they’d be pretty but I’m not sure it’s ideal for masks.
Something I hadn’t thought about, but did once I made my first mask, was that some patterns will be better for warm weather while some will be better for cold weather. The ones that you make from more than one pattern piece will be great in the winter. Summer? Not so much. It’s like wearing a quilt on your face.
Some of the heavier cotton fabric is also hard to wear during hot weather. Face masks are meant to prevent the spread of Covid 19 and should be made with that in mind, but if you’re passing out from being overheated, you’re not doing anybody any good.
Whatever you choose to use, and however you choose to make your face-masks is ultimately up to you. There are hundreds of tutorials online, I prefer to use YouTube, but there may be other platforms. I’ve linked to the ones I’ve used and can say I have experience with. I’m not promoting them for any other reason than that.
Please comment if you have questions or need further clarification. When I can get time I’ll answer them. I hope this helps somehow and