I spent last weekend making a slew of masks for my immediate family and household members. I won’t be sharing those in a video, but since I know some of you may also be still making masks for family, I thought I’d share photos, some changes I made, and links here.
I’ve been using two different patterns.
The primary one I’ve used is the A-B Mask over on Instructables. I’ve made a number of significant alternations to the A-B pattern construction to make it work better for me and my family:
- I used the drafted pattern from the comment section on Instructables, not the hand-drawn version. The original is absolutely fine, I just wanted to conserve ink. I also…
- Cut the seam allowance down to 1/4″. Otherwise, the pattern piece is unchanged;
- Used non-woven interfacing in addition to fabric;
- Used two different fabrics to differential inside from outside;
- Made the darts on the lining and outside first;
- Sewed from to back (no binding) with t-shirt yarn inside each of the four corners (approx 15″ long) and turned. Top Stitched;
- Made pleats without ironing, because honestly, they are going to come out anyway!
- & Added a t-shirt hem casing and wire bridge to the nose. Pictured on the version below.
The second pattern I’ve used is this one from Homemade on our Homestead, shared with me by Jewells. This one fits my hubs much better than me. I have a very square jawline and it wasn’t at all snug around my chin, but worked great on him.
The only changes I made to this pattern was to add non-woven interfacing, t-shirt yarn ties, and the nose bridge (above).
This one is great for fussy cutting, too.
In an effort to keep our masks easy to grab, clean, and separated, I made some super simple bags to hang on our coatrack by the front door. These are made from a piece of 13″ x 18″ fabric. Hemmed along the 18″ width for the top, folded in half and stitched with a French Seam. I used a strip of 1 1/2″ leftover fabric to make a loop that is stitched on either side of the seam. Think tiny pillowcase!
Unless I just really have to, I don’t plan to make more masks. I’ve made a number before this, but I find this to be an emotional and complicated thing to discuss, so I haven’t shared here previously.
There are many, many great tutorials out there for making your own masks in addition to the ones I shared here, including lots of no-sew options. Use what works best for you and your loved ones. If you can, make some for donation in your area.
When working on these masks, it really helped me to think of their potential usefulness after this is over…for DIY, for yard work, allergy season, etc. I hope that helps, you, too.
In the meantime, I’ll be going back to work on charity quilts for The Linus Connection. The need to provide comfort to children in crisis in Central Texas is growing, and I want to do all I can to help.
I would encourage all mask makers out there to keep your local charities in mind when all this is over. There are so many great causes that can use your talented hands to make quilts, clothes, port pillows, nursing cushions, and so much more! ♥
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