Comfy & Easy COVID Mask

 

I realize I’m a bit late to the game on this one… but let’s be real, we’re probably gonna need to wear these masks in public for at least the next 6-12 months, maybe even longer so you’re going to want at least one mask which fits comfortably and isn’t too hard to make so you can have a couple different prints to match your mood!

After scouring several blogs with mask how-to’s, I came up with my own take which fits really nicely over the nose, allows for good breathing room, and slips comfortably over your ears. And, I’m not an expert seamstress so my instructions will be in plain English unlike many of the incredibly cryptic sewing blogs out there! All you need is some scrap fabric, thread, a few pins and a sewing machine. No elastic or wire inserts.

If you plan to make more than one mask, I’d recommend doing your whole batch one step at a time – i.e. cutting all the fabric at once, assembling all at once, etc. It makes for a much quicker flow. Also for the ear loops, you can sew one long piece and then just cut it into several segments of the appropriate length – no need to sew a hem on either end since they’ll be sewn into the corner of the masks anyway. One at a time, this mask takes about an hour to make. I’ve been making batches of 10 in a single evening, taking breaks to eat ice cream and gasp, laugh, cry etc. at Grey’s Anatomy (started at the beginning of quarantine, currently in season 5, yikes), probably taking around 3-4 hours in total. You’ve got this!!

Required Materials & Tools

• Sewing machine (I guess you could do it by hand, but… yikes)
• Fabric – tightly woven cotton recommended by CDC (pieces with sizes listed below)
• Scissors
• Pinking shears (the zig zag ones) – you could probably get by without these
• Pins
• Thread
• Iron
• Measuring tape

How To

Measure your face, from the top of one ear over the bridge of your nose, just under your eyes, to the top of the other ear. Instructions here are for a 14″ measurement which is a pretty average-sized face. For every inch larger, add an inch to the length of your ear loops. It’s a rough science, ha! Although this is a bit risky since the loops don’t stretch, this mask is SO much more comfortable since you don’t have elastic pulling on your ears all day. It’s honestly worth getting the size wrong and giving the mask to someone with a smaller face until you get it right! But, I’ve made masks for most of my coworkers by now so the measurement method described above should work pretty well.

Cut your fabric pieces. Hot tip for straight and easy cuts – make a small cut at the measurement you want, then use your hands to rip the fabric the rest of the way. This guarantees a straight line since the rip will stay on the grain of the fabric. Especially helpful when you’re making really long strips and you are horrible with scissors like me. Anyway, for the fabric pieces you’ll need:

• One 7″ x 10″ rectangle
• One 7″ x 9″ rectangle, with one end cut by pinking shears
• One 7″ x 4″ rectangle, with one end cut by pinking shears
• Two 7″ x 1″ strips

Lay out the three rectangles like they will be in the finished version of the mask – largest one on the bottom, face side down. Middle one next, face side up, and small one on top of that, face side also up. Pinking shear edges should be closest to the middle, as shown below.

 

Keeping all three pieces together, fold the whole thing in half and cut to make the nice face shape. It does not need to be exact – just as close to what you see in the photo below will be fine. Rounded corner should be cut with pinking shears to avoid fraying. Again, not sure if this is really necessary, so if you only have normal scissors then just use those and sew over the seam twice when we get to that step.

 

Ironing time! Starting with the two smaller rectangles you were using in the previous two steps, fold the pinked straight edges over so you have a nice smooth seam. Iron those in place and sew to secure.

 

Now for the ear loops. We’re basically going to be making bias tape – if that term scares you or you’ve never heard it before, not to worry! It’s a fancy way to describe a homemade strap/ribbon/tie thing. Take your one inch strips over to your ironing board. Fold the edges in to touch each other in the middle, ironing as you go:

Now, fold the outside edges in on each other again. This should give you a nice skinny strip with no exposed edges. Iron as you go to keep everything in place.

Run your new bias tape through the sewing machine, holding it in place as you go and feeding it into the machine carefully to secure the fold. You’ll end up with these beautiful little straps – feel proud!

 

Okay, now it’s time for the final sewing of the individual pieces and assembly of the mask. Take your two pieces of fabric with the heart shape cuts, and fold them, pattern side in so that the curved edges line up. Sew along the curved edge.

 

Turn out the larger piece onto your work surface – this will be the front of your mask! Line up your ear loops, matching the ends to each corner.

 

Line up the small rectangle piece with one side of the mask, with the print sides of the fabric facing in. Pin in place, making sure the corners are holding the ends of the ear loop. Do the same with the larger rectangle, smoothing the two fabric pieces together as you work your way around the edge. They should match up pretty perfectly so that you don’t get any wrinkles when you’re sewing around the border.

 

Starting wherever you feel the most comfortable (read: doesn’t matter where), sew around the edge of the whole mask, locking in the shape that you just pinned in place. No need to leave a gap anywhere, since you’ll turn it out through the filter pocket hole.

 

Give the ear loops a tug to make sure they are securely sewn in. Do the same with all the edges and turn out to re-sew any areas as needed – sometimes I miss a small spot along the nose because of the curve. No big deal if you need a few touch-ups. Once it’s all looking good, fold three pleats into each side. You want the pleats to run right up against one another without overlapping – two pleats on top of each other would make the fabric too thick to easily sew.

 

You’ll see in the photos above that I’ve left the pins sticking kinda far out – this is so I can lazily sew around the whole mask without having to remove the pins. The trade-off of this convenience is that I live in constant fear of breaking my machine’s needle. I’ll leave the choice up to you and your personal risk tolerance. For me, convenience always wins! So yeah, sew a top stitch around the entire edge of your mask, locking the pleats in place and making the folded edges of your turned out mask lay nice and flat.

That’s it!! Your beautiful, finished mask, viola! Try it on and bask in the glory of your comfortable and fashion-forward COVID shield. Let your cat play with it to see how durable it is, ask your ears how comfortable they are, and pat yourself on the back for creating your very own home-sewn life saver!!! Now you just need to learn to smize… Tyra? Anyone?