Facial Masks

 

The other day I rummaged through my old craft things and came across fabrics I had bought to make things for Piri. It was a time when I had just gotten a sewing machine as a birthday present and I wanted to make blankets, bunting flags and even delve at making a quilt and my own clothes. Well.. that never happened. But the fabrics remained.

Yangkyu and I weren’t able to purchase any masks because by the time we were encouraged to do so by friends they were sold out everywhere. A good friend of mine sent me and Yangkyu two masks each but I thought it would be good to have a couple more fabric masks on hand. I didn’t have any rubber bands or elastic but did have some stretchy bead/jewelry cord that ended up being good replacements for ear loops (it just takes a couple of tries to tie it right to get the perfect fit). EDIT: The stretchy cord actually hurts the ears and so I ended up ordering elastic online.

As soon as I started to sew I remembered why I never made a quilt and my own clothes. Because I tend to fight with the sewing machine for about 30 minutes before finding my groove. And why is it that such a simple thing as winding a bobbin such a headache for me?

In any case, I legit messed up a few times before the masks started to turn out right.

I randomly found a tutorial online. She provides two different styles. I made Style #1 which allows for a inner pocket to insert something for extra protection.

Someone on Instagram also shared a great pattern which can be found here.

For non-sewers, there is also this no-sew pattern that also includes an inner insert section. All you need is a bandana or fabric and rubber bands.

Also, Found My Animal is also selling community masks and you can read all about the story that sparked The Lorraine Community Mask Project.

And finally, there are many networks within neighborhoods of people getting together to make masks for healthcare workers. Please consider getting plugged in and helping out.