Why I figured out how to make a face mask.
To see a video of how to make this face mask, click here. I have been wearing face masks for two years when I am in public in order to protect myself from cold and flu germs. Now with the Covid 19 corona virus crisis, there are no masks to be found. Although the CDC is telling us that we don’t need to wear a mask if we are not ill, my oncologist has asked me to wear a mask. When worn with gloves, at the very least, it keeps me from touching my face. I am receiving requests for me to make masks for others, and for pictures of how I made them. Because I struggle with fatigue, I am unable to make masks for many people. I did however, make this tutorial video.
My face mask is NOT an N95 mask.
Keep in mind, my mask is NOT an N95 mask, and I don’t recommend making masks for front line emergency room doctors and nurses unless a hospital or medical clinic asks for them. Our front line healthcare workers need N95 masks. If you hoarded them and have a lot of them, please donate your N95 masks to a hospital. This sewn mask can be used by patients, or visitors, or anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask when they have to go to the grocery store during this corona virus quarantine.
Other face mask patterns and research on different materials and filters.
If you search the internet, you will find lots of patterns and tutorials on how to make a face mask. I made the mask I am wearing in the first picture of this post. It is a pattern I made up after examining a disposable surgical mask, looking at other patterns, and reading about different materials, filters, and recommendations. You can learn more about research that has been done on different homemade mask materials and how they compare to N95 masks here, here, and here. Another good tutorial can be found at turbanproject.com. the pattern with instructions can be found here. The tutorial is here.
A picture tutorial on how to make my face mask
Materials needed
- A 10″ x 10.5″ cotton woven material for the outside of the mask
- A 6.5″ x 7″ filter (I cut this out of a hepa filter vacuum bag. You could also use two layers of cotton t-shirt material)
- A 5″ pipe cleaner
- Two 14.5″ thin elastic cording or 1/4 inch sewing elastic
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Fabric scissors
Cut the outside fabric
I don’t have a picture of cutting the outside fabric. Just make sure it is 100% cotton woven fabric. Quilting fabric is an excellent choice. If the fabric store in your community is not closed for the quarantine, check out fabric in the quilting isle. You can also order fabric online. I purchased my fabric at joanne.com. You could also cut up an old men’s dress shirt.
Cut the filter
For the filter I used hepa filter vacuum bags. I bought this 6 pack from Amazon. Before cutting, I carefully tore off the cardboard attachment where the bag attaches to the vacuum. Then I cut the filter pieces. I got 6 filters from each bag. Note: I intended for my face masks to be disposable, single use masks. Therefore, I made a lot of masks. I do not know if the hepa filter would endure washing the mask in a washing machine.
If you want to make fewer masks and have reusable masks that you can wash between uses, I recommend using two layers of cotton t-shirt material for the filter. You can purchase 100% cotton knit fabric, or cut up some old t-shirts. Important: I do not know if washing the mask completely sanitizes it. I assume that if the mask is washed in hot water, and completely dried in a hot dryer, it will kill any virus, but I don’t know for sure and have not looked at any research on this.
While I cannot guarantee that a washed mask is free of all the germs, I cannot say that a single use mask puts you at greater risk than a single use disposable one. With either type of mask, make sure you wash your hands before and after putting it on and off, and handling it for washing or throwing away.
Press the top and bottom hem and the side casings
Pressing the upper and lower hems and the side casings, allows for easy handling at the sewing machine, and you will not have to mess with pins. To measure where to press the hems, lay the outside fabric wrong side up on the ironing board. place the filter in the center of the fabric. With your fingers fold the fabric over the edges of the filter in order to eyeball how far to fold the edges down. Then before pressing, move the filter to the side of the fabric so that the iron does not melt it.
Fold the top and bottom hem first and press with the iron. Then open the folds and fold the edge of the fabric to the first pressed fold line and press. This will create a double fold hem. Now with the top and bottom hems folded over, fold and press the side edges in the same way.
Tuck the liner under the top and bottom pressed hems.
Lift up the top and bottom hems and tuck the filter under the hems so that the filter is centered. If you have to trim some of the filter to fit flat, do that.
Sew the top and bottom hems
Sew the top and bottom hems down stitching along the inner folded edge of each double folded hem. Important: When you sew the top and bottom hem, keep the side hems open so that it is only folded one time. If this is confusing, watch this tutorial video of me sewing the mask.
Press pleats in the mask
Press three pleats in the mask, one at a time, starting from the top to the bottom of the mask. I used a disposable surgical mask and placed it beside my fabric mask in order to eyeball how big to make the pleats. After you press each pleat, turn the mask over to be sure the filter is being pressed into each pleat.
Sew the side casings
To sew the side casings, fold the side over and sew. It is important to sew down with the pleats and not against the pleats. You will be sewing through many layers and this is sometimes tricky. I recommend using a large sewing machine needle. I used a size 16 sewing needle. Smaller needles may break.
Attach the elastic ear loops
Use a safety pin to thread the elastic cording through the side casing. After threading it through, tie a square knot using a ready made mask to determine the size of the ear loop, and then trim the excess cording Pull the knot around so that it is hidden in the casing. With the safety pin, this was harder than I thought. The pleats often got in the way of the safety pin.
After struggling, I found that it was much easier using a large plastic needle with a big eye. A yarn or weaving needle would work well. Thread elastic cording using the needle the same way as the pleats. With the large needle it is no trouble at all. Tie a square knot so that the ear loop is the right size. There! You are done!
How to put on and take off the mask
To put on the mask, hold on to the ear loops and place them over the ears. Pull the mask up over the nose with the top hem that has the pipe cleaner in it. Press the top hem over the nose to create a good fit. While holding the top of the mask up, pull the bottom of the mask over your chin by opening the pleats. To take off the mask, first wash your hands.
Then, do not touch the front of the mask, or any of the fabric part of the mask. Instead, grab the elastic behind one ear and pull the mask off of your face. While only holding the ear loop, throw the mask in the garbage. Or. if you are washing a reusable mask, put the mask in a special hamper so that you can wash the hamper of masks on wash day. Wash your hands carefully and thoroughly again after removing the mask. On wash day, be sure not to handle the masks when you dump them in the washing machine.
Thank you!
Thank you for reading to the end of this post and watching the video. If you make masks for yourself, comment with pictures! I would love to see what you create. Even if you use a different pattern, I would love to see your mask.
If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear
Stay safe and at home away from other people if you can to avoid this nasty corona virus. Don’t panic, just prepare and do what you can. In my church we have a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that says, “. . . If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” D&C 38:30.
I am doing just that. At the same time, I realize I may catch Covid 19 no matter how much I try not too. In that case, I am a high risk patient and may die. I am at peace with that. I have lived a wonderful life, and have been living with stage 4 kidney cancer longer than first predicted by the first oncologist I saw after my diagnosis in December of 2017. Each day past December 2019 is a bonus day and a precious gift! If I die from Covid 19 then people can say, “Cancer did not kill her!” Today I am making masks, and I am not dying today!
Chari Terry says
Great project! Yours turned out so well!! Thank you for posting such a thorough tutorial with video and pictures. Perfect!!
Julie Shill says
Thank you Chari! I’m still tweaking the ear loop. I may try using bias tape to make the casing. I think it also may make it easier to use a longer big plastic blunt yarn needle or weaving needle with a large eye to help thread the elastic through the side casing instead of the safety pin. May make it easier to avoid getting stuck in a pleat. Thanks for reading my post.