Guys, you've inspired me. I took inventory on my fabric and last night posted on FB that I was going to make masks today and opened myself to taking orders from my friends
I now have 30+ orders. One friend is working at the polls on Tuesday for our primary, another is a nurse at a local prison, another is a hospice nurse.
My 11 year old is helping. Let's do this!!
I’m surprised the polls are still open. Which state?
I thought this was an easy hand sewn tutorial. I was having too many issues with my sewing machine. I left one side of inside fabric not sewn down so I can add a layer of paper towel.
This no-sew method was really easy and fits pretty nicely. myhaymac.com/2020/04/01/easy-and-fast-no-sew-face-mask/ My old tshirts that I found to use aren’t very thick, but I think with the folded layers it’s a decent attempt.
I just made these for the kids out of old kid legging - so they start out double layer. You just find the point on the leg with the right width for their little faces and cut. cut strips off the bottom for straps, thread and tie. Voila. Easy and comfortable.
It took me about 3 hours but I successfully made ONE mask. LOL! I was having issues getting the pattern traced out, and finally I ended up getting one traced, and using it as a blank to cut out more.
I also had to remake the bias strip for the nose wire because the sheet I started off with wasn't stretchy (but I finally figured out how to properly cut on the diagonal a different fabric so it would stretch properly).
My stitching is not great (or respectful of the seam allowances in the slightest), so even though I started with the men's size it just barely feels like it fits me (and my glasses still fog! gah!), so I'm hoping when I try again I'll do better with that. I also decided to not cut up my elastic yet, and just used the ties from the pair of lounge pants I destroyed, so I'll probably get a better fit once I switch to the elastic.
I tried the bandana/elastic hair tie model yesterday at home and it seemed to work. I didn't feed one end of the bandana into the other. I just folded it inside so there was about a triple layer over my nose and mouth. Much more comfortable than the old, musty N95 we found in the garage that I used for my grocery shopping trip on Saturday morning.
I have 0 sewing skills and no fabric laying around, so I was relieved the bandana method worked for me.
Nonny did you add extra for the seam allowance? I made the mistake of not doing that today when I made my first one.
I used the pattern from Craft Passion that had the seam allowances built it, but I sew so rarely that when doing the curved part of the mask I didn't do a clean job of staying where I needed to be.
See if there is a local sewing Facebook group making masks in your area. My local one makes hundreds a say.
(Sorry. Blah. thanks for fixing the quote)
I’m in central Arkansas. I saw a few people post on swap shops and the posts blew up so much I guess they took them down because I have scoured Facebook and can’t find them.
I messaged a local sewing shop and will call tomorrow if they don’t respond.
I’ve asked on Facebook so maybe I’ll get some hits. Thank you guys.
I made 6 of the craft passion ones with pocket and wire. It took me like 7 hours yesterday and 2 more hours today. I kept having issues with my machine, and I’m pretty slow on it. That and there is just SO MUCH stitching on those. The top stitching is necessary to get it to lay flat, but it’s a lot. My stitches are a little wonky, but they fit, so that’ll do!
Is anyone here selling them? I can't find any in my area and while I am pretty much only going to work I'm nervous about spreading COVID on the rare times I am out since I'm an RN in a hospital. Thanks
Is anyone here selling them? I can't find any in my area and while I am pretty much only going to work I'm nervous about spreading COVID on the rare times I am out since I'm an RN in a hospital. Thanks
I'm happy to send you some that I made. I'm not the best sewer but they're double layer of cotton quilting material and have a pocket to insert a filter. I promise I'm not a creeper and have met lots of CEPers in person.
I made 6 of the craft passion ones with pocket and wire. It took me like 7 hours yesterday and 2 more hours today. I kept having issues with my machine, and I’m pretty slow on it. That and there is just SO MUCH stitching on those. The top stitching is necessary to get it to lay flat, but it’s a lot. My stitches are a little wonky, but they fit, so that’ll do!
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
I made 6 of the craft passion ones with pocket and wire. It took me like 7 hours yesterday and 2 more hours today. I kept having issues with my machine, and I’m pretty slow on it. That and there is just SO MUCH stitching on those. The top stitching is necessary to get it to lay flat, but it’s a lot. My stitches are a little wonky, but they fit, so that’ll do!
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
If you're open to trying a pleated mask I really like the one that Pixy linked, the pattern was very easy to follow & the t-shirt ties worked really well. I will tag you in my post above with the link.
I made 6 of the craft passion ones with pocket and wire. It took me like 7 hours yesterday and 2 more hours today. I kept having issues with my machine, and I’m pretty slow on it. That and there is just SO MUCH stitching on those. The top stitching is necessary to get it to lay flat, but it’s a lot. My stitches are a little wonky, but they fit, so that’ll do!
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
I had to enlarge the pattern to fit DH and I. The men's size _almost_ fit me, but was too small for DH. So I basically extended the point of the men's pattern about 3/4 inch. And then the sides of that pattern gapped for us, so I also sew a small pleat on each side when I do the final top stitching.
But... OMG, top stitching! These things take way longer than I was expecting. And, DH's background means he isn't comfortable wearing a cloth mask for more than an hour or two before switching to a new one (their efficacy greatly reduces once they are moist from humidity in your exhalations... so just in case he has to start wearing them at work, I need to make a bunch of them for him....)
Post by SusanBAnthony on Apr 7, 2020 9:41:47 GMT -5
I made a new better pattern (IMO). I don't like how the fitted and pleated ones press against your mouth. So I made a 3D one that is the shape of an N95, with electrical wire in the nose. It "seals" snugly. Also I hate elastic over the ears, so I made a combo of tie straps and elastic around the whole head. I discovered elastic shoeslaces in my craft bin that work perfectly and are adjustable.
We are required to wear them at work starting today and people without wire at the nose are having major issues with safety glasses fogging up.
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
I had to enlarge the pattern to fit DH and I. The men's size _almost_ fit me, but was too small for DH. So I basically extended the point of the men's pattern about 3/4 inch. And then the sides of that pattern gapped for us, so I also sew a small pleat on each side when I do the final top stitching.
But... OMG, top stitching! These things take way longer than I was expecting. And, DH's background means he isn't comfortable wearing a cloth mask for more than an hour or two before switching to a new one (their efficacy greatly reduces once they are moist from humidity in your exhalations... so just in case he has to start wearing them at work, I need to make a bunch of them for him....)
THANK YOU. I thought I was going crazy. The women pattern fit my daughter. I think I may switch to the pleated pattern. I feel terrible because I cut so much fabric for these already. What a waste. THANKFULLY I ordered more fabric from Joann Fabrics this week.
I made a new better pattern (IMO). I don't like how the fitted and pleated ones press against your mouth. So I made a 3D one that is the shape of an N95, with electrical wire in the nose. It "seals" snugly. Also I hate elastic over the ears, so I made a combo of tie straps and elastic around the whole head. I discovered elastic shoeslaces in my craft bin that work perfectly and are adjustable.
We are required to wear them at work starting today and people without wire at the nose are having major issues with safety glasses fogging up.
Care to share? Even if ita just a picture of the pattern against a 1x1" grid I can recreate it.
I made 6 of the craft passion ones with pocket and wire. It took me like 7 hours yesterday and 2 more hours today. I kept having issues with my machine, and I’m pretty slow on it. That and there is just SO MUCH stitching on those. The top stitching is necessary to get it to lay flat, but it’s a lot. My stitches are a little wonky, but they fit, so that’ll do!
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
I was a little worried they wouldn't, but they did. I made sure to cut out the full seam allowance version and was really careful to follow that as much as possible with her instructions (another reason I was so slow with it...as I wanted to be sure I wasn't sewing any more that 3/8" and trying to be super careful to not overdo the topstitching so it is really close to the edge without going off (mostly).
I don't like the pleated ones, so I was thinking of trying to find a simpler fitted one, and a local rep shared this one she made. It seems like fewer steps and better fitting, but I haven't tried it yet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Z6W88OCaE&feature=youtu.be
Are you finding that they fit? Mine look so small, I worry they won't fit for my friends. I sent one off to my friend who is working at the polls in Wisconsin.
I was a little worried they wouldn't, but they did. I made sure to cut out the full seam allowance version and was really careful to follow that as much as possible with her instructions (another reason I was so slow with it...as I wanted to be sure I wasn't sewing any more that 3/8" and trying to be super careful to not overdo the topstitching so it is really close to the edge without going off (mostly).
I don't like the pleated ones, so I was thinking of trying to find a simpler fitted one, and a local rep shared this one she made. It seems like fewer steps and better fitting, but I haven't tried it yet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Z6W88OCaE&feature=youtu.be
My challenge was the last part where you sewed the ends for the straps to fit in. Mine always were too small to fit anything through it. I ended up extending that part as long as I could in hopes that I would have more room, but it's still a challenge.
thanks for sharing input. I have one mask out to a friend who is working at the polls and I told her to send me feedback. I'm waiting to hear back but she's a bit busy today.
I was a little worried they wouldn't, but they did. I made sure to cut out the full seam allowance version and was really careful to follow that as much as possible with her instructions (another reason I was so slow with it...as I wanted to be sure I wasn't sewing any more that 3/8" and trying to be super careful to not overdo the topstitching so it is really close to the edge without going off (mostly).
I don't like the pleated ones, so I was thinking of trying to find a simpler fitted one, and a local rep shared this one she made. It seems like fewer steps and better fitting, but I haven't tried it yet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Z6W88OCaE&feature=youtu.be
My challenge was the last part where you sewed the ends for the straps to fit in. Mine always were too small to fit anything through it. I ended up extending that part as long as I could in hopes that I would have more room, but it's still a challenge.
thanks for sharing input. I have one mask out to a friend who is working at the polls and I told her to send me feedback. I'm waiting to hear back but she's a bit busy today.
Oh yeah, I was worried about that. To be sure I had room, I made the first fold smaller than 1/2 way, so the 2nd fold (which gets sewn down and ultimately makes the string tube) could be a little wider just in case.
I was also worried the nose metal tube part wouldn't be wide enough, so I put my pipe cleaners in before I did the top stitching on that part. I ended up not needing to, but I think having them in there made me more conscious of my spacing for the topstitch anyway, so I wouldn't go to far into the mask.
I made a new better pattern (IMO). I don't like how the fitted and pleated ones press against your mouth. So I made a 3D one that is the shape of an N95, with electrical wire in the nose. It "seals" snugly. Also I hate elastic over the ears, so I made a combo of tie straps and elastic around the whole head. I discovered elastic shoeslaces in my craft bin that work perfectly and are adjustable.
We are required to wear them at work starting today and people without wire at the nose are having major issues with safety glasses fogging up.
Care to share? Even if ita just a picture of the pattern against a 1x1" grid I can recreate it.
I will try- I suck at figuring out how to attach stuff. The pic is the back. The front looks the same basically. The top has 5" of wire.