I’m dusting off my blog today because I have a lot to share, and while I’ve been posting in social media (mainly Facebook and Instagram) about my mask making to help fight against COVID-19, I realized that putting all the information in one blog posts and then sharing a link to that blog post makes the most sense.

First a Disclaimer:

I realize mask wearing and mask making topics have become hot button issues. I am not making medical-grade masks, and the information below will not necessarily tell you how to make medical-grade masks. If you don’t think masks are useful or good or you don’t like them for whatever reason, keep it to yourself. If you have nothing positive to add to this conversation, then simply move along.

Why I Started Making Masks

Now that my disclaimer is made, I’ll tell you how I came to set aside my doll sewing for mask sewing, at least for now. Back in February, I became very sick. After a solid week of feeling awful, I went to a walk-in clinic and was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. When I was admitted to the back area to see the NP, I was immediately handed a mask to wear. I was coughing like crazy, so it made sense. I noticed, however, no one else back there was wearing one. Two weeks later, I had gotten a bit better but was far from 100%, even though I had taken all the medication subscribed. I went back to the clinic. This time, instead of handing me a mask, everyone there was wearing masks and gloves, a marked difference from two weeks previous. And by this time, COVID-19 was looming over the US. They tested me for the flu, it came back negative, and they sent me on my way, telling me to expect a lingering cough for at least a few more weeks and if I still didn’t get better to contact my own doctor. Gee, thanks.

So, then COVID-19 was here! However, the powers that be were telling everyone we didn’t need to wear masks, that only medical people should wear them. Between my recent experience at the clinic and reading the news about China and watching videos from people coming and going from China, all of whom were wearing masks, this made no sense to me. Clearly, everyone, most especially medical folks, but everyone should be wearing mask when they were out and about. Even if they were not medical masks, the masks would keep people from touching their face, which is one way to transmit germs.

To prepare for what was obviously going to be a rough time in the US, I stocked up on gloves, sanitized wipes, sprays, and tried to find masks, but all of these items were starting to be hard to find. Now, of course, they are even more difficult to track down. My family is staying home, but sometimes you do have to leave the house, so that’s why I started to make masks.

Information from the Web I’ve Found Helpful

Before sewing my first mask, I did lots of research and continue to look for information to perfect my mask making skills. (Feel free to add links to any good mask tutorials you have found in the comments.) However, below you’ll find information I have personally found useful for making the masks I’m currently sewing.

The first mask I made was based on a video and instructions from JoAnn’s. This is a very good and easy to follow tutorial. She does spend a crazy-long time making the paper pattern, which is weird because you can download the pdf pattern to print here.

A few things I changed includes an important detail, and that is instead of using one 12″ x 9″ piece of fabric, I use two 6″ x 9″ inch pieces of fabric that have two different patterns/colors. This is so that each side of the mask is clearly different and the wearer will remember what is the front and back, if for any reason he/she takes it off and wants to put it back on while out and about. Another thing I had issues with in this video is the preciseness of measuring the folds. I kind of just wing it 😉

Another place I found excellent information is The Fabric Patch Youtube channel, especially this video:

Her videos are kind of long but full of excellent details. At the very least, I suggest watching the first two minutes of the video linked above because she talks about the importance of using interfacing. I was not sure about why I needed to do this when I was following the pattern provided by JoAnn’s, but Cindy gives a wonderful explanation. Now, of course, again, these aren’t really medical grade, so masks without interfacing are also good to use just to stop touching your face. However, I have decided for now to include non-woven interfacing in the masks I’m making.

If you are running out of elastic, then this video from Made Everyday (one of my favorite channels for sewing ideas) has a good method for making and sewing on straps. She does not have interfacing but shows how to make a pocket in the mask so a filter of some kind can be added:

Finally, this video is one of the first I found when researching. She completes a mask in real-time, and I found her technique useful when I was trying to figure out how to get the elastic sewn on as well as how to do those fiddly folds.

Final Thoughts for Now

Maybe I’m over-thinking all of this. I tend to do that. But if I’m going to spend a chunk of time crafting something, I want to do it the best that I can. For those sewers who are extremely experienced, mask making is probably pretty simple. I would rate myself as an average or medium level sewer, and I wouldn’t say these are super challenging to make. However, they are not immediate gratification type projects. In fact, is there such as thing when it comes to sewing?

There are tons of similar videos you can find online to those I’m sharing above. These are just the ones I mashed together to come up with my own version of this type of mask. There are also different designs, not just the square type with the folds, and I am probably going to try one of the other types soon.