I already have one of these, but it might be a little scary for a trip to the grocery store. Maybe like this guy’s trip to the pharmacy…
Let’s join the legions of people making their own masks.
Since we are under a “stay at home” directive, let’s use materials on hand, a sacrificial t-shirt and some sewing supplies. The hardest part of the project was getting the 20 year old Fiskars sharp enough to cut t-shirt material. Hint: 5 minutes with a ceramic rod.
One of my t-shirts (plain-ole man’s large) yielded enough material for 6 masks. Each mask is double layered. One mask from the sleeves, and 5 from the body.
For “elastic,” cut off the bottom hem and the neckline collar. Both of those are stretchy enough. Cut into 7″ lengths. Don’t bother looking for elastic material in the retail outlets; there’s a global shortage. Our daughter-in-law informed me of such. She is making masks for health care workers in her part of the country.
That piece of cardboard is a 6″ by 9″ marking pattern for the body pieces.
Let’s make a 3 layer sandwich. First, the ear pieces need to be put inside. (DAHIKT) Pin them in place temporarily.
Pin the other layer. We’re going to be sewing around the outside edge. Start at one of the blue pins and sew toward the nearest corner. Continue around to the other blue pin.
Yep, that leaves an un-sewn hole we can use to turn the thing inside out.
Turn it inside out, and do some more pinning. This time, we’ll set up for a couple of pleats … and a couple of pins for that hole.
Now is when I’m glad I rebuilt a 60 year old sewing machine a while back. It’s in much better shape now for handling thread tension as we wander through various fabric thicknesses.
A finished mask. It is very obvious that I am not accomplished at sewing. But the wandering seams probably won’t be noticed as we wander out from house arrest to stroll down an isolated country road.
Update: A No Sew alternative
All you need is a common bandana and a couple of hair ties. See Constance Jones’ short video.
Much appreciate the steps, they’re helpful. That said the title of your blog is in bad taste. The virus has a name: CoVID-19. It is your blog though, and it is your choice.
Is it in bad taste to say “Lyme Disease,” which came to prominence because of an outbreak in Lyme Connecticut?
Is it in bad taste to say “Zika virus,” which developed in the Zika forest of Uganda?
Is it in bad taste to say “Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever,” which originated in the Rocky Mountains?
Is it in bad taste to say “West Nile Virus,” which came from mosquitos in the West Nile valley of Uganda (again)?
Is it in bad taste to say “German Measles,” named after the outbreak there in the 1700s and still referred to by that name?
Is it in bad taste to say “Ebola virus,” named after the Ebola region of Zaire?
Is it in bad taste to say “La Crosse Encephalitis,” discovered in La Cross Wisconsin?
In case you don’t get the pattern, we frequently refer to diseases by their place of discovery.
The Wuhan Virus was discovered in the city of Wuhan, China, and there is nothing wrong with referring to it by that name. Let’s not allow Political Correctness to obscure where this plague started.
Flawless logic, Bob, and clearly a carefully researched defense, but when virtually everyone else is calling the virus by its internationally agreed scientific name of Covid-19 it does seem odd, not to mention confusing, to refer to this disease by any other name.
Nice sewing, btw 🙂
Thanks for your post on making a face mask, Bob. My wife and I are planning on making some this weekend, fortunately for me, she’s a very good seamstress.
The trip to the pharmacy link gave me a chuckle, Thanks!
Steve
Glad you liked it Steve.
BTW, the guy who went to the pharmacy is a Spanish writer, Itxu Diaz. He has a section called “Diario Coronavírico” at his website. Very entertaining if you read Spanish. (Google translate can help, if your Spanish is like mine.)
I for one was not confused. I was pretty sure you were talking about the virus that has been in the news lately when you called it the Wuhan virus.
Thanks Dan! 🙂
Bob, its a nice mask. Something else caught my eye.
You rebuilt an old sewing machine? Im interested….
Mine is a 1927 Singer. It needs all new rubber parts and maybe more. Can you help me with where to get parts or kits for the parts that I may need???
Thank you, Gene
Hi Gene,
That machine is a very basic model from the late 1960s. It has a brand name of “Good Housekeeping,” which seems to be a generic brand of the era, not a major or lasting brand like Singer. What it needed most a couple of years ago, was a replacement tension assembly, a fairly common thing. I found the replacement part at Sewing Parts Online. They have quite a catalog of repair parts. Perhaps you can find what you need there.
Best luck with it!