4 Ways to Make a Face Mask AT HOME!
- Patrick
- Apr 7, 2020
- 6 min read
With the rise of the pandemic and quarantine affecting a majority of the nation, it's important for everyone to wear a mask for the safety of not only themselves but also others. As many are currently stuck at home and may not have access to a store, we thought we would give you 4 ways to make your mask at home. Feel free to let your creativity run free with unique designs and patterns, while staying safe and covered.
Way 1: Bandana
You will need:
A bandana or scarf
2 x elastic or rubber bands, or hair ties
A coffee filter, paper towel or kitchen roll (optional)
The easiest method for making your own face mask involves folding a bandana or a scarf. Note that you need to choose the right bandana or scarf. Hold it up to the light to see how much you can see through it. The less you can see, the better; if the material is too thin then your face mask won't be as effective. Tightly woven, 100 per cent cotton is best.
The CDC recommends folding your bandana in half, then folding it again twice – lengthways from both the top and the bottom. At this point, you can also add a square piece of coffee filter, paper towel or kitchen roll to your mask – which you can change.
Then, place your rubber bands or hair ties around your strip of material, and fold the material in towards the middle, tucking the ends into each other if possible.
Way 2: T-Shirt
You will need:
A T-shirt
Scissors
Coffee filter or paper towel (optional)
If you have a T-shirt that you don't mind cutting up, then you can easily and quickly make a face mask from it. Note that you don't want to be using really old T-shirts if they have holes in them or are worn through. Ideally, your T-shirt should be 100 per cent cotton and as opaque as possible.
To start, simply cut the bottom off your T-shirt. The height of the amount of material you need should be the length from the top of your nose to underneath your chin (around 7-8-inches of 17-20cm). It's best to get the measuring tape out if you're unsure, and cut bigger than you think you need so you can trim the excess later (if you cut too small, you'll run into problems).
You then need to cut into your T-shirt – around 6-7-inches (15-17cm) – to make the ties for your face mask, making a sort of elongated c-shape. Next, cut your ties so that you can retie them around your head. Adjust until you get a snug fit around your nose and chin. If you like, you can add a coffee filter or paper towel to your face mask, and secure it with a safety pin. See the video below for further instructions on making a face mask from a T-shirt.
Way 3: Without a Sewing Machine
You will need:
Cotton fabric (10-11-inches or 25-28cm in diameter)
2 x 6-inch (15cm) pieces of elastic or rubber bands, hair ties or strips of cloth
A plate, or something round to draw around
Needle and thread
Scissors
Pins
This method of making a face mask can be done with or without a sewing machine. It's a simple pattern, and our instructions are based on the video below, which is very easy to follow, and we recommend watching it before you start (though you'll probably want to mute the cheesy music!).
This face mask method gives you a slightly rounded mask, which may fit your face better than the rectangular pattern in the next method. It is also all made from one piece of material, which makes it nice and easy.
First, place your material face down on a flat surface (iron it first if necessary). Put a plate, which is roughly 10-12-inches or 25-28cm in diameter, on top of it, and draw around the plate. Then cut out your circle shape. Once it is cut out, fold it twice, so you get four curved triangles on top of each other, and then cut down the sides of your triangles, so you have four separate shapes (watch the video if you're unsure about this and all will become clear!).
Next, place one shape face up, and another face down on top of it, so the wrong sides of the material are on the outside. Pin together if you have pins. Do the same with the other two shapes.
Then, stitch along the curved edge of your fabric with a needle and thread, using running stitch or similar. You ideally don't want any gaps between your stitches. Once you have done this, unfold your triangles, so you get a sort of dome-like structure. Place the domes on top of each other, front sides together. Then pin in place and sew round the edges of your face mask, leaving a small gap at one end.
Next, pull your material through the gap (carefully), until you have the front sides of your material on the outside of your face mask, then stitch up the small gap.
All you need to do now is insert your ties into you face mask. To do this, fold one of the pointy edges of your mask over itself and then sew it down. You can use an iron to iron as you fold if you like to make this easier. Then do the same on the other side.
You should now have created a little pocket, or hem, to insert your ties into. You can then insert your elastic or ties, using a safety pin or needle to thread them through the hem. Tie up your elastic and you are done. You can turn the ties so that the knots are inside your face mask if you want to.
Way 4: With a Sewing Machine
You will need:
Cotton fabric (10 x 6-inches or roughly 25 x 15 cm)
2 x 6-inch (15cm) pieces of elastic or rubber bands, hair ties or strips of cloth
Sewing machine (ideally)
Needle and thread
Scissors
Pins
Jewellery wire, or thin wire (optional)
To make a face mask with a sewing machine (although note that is is possible to create this face mask design by sewing by hand), first, cut your material to around 10 x 6-inches or roughly 25 x 15 cm. If you want to make it really clear which part of your mask is the front and which is the back, use two different materials, this will help you avoid putting on the mask back to front (which is not recommended for hygiene purposes). Next, place your two pieces of fabric on top of each other. You want the pattern that you'd like to be on the 'front' of your mask face down. The piece of material facing up towards you will be the inside of your mask.
Next, fold over the long sides of the material around 1/4-inch or 0.5-1cm. Pin in place (don't worry too much if you don't have any pins, you can always use a needle or just keep checking that your fabric is held together) and hem. Hem just means folding the edges of your material over and stitching them so that your fabric will not fray and will stay together. It's best to do this using a sewing machine but you could do it by hand, just make sure that your stitches are nice and close together.
Once you have hemmed along the length of your face mask, fold over the sides of your face mask around 1/2 an inch (1.5cm), pin and hem the sides too.
Once you have created your hem, you can thread your elastic or hair ties through the hem you have created. You'll need a needle to do this, or a pin, or safety pin or basically anything that you can use to poke the elastic through your hem – a thin pencil might do the job. You could also add some thin wire into the top hem of your face mask to help you shape it around your nose, jewellery wire works well for this.
With your ties threaded through the sides of your mask, tie your elastic or hair ties in secure knots, and move the knots until they can be tucked inside the hem. You can then adjust your face mask to fit your face, and add some stitches on either end of your face mask to keep your elastic in place.
If you are a seasoned sewer, you can sew the whole thing in one go, turning it as you go, or you can create face mask with a pocket for a filter (see video below). You could even add your elastic in before you hem. The reason beginner sewers shouldn't do this is that it's very easy to catch the elastic in your hem and accidentally sew it down, and that will make it much harder to adjust later.
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