Who would of thought the biggest sewing trend of 2020 would be face masks?
For the safety of the elderly and medically fragile in our city, my family and I have been social distancing for over three weeks now. We are finding ways to keep our lives as “normal” as possible from within these four walls and trying not to drive each other completely insane. We are ordering all our groceries for delivery and becoming best friends with the Amazon Prime driver, but due to the new CDC guideline I decided I needed a face mask just in case we had to leave the house for any reason.
So I dusted off the old sewing machine for the first time this year and made myself a mask.
And then decided to make a few dozen more!
I followed the tutorial from Dana of MadeEveryday.com and I found it to be the most useful and easy to follow tutorial out there. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I will share her instructions below. She has more videos and tutorials on sewing masks on her page so I definitely recommend checking her out!
I have never sewn in bulk like this before but once I got a system going I was rocking them out while binge watching The Office. I also didn’t worry much about making this a polished project. My lines are not straight, my seam allowances don’t match, my corners are not a perfect 90 degrees, and my thread does not always correspond with the fabric. But I think there is some beauty in having these look less streamlined and more like the homemade items that they clearly are.
Modifications I Made: I decided half way into making the masks that I didn’t like the way the elastic fit behind my head. So I decided to switch to elastic behind the ears. To do this I used 7in long elastic pieces (instead of the 12in pieces) and I attached them to the short ends (the ends that have the pleats). I know working the hospital that behind the head is preferred and more comfortable so once I ran out of elastic, I switched to using knit fabric ties as Dana mentions in her tutorial.
Can We Purchase One of Your Masks? I am not selling these masks at this time. Dealing with the shipping and e-commerce is not something I have the energy to put into right now. However, if you are local to Charleston (James Island) and are in need of a mask, please contact me at pterzo@gmail.com and I am happy to leave one out on the front porch for you to pick up.
Also, here are just a few small businesses that I know of that are making masks for sale online. Great idea from someone who wants to support a small business, does not sew, but would like a mask:
SHOPS: Daisy Faye Designs, Shop Buru, Briar Baby, Emily Daw Textiles
Who Will Be Using These: I have decided at this time I am not going to be bulk sewing masks for the hospital as I had originally intended during my 2am solo Netflix-and-sewathon. When I contacted a spokesperson for our two local hospitals, I was told they were not at this time accepting homemade masks to replace medical masks, such as the N95 masks you may have heard about, or even standard medical grade surgical masks. And while these homemade masks could be worn on top of an N95 mask, it would not replace them. I have spoken to a few nurses and therapists who are asking for donations for face masks they can wear on stop of their hospital issued mask to prolong the life of the mask. In addition to these folks, other people that I think would benefit from these masks include:
- delivery truck drivers
- mail carriers
- grocery store cashiers
- gas station attendants
- homeless shelters
- nursing home/assisted living residents
- day care workers
- Uber Eats/Post-mates/delivery drivers
- hardware store employees
- Family members at the Ronald McDonald House
- Food bank workers
- Women’s shelters
- any other “essential” worker/employee
As for today, I am going to run this batch through the wash and place in individual ziplock bags and pass them out at a local nursing home. I wish I had bottles of sanitizer to put in each bag too but alas, sold out EVERYWHERE. If you can think of someone else who would benefit and is accepting homemade face masks, let me know in the comments below, I would love to keep this list updated too as we go through the next few weeks/months.
until next time, happy sewing, stay safe, wash your hands, and stay home! xx Priscilla
