DIY Face Mask

It feels patriotic, it feels important, it feels necessary. While we aren't set up to jump into production on masks at the moment, we're so happy to offer you this custom-designed DIY pattern from Line & Tow designer Grace Brian (with input from her EMT husband)!  With plenty of alternatives/suggestions for whatever materials you have on hand or whatever your home-sewing set-up (no machine? no problem), Grace guides you through the process of creating this mask that closely resembles the structure and fit of the N95.

We feel so grateful for the opportunity to learn something, use what we have, and create a tool to help keep our communities safe. Let us know how it goes and if you're able to make a few to share or donate - we'd love to hear about it. From all of us at Lady Farmer, we hope you enjoy!

Find a video tutorial of the sewing process here.

Download the Pattern Here.

Materials

You will need a few things to construct a basic mask: a fabric for the outside, a fabric for the lining, and something to keep it on your head! I used muslin scraps for the lining, some scrap linen fabric for the front and some ribbon for the tie - but if you don’t have any of that on hand, you can get creative! Below is a list of ideas for substitutions that you might have around your house:

Fabric 

There really is no practical difference between the lining fabric and the outer fabric except that the lining fabric won't be seen - if you have a choice, lining fabric is usually a little thinner. Please note that we are advising based on ease of use for the sewing pattern, and are not qualified to determine which fabrics are safer for use than others.

• Cloth Napkin
• Dishtowel
• Tablecloth
• Cloth Shower Curtain (maybe yours is too long anyway!)
• Bedsheet or Pillow Case
• Buttondown Shirt - Flannel is fine, too! 
• Reusable Cotton Shopping Bag

What you DON’T want to use:

• Placemats: too thick
• Sweaters: too thick, too stretchy, and too much space in the fabric for things to pass through
• T-Shirts: potentially too stretchy, and too much space in the fabric for things to pass through
• Bath Towels: too thick
• Upholstery fabric: too thick

Ties

We used one 36” piece of ribbon. If you need to work with something shorter, you could also do four 16” ties - two on top, and two on bottom.

• Sewing/Craft Elastic
• Crafting Ribbon
• Gift Wrapping Ribbon
• Braided knitting/crochet yarn (braided for strength)
• Shoelace
• Elastic Headband
• Lanyard
• Paracord
• Underwear waistband
• Kitchen Twine (you may want to braid it to be thicker)
• Fabric (see fabric tie tutorial below!)

*We have probably all heard that reusable shopping bags are good. You could try them, however, note that a canvas bag might be too thick - especially if you’re hand sewing. The cheap non-woven bags vary in weight and could be used - but be very careful if you use an iron on them. Start on the lowest setting and test on a small piece with the tip of the iron. All in all, a reusable shopping bag wouldn’t be my first pick - but if it’s all you have, give it a try! 

Required Tools:

• Fabric
• Tie
• Scissors
• Printed pattern (Download Here)
  
• Sewing Machine (or a needle and thread)

Optional Tools:

• Iron
• Straight Pins
• Safety Pin
• Tailors chalk/pencil for marking fabric

Now let’s make a mask!

1. Collect your materials listed above, and print out this pattern template. Cut the two patterns out along the solid line. 
2. If you are using an iron, iron your fabric on the appropriate setting. If you are using fabric from a non-woven reusable grocery bag be extremely careful not to melt the fabric!
3. Fold your interior and exterior fabrics in half, and lay your paper patterns out on top in whichever orientation conserves the most fabric. Trace around the pattern and cut out through both layers, so that you have two of each piece. You can pin the folded fabric together prior to cutting to help keep everything in place. 

4. Lay both cut pieces on top of each other so you have two sets of two - one lining set and one front fabric set. Make sure to sandwich the “fronts” of the fabric (if you are using a pattern or one-sided fabric) are on the inside, stacked against each other. Make sure both pieces are lined up as much as possible, and pin them together if you haven’t already. If you don’t have pins - no worries! Just get them lined up as best you can.

5. Now it’s time to sew! Sew along the curved line on both sets, with a ¼” seam allowance. 

6. If using an iron, iron both pieces flat. Take the front piece and turn it right side out. If ironing, press along the seam of the front piece, with the seam allowance on the inside. Try to pop the stitching out as much as possible so you get a nice curved line. See image below for reference - the pink is our “front”!

7. Orient your lining and front pieces so they are facing the same direction (tops both pointing up), using the pattern, if you would like, for reference.  Now, we will nestle the front inside the lining. Keep the lining piece as-is (inside out) and place the front piece inside the lining, making sure that the tops are touching. The front piece should be longer than the lining at the bottom. If you want to use pins, pin these two layers together along the top line making sure that they are lined up at the center.

8. Now stitch the two pieces together along the top edge. Starting at one side, with the lining fabric on top, stitch all the way along the top of the mask with a ¼” seam allowance

9. In the corner of the mask where the tab sticks out from the front, make a small cut in the seam allowance - getting close to, but not cutting through the stitching. This will help when we turn it right side out. Trim your threads.

10. OPTIONAL - open the mask up so that the right sides are visible, and iron the lining down away from the front fabric. Iron the seam allowance down toward the lining. Then, with both sides pressed away from each other, stitch along the lining fabric (on top of the seam allowance) 1/16” away from where the two fabrics meet. This step does not affect the function of the mask, but makes for a more crisp appearance. 

11. With the mask inside out, line up the bottom of both sides of the mask, starting with the center seam and working your way out. If you want to pin the sides together now is the time!

12. With the front fabric facing up, stitch along the bottom edge of the mask with a ¼” seam allowance.

13. In the bottom two corners of the mask where the tab sticks out from the front, make a small cut in the seam allowance - getting close to, but not cutting through the stitching. This will help when we turn it right side out.

14. This next step may be difficult! We will be turning the mask right side out through the small opening in the side. (If you don’t think this will be possible with your mask, open a section of the stitching along the bottom. I suggest no more than 2” in the middle of one of the sides. Avoid opening the seam at the start or end of the stitching, as well as the middle where you cross over the center seam.)

15. Once you get the mask turned right side out, if you are using an iron, press the top seam down so that you can see a little bit of the front fabric peeking up over the lining. If you sewed the optional top stitching over the lining (step 10) this may be easier.

16. If you are ironing, starting at one of the tabs, flatten the mask out with your hand and then iron it down. There should be front fabric sticking up over the lining fabric on this side as well. If you opened the mask along the bottom, tuck the seam allowance in to create the illusion that it has been sewn and iron it down (we will top stitch over this section in a bit). 

17. OPTIONAL: If you are using four ties instead of one long ribbon, you can cut the end tabs off, leaving ¼” of the tab on each side. Fold this inside of itself and, if using an iron, press down. If machine stitching, insert two ties on each side and top stitch them down. If hand sewing, you can close this up however you want and stitch your ties onto the top of the tab - they will be stronger this way. 

18. If you opened the mask along the bottom to turn it right side out, we will now have to close it. If you are using a machine, the best way to do this is to top stitch all along the bottom of the mask. If you are hand sewing and do not want to topstitch all along the bottom, you can close up the hole rather easily with your needle and thread. 

19. If you did not open the mask at the bottom and you turned it through the small holes on the side, I would still recommend top stitching the bottom seam! This helps the mask look a little more professional and keeps the layers in place during washing. It also helps you keep track of which side of the mask is the top - the visible topstitching on the front of the mask will only be on the bottom. If you want to do this step, stitch along the bottom of the mask on the lining, sewing through all of the layers 1/16” away from where the two fabrics meet. 

20. Now we are ready to sew down our channels. Fold the edge of one of the tabs down ¼” and if you have an iron, press it down. Then fold it again ¾”. Repeat for the other side. 

21. Stitch this channel down ~⅛” away from the folded edge. If machine sewing, be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end - this area will experience a lot of tension. If hand sewing be sure that you have reinforced the beginning and end of this seam as well.

22. Now we are ready to thread our tie through. If using one long tie do the following: attach a safety pin, pinned through the top of my ribbon as a needle. Starting from the top of one side, thread from top to bottom and then from bottom to top on the other side. You now have two ties coming out of the tops and a loop at the bottom of your mask. 

23. To wear, orient the top and bottom of your mask, loop the bottom around your lower neck, and pull the top strings to tighten. Tie at the top of your head, and you’re done!