Maroon Couture – How To Make A Fabric Face Mask
During the current Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been busy sewing fabric face masks to help with the shortage of N95 masks. Last week I donated 100 sewn masks to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where health care workers are only given one mask each. These fabric masks can be used to cover the N95 masks and can be reused since they’re washable. Now that the government is requesting for all people to wear fabric masks to help prevent the spread of germs, here is a step-by-step guide on how to sew a simple fabric mask:
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Using 100% cotton fabric (you can use an old pillowcase) cut a square 8-1/2” w x 7-1/2” h.
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Fold-down and iron down the two side edges (the sides that are 7-1/2” h) by ¼- ½”. Then fold down and iron the top and bottom edges. Using an iron will make the whole process easier by keeping the fabric stiff and in place.
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Turn the square over and make a fold 1/3 of the way down. Then iron the fold and pin it.
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Make one more fold 2/3 of the way down. Iron and pin the second fold.
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Cut 2 pieces of elastic 7-1/2” long each. I used ¼” elastic and split it in half to put less strain on the ears (and to double the amount of my elastic). Then put the elastic ends ¼” within the sides of the horizontal folds at the top and the bottom of each side.
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Sew the perimeter of the mask all the way around and on top of the folds. Be sure the elastics are also sewn in under the folds securely at the corners (This step could possibly be done with a glue gun if you don’t have a sewing machine. The elastics at the ends can be hand sewn to be made more secure if you’re gluing the rest of the mask).
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Voila! Turn the mask over so see your final product!
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