I’ve been making and donating cloth face masks through a Facebook group I joined when the pandemic first started.
If we need to wear masks, why not make them fun?! There are all kinds of masks out there — some with nose pieces, some with filter pockets, some with casings, some medical-grade.
The ones here are very basic — perfect for a quick trip to the (hopefully not crowded) grocery store.
What you’ll need:
- 2 pieces of tightly-woven, 100% cotton fabric, cut to 6 by 9 inches (adult size) or 7½ by 5 (child size)
- 2 pieces of 1/₈ to ¼ inch elastic, cut to 7 inches long for adult mask and 5 inches long for child mask
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Iron
Instructions
Stack the two pieces of fabric with right sides together, making sure all raw edges of the fabric are aligned.
Pin one end of each piece of elastic ½ inch below the raw edges at the top corners of the mask; repeat with the other end of elastic pieces ½ inch above the raw edges at the bottom of the mask.
Using a ¼-inch seam, start stitching around the outside of the mask, starting at the bottom. Leave a 2- to 3-inch opening along the bottom.
Clip the corners and turn the mask right-side out; use a pencil or a chopstick to help push out the seams in the four corners.
Press the mask with your iron; carefully lining up and folding in the edges of the fabric in the opening.
Measure and pin two evenly spaced pleats (about 1 inch) on each side of the mask, making sure the folds go in the same direction.
Sew a ¼-inch seam along all sides of the mask to hold the pleats in place and close the small area of the open seam.
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