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MY DIY STYLE

FACE MASK SEWING AT HOME HOW I MADE MY FACE MASKS (A PHOTO TUTORIAL)

Hey y’all, how are y’all doing? No really. Because we’ve been in the midst of a pandemic since March, we haven’t been able to really visit loved ones because… quarantine, we’ve all been wearing face masks to protect ourselves and others, and we’ve been socially distancing… well most of us have. And I only say most of us because some of y’all still haven’t grasped the concept of ‘personal space’ even though it’s a WHOLE THING now. But I digress. And my apologies for not bothering to post anything here for a while, 2020 has been A LOT with everything going on. Coronavirus, protests for racial equality and against police violence, having an unstable president… *sips* But this post is about how I make my DIY face masks. It was never my plan to make and sell the face masks I made, I had planned to make a some for myself and a few family members. But once I posted pics of a few that I made to my social media stories, the requests to buy them started coming in and me not selling them kinda went out the window. It got to the point where I was making, selling and shipping hundreds of them out weekly. I literally turned myself into a one person manufacturing plant. The lady at my post office even joked to me that I was always in there, lol. Also thank you to everyone who purchased face masks from me. Y’all are the real MVP’s. But anyhoo, I had long wanted to document how I made them so that’s what I’m going to do here. I’m going to focus on how I make the DIY face mask with the filter pocket. Keep reading to peep my process.

1-WHAT I USE
2-FREE FACE MASK SEWING PATTERN
I used a free face mask sewing pattern found online from COVID Rangers. I cut (2) of each of the OUTER and INNER face masks, the inner mask will be the filter pocket. I trimmed about 2 inches off the side seams of the COVID Rangers pattern just as a personal preference, but you could also leave the pattern as is and it will just cover more of your face.
FREE FACE MASK PATTERN
3-SEW ALONG CURVED EDGE
​I then sewed the masks along the curved edge as I attempted to illustrate.
4-CURVED EDGE SEWN
​Just like this to both the OUTER and INNER face mask.
5-TOPSTITCH YOUR CURVED EDGE
Once I had my face masks sewn along the curved edge, I opened it up and TOPSTITCHED down the center on both. The topstitch gives it a polished, more tailored finish.
6-PREPARE CHANNEL FOR NOSE WIRE
​Next I prepared a 3.25 inch x 1.25 inch piece of fabric for my nose channel wire by folding and pressing the edges as pictured above.
7-PIN NOSE CHANNEL WIRE TO INNER FACE MASK
​I then pinned my nose channel wire piece to the INNER face mask as pictured, eyeballing it about 5/8 inches down from the top.
8-SEW TOP AND BOTTOM LEAVING SIDES OPEN
​Then sew. But only the top and bottom, leaving the sides open for my craft wire later.
9-FOLD AND PRESS SIDE SEAMS ON INNER FACE MASK
​Next, I took my INNER face mask that I just attached my nose channel piece to, and folded and pressed in the side seams 7/8 of an inch to 1 inch twice as pictured, then I sewed.
10-PIN INNER FACE MASK TO OUTER MASK RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER
Make sure to line up the center seams.
11-SEW INNER AND OUTER MASK RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER ON TOP
Next I sewed the INNER and OUTER face masks together about 3/8 of an in inch on top.
12-REPEAT SEWING ON THE BOTTOM
​Then I did the same on the bottom.
13-TURN MASK RIGHT SIDE OUT THEN FOLD AND PRESS
​Here, I turned my face mask RIGHT SIDE OUT and folded and pressed the top and bottom edges with an iron on the outer mask as pictured.
14-TOPSTITCH THE TOP OF THE FACE MASK
​Then I TOPSTITCHED the top of the face mask.
15-TOPSTITCH THE BOTTOM SAME AS THE TOP
​And I TOPSTITCHED the bottom of the face mask as shown.
16-PRESS SIDE SEAMS OF OUTER MASK
​Next I pressed the side seams of the OUTER face mask in about a 1/4 inch.
17-PRESS THE SIDE SEAMS ON OUTER MASK
​And then I pressed the side seam in again 7/8 of an inch to 1 inch.
18-SEW SIDE SEAMS OF OUTER FACE MASK
Then I sewed down the side seams on the OUTER face mask as pictured.
19-MEASURE 10 INCHES FOR ELASTIC STRAPS
​Now, I'm ready to do my elastic straps. Remember I told you all I had at the time was a bolt of buttonhole elastic, so that's what I'm working with here. I measured 10 inches for my straps.
20-I CUT MY BUTTONHOLE ELASTIC IN HALF
Then I cut the elastic in half in the center of my buttonholes creating 2 straps. My straps measured about a half inch a piece which was fine. 1/4 inch on elastic straps are the norm I think though.
21-USE A SAFETY PIN TO PULL ELASTIC THROUGH SIDE SEAMS
​And here's where I need my small safety pin to pull my elastic through my side seams.
22-PULL ELASTIC THROUGH
Just like this.
23-PIN ELASTIC THEN SEW CLOSED
Then I pinned my elastic straps together to sew closed.
24-WILL NEED CRAFT WIRE AND A WIRE CUTTER
The craft wire is for your nose channel
25-MEASURE 3.5 INCHES OF CRAFT WIRE
I measured out 3.5 inches as pictured, then I use the tip of the needle nose pliers to curve the edges as you'll see in my next pic.
26-CURL THE ENDS OF YOUR NOSE WIRE
Use a pair of needle nose craft pliers to curl your wire
27-SLIDE CRAFT WIRE INTO YOUR NOSE CHANNEL
The nose channel and craft wire are optional, but it's for anyone who wants the face mask to fit more snug around their nose.
28-PLACE HEPA FILTER INSIDE FILTER POCKET TO COMPLETE
Also optional, the filter is just an extra layer of protection.
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To make my face masks, this is what I use:

Ruler

Cotton fabric (I like to use a different color for the inside to make it fun)

Paper scissors, fabric scissors, thread scissors

Fabric weights (or Zinc flat washers, find them at Lowe’s. A bunch of us makers prefer using these over pinning patterns down on top of fabric)

Thread, pins, small safety pin

Elastic (I used buttonhole elastic because that’s what I had on hand at the time. At one point you couldn’t find elastic anywhere because so many people were making face masks)

Craft wire (to make the face mask fit snug around the nose channel)

Needle nose pliers and wire cutter

HEPA home filters cut to fit inside the face mask filter pockets. I bought my first home filters from Lowe’s and Home Depot on the advice of some nurses who said they used these filters to protect from virus carriers and allergens in their own homemade masks, but they were a whole job to dismantle, so I quickly found comparable filter alternatives on Amazon.

​It’s also completely optional to make your face masks match your outfits, but it’s also a LOOK. ​I hope my photo tutorial on how I make my DIY face masks was clear and concise enough for you! You are seriously a G for making it through to the end. Anyhoo, thanks for reading!

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