#LOCKDOWN ACTION – SEW A FACEMASK
Anyone can make a mask – you don’t need a sewing machine, you can sew by hand. We should all wear cloth masks, we need to keep the medical masks for health care workers and not buy them for our use.
Cloth masks can be washed and reused, so we don’t end up creating more waste.
There are many patterns, but the most important features are that the face is covered from ABOVE the nose to BELOW the chin and almost up to the ears. Two layers is best
SEWN FACEMASKS
What you will need
1. Material – 2 different types/colours to distinguish outer and inner (or mark the outside with a marker)
- • Outer layer – robust, tightly woven if possible
- • Inner layer – linen/cotton or a heat resistant, washable material
2. Thread
3. Elastic/tape/bias binding – you can be inventive here and cut up strips of T-shirt material
Pattern is from https://sweetredpoppy.com/how-to-sew-a-surgical-face-mask/
Metric measurements are:
18cm x 23cm for the material
18cm x 2 for short elastic around ears
33cm x 2 for elastic behind the head
40cm x 4 for tape/bias binding/t-shirt binding
2. Cut out two pieces of cotton material for each mask – use a colourful piece of material for the outside and a piece of calico or different colour for the inside.
3. Instead of elastic that goes around the ears, a more comfortable fit is achieved by sewing two lengths of elastic to the long side of the material. Thus, the elastic fits behind one’s head, like a dust mask. (pictures below)
4. If you have run out of elastic, you can attach 4 lengths of tape/bias binding instead. 40cm each
5. Don’t sew the turning opening closed at the end. Rather leave it open so that a filter may be inserted. For the filter you can use paper towel or toilet paper and replace every day
NO SEW FACEMASKS
For a quick fix you can use this method: bandanna and hair ties
WASH THE FACEMASK EVERYTIME YOU GO OUT AND IRON IT ON A HOT IRON