When I started thinking about making masks, the general advice was, don't. Hospitals can't use homemade masks, and masks don't protect you. In fact, my daughter wore a SUPER mask to visit her doctor for a prenatal visit, and texted me with this update:
The dr reccomended that i not wear the mask. It could trap the virus and make things worse. So i took it off. Feeling exposed and scared :/
It is a hard time to be pregnant and anxious, I know.
And the whole, should I make masks question was an interesting question. Was I over-reacting? Under-reacting? Three things got me started on the project in spite of the general skepticism of such a project: One was the realization that having a bunch of fabric sitting in my craft bin wasn't saving lives, either; spending time and energy so that the fabric happened to be in the shape of face masks, instead of in the shape of sheets, wasn't likely to make the world a more dangerous place. The second reason came in the form of a text message from my sister:
The third reason for getting started sewing face masks last week was the paradoxical reason that our nearby hospitals didn't need them. Yet. So if ( = when) I made mistakes, they wouldn't be crucial mistakes, and I could get better by the time masks were really needed.
I started by using this pattern, sent me by my sister, who got the general instructions from her local hospital but decided to add photos to make it easier to follow.
Learning from my sister's experience, I dusted off spools of yard-sale-purchased thread in funky colors, the kind of thread that is perfectly good but unlikely to match other projects I might care about in the future. And I'm glad I started this project expecting to make mistakes and learn from them, because I made mistakes, and then learned. For example, I learned pretty quickly that I have not treated my iron nicely over the years: I gunked up a bunch of nice fabric, and eventually figured out how to use a sacrificial, 100% cotton, scrap between the iron and the mask as I pressed things out. Well, thank goodness I got that out of the way.
I made about 8 masks, and shipped them off to a nearby nursing home that had all of a sudden realized it was going to need supplies from somewhere, anywhere.
Late last week, our local hospital started offering hospital-grade fabric to local sewers. My husband picked up a bag of this fabric for me, together with instructions that kind-of mirrored the ones my sisters sent -- except that these instructions asked for a floral-wire insert above the nose, to help people shape the masks.
I'm still waiting on getting floral wire from a friend of mine who owns a nursery, so over the weekend -- just as our governor declared that all people should wear masks in public -- I decided to do further experimentation. A pillow case and one of my husband's former favorite dress shirts found their way into new service.
These versions above, per my sister's instructions, have pleats that go side-to-side. I made a few with an extra small pleat at the top (across the bridge of the nose), and discovered this improves comfort and wearability a lot.
By now, I've made about 25 of these babies. Four have gone into family service. The others (that hadn't already headed to the nursing home), I put in a basket on the porch. They were gone by supper. I'll be making more; we've got neighbors pleading for them.
I'm not using elastic (my sister says that elastic degrades in the wash); I'm making ties from "binding", and these binding straps are the most time-consuming aspect of making the masks, really. Lots of ironing with my gunky iron. With practice, though, I'm getting faster and and more efficient.
I had my calculus students recommend music to me: songs they were listening to that they thought I might like. Ironing goes a lot faster when I've got an eclectic play list. Here's what I listened to as I turned a too-small fitted sheet into face-mask-straps this weekend:
More musical suggestions are welcome! I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot more ironing over the next month.
The dr reccomended that i not wear the mask. It could trap the virus and make things worse. So i took it off. Feeling exposed and scared :/
It is a hard time to be pregnant and anxious, I know.
And the whole, should I make masks question was an interesting question. Was I over-reacting? Under-reacting? Three things got me started on the project in spite of the general skepticism of such a project: One was the realization that having a bunch of fabric sitting in my craft bin wasn't saving lives, either; spending time and energy so that the fabric happened to be in the shape of face masks, instead of in the shape of sheets, wasn't likely to make the world a more dangerous place. The second reason came in the form of a text message from my sister:
I just got a volunteer job working for the hospital to sew surgical-grade masks, 11:30 - 3 every weekday until...? No interview necessary!My sister, in New York State, was sewing masks at the request of her local hospital, and I knew that my state would likely eventually look a lot like her state.
 |
| My sister's bare spools. She writes, "This is what the coronavirus has done to me in 2 short weeks." |
The third reason for getting started sewing face masks last week was the paradoxical reason that our nearby hospitals didn't need them. Yet. So if ( = when) I made mistakes, they wouldn't be crucial mistakes, and I could get better by the time masks were really needed.
I started by using this pattern, sent me by my sister, who got the general instructions from her local hospital but decided to add photos to make it easier to follow.
Learning from my sister's experience, I dusted off spools of yard-sale-purchased thread in funky colors, the kind of thread that is perfectly good but unlikely to match other projects I might care about in the future. And I'm glad I started this project expecting to make mistakes and learn from them, because I made mistakes, and then learned. For example, I learned pretty quickly that I have not treated my iron nicely over the years: I gunked up a bunch of nice fabric, and eventually figured out how to use a sacrificial, 100% cotton, scrap between the iron and the mask as I pressed things out. Well, thank goodness I got that out of the way.
I made about 8 masks, and shipped them off to a nearby nursing home that had all of a sudden realized it was going to need supplies from somewhere, anywhere.
Late last week, our local hospital started offering hospital-grade fabric to local sewers. My husband picked up a bag of this fabric for me, together with instructions that kind-of mirrored the ones my sisters sent -- except that these instructions asked for a floral-wire insert above the nose, to help people shape the masks.
I'm still waiting on getting floral wire from a friend of mine who owns a nursery, so over the weekend -- just as our governor declared that all people should wear masks in public -- I decided to do further experimentation. A pillow case and one of my husband's former favorite dress shirts found their way into new service.
By now, I've made about 25 of these babies. Four have gone into family service. The others (that hadn't already headed to the nursing home), I put in a basket on the porch. They were gone by supper. I'll be making more; we've got neighbors pleading for them.
I'm not using elastic (my sister says that elastic degrades in the wash); I'm making ties from "binding", and these binding straps are the most time-consuming aspect of making the masks, really. Lots of ironing with my gunky iron. With practice, though, I'm getting faster and and more efficient.
I had my calculus students recommend music to me: songs they were listening to that they thought I might like. Ironing goes a lot faster when I've got an eclectic play list. Here's what I listened to as I turned a too-small fitted sheet into face-mask-straps this weekend:
Traci Chapman, "Give me one reason"
Maggie Rogers "Light On"
Dancing in the moonlight bu Jubel and Neimy (it’s a new spin on a great classic)
Django Reinhardt - Beyond the Sea (La Mer)
living on a prayer bon jovi
Fleetwood Mac 'sara'
Light it up - Luke Bryan
modern love- david bowie
Cuando me enamoro - Andrea Bocelli
A better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley
Luke Combs - Refrigerator door
Beethoven sonata
If I ain’t got you by Alicia Keys
toosie slide new drake!!!!
More musical suggestions are welcome! I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot more ironing over the next month.
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