I committed to three dozen and someone from the county is picking them up from my front porch this morning. I chose colors and motifs that could appeal to both men and women.
I ran out of elastic after making all the ones for family members, but I saw on line somewhere about using tee shirt yarn. Much more comfortable than elastic! I cut my tee shirt strips 1" wide and pulled to stretch and curl them, and cut the pieces 6-1/2". Thank you to whoever posted about tee shirt yarn.
Some of the tutorials for masks have wire inserts - twist ties or pipe cleaners - to shape the mask over the nose. I found that my own masks fit better with wire, so I added pockets made of seam tape that twist ties can be inserted in. The seam tape is just the right width. Since seam tape is wound over cardboard and has creases where it's folded, I cut 1/4" away from the fold and used those creases to fold under the closed end.
I've heard that microwaving cloth masks can disinfect them, but you can't microwave masks with wires in them, they may catch fire.
If you live in St. Louis County and would like to help with their mask drive, the contact info for the Health Department representative that's coordinating the mask donations is
eocdonations@stlouisco.com
Link ups:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Alycia Quilts
You have the perfect combination of colors for everyone! My daughter and I made our first batch of masks for friends and family this week. I added twill tape like you did and we twisted floral wire together for the nose wire! Who would have thought there were so many options to ties, wire and mask designs?!
ReplyDeleteThey look great - and will be loved! Great job!
ReplyDeleteTee shirt yarn - that sounds MUCH more comfortable than elastic! Nice looking masks - good for you!!
ReplyDeleteGreat use for those old batiks! I used half-inch strips cut from t-shirts for the ear straps on the masks I made. DEFINITELY more comfortable than elastic!
ReplyDeleteIt hadn't occurred to me to use batiks. They are more tightly woven and should provide a little more protection, so I'll try that for my next batch. I don't have any place to donate masks, so I'm just making a few for our own use. Thanks for showing us how you're making yours!
ReplyDeleteLove the t-shirt strips idea. I'd been making tie strings out of fabric and that was a pain!
ReplyDeleteWhat pattern did you use please :)
ReplyDelete