“SEWING TIPS!” from Lisa Boillot
- Use cardboard form to pencil your rectangles on the fabric then cut!
- We now need TWO sizes: 8”x11” and 6″ x 9” (both take 7” elastic)
- Use 2 pieces masking tape on the table to measure off 7” in between and then measure elastic to snip
- On 6×9 are fine with ONLY 2 PLEATS and you do NOT really need to pin down
- But you need three pleats on the 8×11 size
- all masks will be sterilized by the hospital upon arrival!
More tips from Jean
- Some good material choices for the outer layer: a tight diagonal twill, or even better, cloth from anti-bacterial or allergy pillowcases or mattress covers
- Cut one layer on the bias: it will be more comfortable, may be cut slightly smaller, and also the criss crossing threads will provide better filtering capacity.
- Out of elastic? Cut spandex crosswise to get a stretchy and comfortable band. Or, use a pattern with ties.
- Pleat a long piece of fabric lengthwise all at once, and then chop it into mask-length pieces
- After the mask has been made, iron it to kill off some germs and drop it into a clean bag, handling as little as possible
Elastics are in short supply. Are cotton strips acceptable, and in this case, should they not be loose so that wearers can tie them? If cotton strips are acceptable, which length do you suggest? I’m thinking that perhaps in this case it may be easier to tie the mask behind one’s head.
Hello Patrizia, great question! Try this pattern with ties, instead: https://www.instructables.com/id/AB-Mask-for-a-Nurse-by-a-Nurse/
I did t shirt strips (1-1 1/4 wide- some t shirts are thicker material and can be 1”) and pulled them so they “grow” and used them on corners. I cut ties 15in as it makes room for a bow which is easier to remove.
I am also doing the Deaconness style, but with long ties because I’ve run out of elastic. The elastic has latex I’m pretty sure, so some will need ties instead.
Another tip is to use spandex cut across the grain. It is flexible and probably more comfortable than latex.
What if, instead of pleats for the Deaconess pattern we did gathers? Would that work? I think I could do it that way more quickly as the pleats take me considerable time and I am not sure I am very good at it.
Not sure! A couple of time saving tips (you may already have thought of them): pleat a long strip of fabric lengthwise and cut it into several mask length rectangles. Also, you could try the “fork pleat method and iron afterwards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C6EbQQqw1A