I don't even know how many masks I've made so far. First ones for my DIL'S hospital, then family and friends, then to sell on
Etsy. My skills have improved. The bias ties take time. (They're cut on the straight of the grain, but I use a bias tape making device for these skinny things.) I ordered elastic a month ago, but it still hasn't arrived. Everyone wants elastic and it's sold out everywhere. My sister is a nurse and she insists that ties are more comfortable than elastic; I hope she's right. It gives an old fashioned M.A.S.H. vibe. I like this shirting, shown above. Light color for summer, and not too jarring with most outfits...considering that you're wearing a big mask. So, okay. Jarring.
After this mask phase, I'm really wanting to make a crumb quilt. Or two. :)
Stay safe.
5 comments:
I've only made about 20 masks so far for family and friends. But I may make a few more for a friend who is the director of a "hospitality house" for homeless families. She said they would take any that I could make. So later in the week when I have a day off I guess I'll make a few more. Somewhere in a drawer I have one of those bias tape makers but since I couldn't find it I've just been doing them by hand.
The Zipper Lady has elastic. When she runs out she usually gets stock in a week or so. She is in Fort Collins, Colorado.
There is lots of elastic on Etsy and it comes fast! So much easier than ties and especially with long hair or for people who cannot lift their arms to tie!
I've made less than a dozen masks, but I prefer wearing the ones with t-shirt ties the best. Cut the width of the t-shirt in strips, about 1/2" wide. Pull on them to make them roll into a tube. Then enclose them in casings at the sides of the mask. I ignored the side seams in my t-shirt ties, they are in the back and my t-shirts had side seams. They still work. Tie a knot in the end. Halter style is nice, one continuous loop.
I'm not making mountains of masks, and I haven't been able to find smaller amounts of elastic anywhere. So I've been using bias seam binding folded in half and stitched to secure. The ties finish to about 1/4" wide. It's faster than making ties from a hunk of fabric, but now I'm having trouble finding seam binding too. I have long hair, and the ties get tangled up in my hair, so I started feeding a single length of the tie through the casings on either side. Then I put the top loop over my head and the ends behind my neck. Then I added a cord lock--an idea hubby came up with. It's brilliant. I can get the mask as tight as I want, it doesn't catch my hair, and I can let it hang from my neck if I want. So much easier to use. My kids prefer the ties and cord locks too.
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