C19 Masks!

shopping at Winco April 6 2020

Sewing masks has become the thing to do as they are desperately needed around the country for medical use and for the public. I've seen a myriad of ways to make them and a myriad of opinions on how to make them effective. There have even been naysayers who claim masks won't do you a bit of good. That may be true if you wear them thinking they will protect you enough to resume your normal social and work life--that would be a mistake.  However, anything, even a scarf, is going to be helpful even to a small degree.

Though the one pictured above wouldn't pass muster for a medical worker, it's superior to most of the masks I see in public (but am glad anything is being worn). The pattern came from a sewing website. I used good quality cotton fabric. Both the front and the lining have a layer of iron-on interfacing. In between is a layer of heavy non-woven interfacing. Along the nose is a piece of 16-gauge wire so that the wearer can shape the mask to nose and upper face, thereby creating a snug fit. The stiffness of this mask creates a space in front of the nose so that the mask does not become damp from breathing, as does a pleated cotton mask (I wore a pleated one for 45 minutes in the store once, and it quickly became damp, then too warm). The above mask is the cadillac version.

Without venturing to the fabric store to buy a single supply, I made masks for all family members with items from my stash. There was enough fabric, elastic, interfacing, and metal for everyone. It was fun to customize by picking fabric I thought each person would like.

here's some grands with their masks:

other family members wearing my home-sewn masks; the one below got his in the mail just in time for New York's governor to declare masks had to be worn in public (I made some for his roommates also)

An assortment of 2 types of masks. I tried using ties on two of them but didn't like the non-bias ties on the blue mask. The orange ties on the butterfly mask are on the bias and work well, due to their stretchiness.

My favorites, made for the Flynns.

What materials make the most protective face mask?
Here is one local effort to produce masks for local health workers