Fabric Face Masks

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I know there have been tons of tutorials recently for making fabric face masks and I debated whether or not I would post about it, but since the CDC recommended that we all wear DIY face masks when we go places like the grocery store I made a few and thought I would share a few tips that help the mask making process go smoother for me.

Once we were told we should wear masks when we go out my husband asked me to make a few. He figured if we had to wear them they might as well be fun so he chose some geeky fabrics from my fabric stash. I picked out some pretty fabrics to make a couple for me as well.

The kids never really leave the house besides to play outside in our yard, they don't go to the store with us or any other public places so I didn't plan on making any for them, but all it took was one kid seeing dad's cool Star Wars mask before I started getting requests from each of them.

Once I made a few for our family I got a few requests from other people both for finished masks (mostly from people who are still working in public places and needed them for work). I also got a lot of questions about which pattern I used and how I made them.

I chose to go with the pattern put out by Cricut. It is for a fitted face mask, rather than the pleated surgical mask style. I could have used my Cricut Maker to cut the fabric out but instead I chose to cut out a cardstock pattern that I then traced onto the fabric and cut out by hand. If you don't have a Cricut they also made the pattern available as a PDF so you can print it off and cut it out.

As I was making the masks I found a couple of things that I either did differently than the pattern instructions, or little things that made the process easier for me. I thought I would share what I learned to make it easier for other people.

Tips for making the Cricut Fabric Face Masks

You can find the links to the masks in Design Space HERE. Cut them out of fabric using a Cricut Maker or out of cardstock using the Maker or Explore, then cut the fabric by hand.  

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Find the PDF version of the patterns HERE. Print them off and cut out by hand. 

You can find detailed instructions on the Cricut website or in Design Space but here are a few tips, things I did a little different than the instructions, and answers to questions I got. 

• One question I got is: What is the best fabric to use?
• From everything I have read the best fabrics are either tightly woven 100% cotton (quilting fabric) or quilting cotton on the outside and flannel on the inside (layer cloys to the face)

• What about filters? 
• Honestly I have read so many different opinions on the subject of filters that I am hesitant to even share my thoughts, but what I have read is that even just the two layers of tightly woven cotton helps a lot, and I personally chose not to include filters in mine. However, if you do want to use a filter this particular mask works well for that. The sides are left open so you can easily slide a filter in between the fabric layers. Some options I have heard are good are coffee filters, folded paper towels or tissues. and extra layers of fabric. I know some people use vacuum bags but I have heard that some of those contain fiberglass so if you choose to go that route make sure you are careful and check that the material you are using as the filter isn't going to actually be more harmful than helpful.

• The pattern comes in 4 sizes Large Adult, Small/Medium Adult, Youth, and Small Youth. I made the Small/Medium Adult for both my husband and myself and it fit us both well. I used the Small Youth for my younger kids (3-8) and the Youth for my older kids (10-13)

• The Cricut pattern is made with two pieces each cut out twice so you end up with 4 pieces total. When I first went to cut it out I was a little confused by which was the outside and which was the inside because I didn't feel like the instructions were super clear. They made it seem like the first mat was the outside and that was not the case, at least on the adult size. One piece is larger because it forms a casing for the elastic. The larger piece (piece 1) is the outside of the mask, and the smaller (piece 2) is the inside. This is helpful to know before hand if you want to have a specific fabric you want to be the front. 

• One thing that I did a little differently than the pattern instructions is how I finished the sides. The sides of the outside piece are folded in to make a casing. I folded the edge in about a 1/4" the folded again along the line drawn on the pattern. On the inside piece the instructions tell you to fold the edge in once about a 1/4". I found when I did this it was too long and overlapped my casing, so instead on the inside piece I folded the it over 1/4" twice so that the raw edge was fully enclosed. That extra fold made the pieces fit together much better for me. 

• Ear loops? Elastic around the head? Ties?
• This pattern is made showing a long piece of elastic that goes through the casing on either side and around the back of the head twice. I chose instead to do ear loops and found that elastic strips cut between 7"-8" made a nice sized earloop. I know that people that wear them for extended periods may not like the ear loops but where I was making them for quick trips to the store I felt like that worked for my purposes and used less elastic. 

Hopefully these little tips help if you want to make fabric face masks using the Cricut pattern. Let me know if you have any other questions or need help.