Crazy serious scary and things that go bump in the night

Hello...I have been reading and watching and thinking about the construction of masks.  I will not discuss medical masks in this post, or near medical quality..that will likely happen overnight.  I spent 42 years in healthcare.  Oh so many times masks and contact precaution techniques were employed.  You get very good at at because you have to.  With the pandemic we are in, and the liklihood the general public will need to wear masks in public situations for some time, I have made some masks.  I learned a lot from others and tweaked to what I feel I would want to wear.

This is for the pleated mask you see tons of.  I have an adult size and a child's size.  Adult masks do not fit children well and vice versa.  PLEASE be sure to use tightly woven cotton for the public side. Quilters cotton is ideal, tea towels are being claimed to be even better.  Use what you have but if you are going to spend you time and heartfelt intentions making these, please make them usable.  Leggings are not good, towels, no, flannel is brushed cotton but gets hot and holds moisture.  The other thing I BEG you, do not use the same fabric on both sides.  I have been using white for the side that touches the face.  Tee shirt fabric is fine too for the lining side  ALSO it is a personal belief that adding a layer of nonwoven interfacing adds significant benefits.  OK ready?

ADULT
Outer fabric and lining fabric  9.5" wide x 8.5" tall
Interfacing  9 x 8

CHILD
Outer fabric and lining fabric  7" wide x 5.5" tall
Interfacing  6.5 x 5

Non woven fusible interfacing is best.  You don't want it shifting around and non woven is an added layer of protection

 THESE are a miracle.  I use them for marking where the pleats go and the marks then disappear when ironed.  Be careful though, I pressed a piece then marked and the fabric was warm enough that the marks disappeared before I could use them, lol  I got them on Amazon  FRIXION Pens

 Nose pieces, yes or no.  I vote yes as you really do need some sort of a seal.  You can use pipe cleaners, I got these plastic coated wires at ULINE, I chose an 8" length as it works really well with the size I have decided upon  I got these aluminum nosepieces on EBAY..the took a bit of time to get here but they are great for the child size as well as the other style mask I am making.  You can search on EBAY but here is the link for ULINE Plastic precut ties  They come in quite a large quantity and offer many lenths.  These were just my preference

Elastic is getting so difficult to find. I have had success on ETSY and personally prefer the 3/8" width..For the other mask you can use pony tail holders but be careful on the thickness.  I got about 100, but they are 4mm and too thick, the medium ones, adult length are about 2mm and much more ear friendly  You can also use cord or bias tape, There is an adjustable mask that is very cool, but I have not worked out the details yet.  I have done both around the ear masks and around the head.  I am leaning towards the latter as noone needs sore ears although the general public will not wear these for the length of time essential workers will so keep that in mind.

I tend to buy fabric in 1 yard increments.  During this time I have both ordered online for delivery and ordered at Joanns for curbside pickup.  When you get your fabrics, don't forget the white and the interfacing.  WASH AND DRY the fabrics( not the interfacing) before using, it gets rid of sizing and if there is to be any shrinkage it will happen prior to the fabric becoming a mask.

I then iron the fabric and fold it neatly so several masks can be cut out at one time.  If you have a cutting mat and rotary cutter you will save yourself much time.  Otherwise a pattern from cardboard that can be traced works also.  If doing the pattern route be sure to pin through the layers so it won't shift suring cutting.

I have actually layered two different prints so I am cutting through 8 layers at once.  I line the fabric up on the mat and slice off the raw edge to start with a clean straight edge.  Remember if your print has a correct orientation due to a picture on the print to be mindful when cutting

Below I have cut both adult and child size masks

Repeat this process with your white fabric

The interfacing is cut a bit smaller for ease of application.  If it is cut the same size as mask fabric, there is every liklihood it will shift when fusing it.  Fuse it to the wrong side of the printed fabric

 I flip the piece over when putting it on the ironing board and press from the right side.  As long as you have cut the interfacing correctly it will be fine  If you have cut it too large the interfacing will melt to your board or your iron.

At this point i place a white lining piece ontop of the interfaced piece and start piling up the masks

Ignore the pins there as that was a leftover mask from the last go round.  I will sew some up in a fe hours and finish this tutorial.

EDITED
I came across this most excellent hack on placing pleats..so this or the way I will show you.  Of course, always your choice
Pleat Hack Video