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| Finished cloth face mask with bias tape ties. |
So, I've been sewing a few face masks for friends and family. Patterns and directions can be found on the internet; even The New York Times has published directions. My husband and I found that the commonly used elastic-over-the-ears model fit neither of us, so my masks have ties.
The easiest way to make ties is to use single- or double-fold bias tape. Because I never throw anything away, I had some vintage packets of bias tape in black, purple, yellow and white, hence the color schemes of my masks.
Supplies:
Fabric, different prints for front and back of mask
Single- or double-fold bias tape
Sewing notions - thread, needle, etc.
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| Supplies and template. |
Cut:
Two pieces of fabric, 6" x 9" for an adult mask
Four ties, 16 1/2"long
I made a cardboard template to speed up cutting; we're not too concerned here about being perfectly on grain.
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| Cut and ready to stitch. |
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| Single-fold tape on the ironing board, folded and ironed. |
If you have double-fold bias tape, just stitch the edge. My purple tape was single-fold, so I folded and ironed it, then stitched. I've also made some masks using leftover quilt binding; again, just fold, iron and stitch the binding to make a narrow, hemmed tie.
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| Pin the stitched tie to the corner of the right side of the fabric. |
I pin and sew each tie to a corner, with a few machine stitches, just to keep everything in place before stitching front and back together. To keep those ties out of the way when I stitch back and front together, I use masking tape to hold them in the center of the assembly. Don't sweat the seam allowance - I used the width of the presser foot.
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| Ties tacked to corners and corralled with masking tape. |
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| Back and front pinned and ready for stitching. |
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| Leave about a 2" gap for turning. |
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| After turning, trim corners to reduce bulk. |
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| Turned right sides out. |
The masks have three pleats; it's not critical that the pleats be absolutely equal, just do your best. Again, remember to keep the ties out of the way when stitching the next step.
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| Pinned pleats, ready to top stitch. |
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| Pinned pleats. I iron before stitching, so use glass-head pins. |
I top-stitch close to the top and bottom edges, to catch the turning opening, but on the pleated sides again use the width of the presser foot as my seam guide. Stitch around twice, to make everything sturdy, tuck in your thread ends and done!
These can be washed and air-dried. Someday, when this situation is in the rear view mirror, maybe these can be re-used as doll hammocks, or something.
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| DH in homemade fabric mask with ties. |