Super Easy, Butt-ugly Mask for People who Flunked Home Ec

April 04, 2020

Seeing too many people using materials like polyester knit) to make masks, I felt it was important to try to put together an easy to make mask out with materials that you can both find at home AND may offer some protection for you and those you come in contact with. I used a tightly woven cotton shirt and a flannel shirt, which offer more protection than other materials.
OF NOTE: if you are going to be using the mask for more than 20-30 min, bring a second mask to change into. Having moisture collecting on the mask increases your risk of contracting viruses, according to a study published by NIH.

1. Mark a 9x6 area on the cotton shirt, cut out a rough oval.

2. Using the oval as a template, cut another oval out of the cotton, and one of the flannel.

3. You now have 3 ovals. sandwich the flannel between the two cottons

4. Mark the center of one long side of the oval and draw 2 ellipses towards the sides, as shown.

5. cut off the ellipses

6. Using about the width of your foot (about 1/2", it's not important to be exact) sew all the way around, through all 3 layers. Is it kind of wonky? That's ok.

7. You can trim it up to make it a little neater, if you desire. If you don't give a damn, that's cool, too. No one is judging. We're just all trying to make it through alive.

8. Cut 4 ties 18" x 1/4-1/2". These can be fabric (I recommend using pinking shears if you use cotton, so it doesn't fray), or ribbon. You can use knit here, if you like. I used the selvage from fabric because I had it and it didn't need special treatment to keep from fraying.