Any DIYers here making masks?

[Lady Grey]

Vacuum Cleaner bags are suggested as a filter - although we don’t have the horrors you are experiencing in the USA, as we closed the borders and locked down at stage 3 really early!
So we’re just using cloth masks or medical masks without worrying about filters, but it’s not mandatory yet, probably will be soon if we go back to stage 2 as winter is coming!

Graph with some results down lower down the page
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/...ce-mask-virus/

I’m taking a break from medical/Covid sewing but don’t have the energy or wherewithal to start a kilt

Apropos of nothing....
How’s everyone’s pets coping?
Willie the Wonder Dog is a bit over me being home all the time... I seem to be cramping his sleeping style by sitting on the couch or moving around the house and he just has to follow and make sure I’m not doing anything wrong!

[Tobus]

Vacuum Cleaner bags are suggested as a filter - although we don’t have the horrors you are experiencing in the USA, as we closed the borders and locked down at stage 3 really early!
So we’re just using cloth masks or medical masks without worrying about filters, but it’s not mandatory yet, probably will be soon if we go back to stage 2 as winter is coming!

While vacuum cleaner bags (or any HEPA rated material) may be a great filter, they're incredibly difficult to breathe through. Vaccum cleaner bags are meant for operating with the extreme suction of a vacuum cleaner, and the human lung has to work very hard to push air through that tight of a filter. Most likely what happens in that case is that the air flows through the gaps around the face and not through the material itself. Unless one is constructing a very tight-fitting mask, I don't see vacuum cleaner bags as a realistic material, despite what lab testing shows in terms of its effectiveness.

Apropos of nothing....
How’s everyone’s pets coping?
Willie the Wonder Dog is a bit over me being home all the time... I seem to be cramping his sleeping style by sitting on the couch or moving around the house and he just has to follow and make sure I’m not doing anything wrong!

My pupper is doing great during this pandemic! She's loving the fact that my wife and I are home all the time now. She gets more time out of her crate, more walkies, and more petting. It's going to be tough for her when we do end up going back to work. I work upstairs in a spare bedroom, which is a no-dog zone, but my wife stays downstairs during the day and June follows her around. I think my wife is getting tired of it, LOL.

As a matter of fact, today is her birthday! She's 3 years old. Sadly, I can't go get her a party hat. But she did get a new doggy bed, and despite her grumpy face, she loves it.

[Katia]

Anyway, I decided to try a different pattern. This was one I found following Katia's link to YouTube videos. It actually takes less time to make and the fit over the nose is surprisingly good. It *almost* covers all of my beard, and could probably be made to do so by altering the pattern just a smidge. But as-is, it's a very comfortable and well-fitting mask, despite my horrid hand-stitching. Thanks, Katia!

Oh, good! I was hoping to hear a review of this pattern.

Now that there are so many more coming out that still fit closely but are much simpler (like this one and the one Tobus used), I am kicking myself for having chosen the fiddly pattern I did... but, at the beginning of all this, the most common choices for patterns were either the Olson mask, or the rectangular pleated one, and it wasn't until later (too late) that I started seeing others.

[Tobus]

One thing I will probably start adding to my mask-making is an "ear saver" strap. This is an ingenious idea for those of us who don't like elastic straps behind our ears. I'm told that it can cause chafing and raw skin if wearing a mask for long periods of time. And my ears are too bendy to hold much tension on a behind-the-ear loop. So a short strap behind the head with buttons at the ends makes for a great way to wear an ear-loop mask without having to actually use one's ears to hold it. Or, one can even stitch some buttons onto the sides of one's hat if one were so inclined.

https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/easy-diy-ear-savers/

[Katia]

You could also just add ties (shoelaces or bias tape), or elastic that goes around the back of your head instead.

[Tobus]

You could also just add ties (shoelaces or bias tape), or elastic that goes around the back of your head instead.

Yes, the first few I made had bootlaces as ties. They loop around the base of the neck, through the mask edges, and then over the tops of the ears to tie behind the head. This configuration is comfortable, though it takes a minute to put on and tie. And it just doesn't look ...elegant.

So I just finished another of the new pattern masks, and made an "ear saver" strap with large buttons. And hey, this one is in XMTS tartan! I made the strap by just folding over a bit of tartan material and stitching it into a 1" wide tube, pressing the seam open, turning it inside out, tucking the ends in, doing a double stitch to seal the ends, and sewing on the buttons. The total length of the strap is 5.75".

The strap is very comfortable behind my head, easy to put on and take off, and looks a bit more polished in its presentation (despite the fact that I sorely need a haircut!). I just had the elastic bands tied in a knot for test-fitting, but I'll shorten them up a smidge to tighten the fit, then stitch them into a continuous loop, and it'll be done.

Now I have to make a couple of masks for my wife.

[Father Bill]

SWMBO is planning to make up some of the ones from your post, Tobus. Thank you! Pictures when ready.

[Taskr]

Coffee filters …

great ideas, especially like the simple ear saver

(Ed: my attempt)

[Katia]

Well, the jury is still out on the elastic. I put it in one of my masks just in time for my biweekly grocery-shopping trip. I'm not sure if I like it or not. It's a bit more comfortable than the wire, because I don't have it gripping all the way down both sides of my nose so there's less pressure (and, I have found wearing a mask makes my nose want to run but at least the elastic does slightly less, for that same reason). But, that extra space on either side of the nose where the fabric is not fitting close also allows more air to escape and fog my glasses (but, it's not completely horrible). I feel like I possibly could have sewn it tighter-- I initially stretched and sewed just the ends of the elastic and then tried it on, and it seemed more tight then than it did once I was done. But, I can only do so much; it's hard to stretch the elastic while also hand-sewing it and I think I got it pretty well stretched. (Or maybe I needed a longer piece of elastic; the one I used was roughly 2.25".)

Someone who doesn't wear glasses, or possibly someone with a small nose (unfortunately, my father was generous enough to gift me with his large-nose genes), would have no problem with this method.

[Taskr]

Well, the jury is still out on the elastic. I put it in one of my masks just in time for my biweekly grocery-shopping trip. I'm not sure if I like it or not. It's a bit more comfortable than the wire, because I don't have it gripping all the way down both sides of my nose so there's less pressure (and, I have found wearing a mask makes my nose want to run but at least the elastic does slightly less, for that same reason). But, that extra space on either side of the nose where the fabric is not fitting close also allows more air to escape and fog my glasses (but, it's not completely horrible). I feel like I possibly could have sewn it tighter-- I initially stretched and sewed just the ends of the elastic and then tried it on, and it seemed more tight then than it did once I was done. But, I can only do so much; it's hard to stretch the elastic while also hand-sewing it and I think I got it pretty well stretched. (Or maybe I needed a longer piece of elastic; the one I used was roughly 2.25".)

Someone who doesn't wear glasses, or possibly someone with a small nose (unfortunately, my father was generous enough to gift me with his large-nose genes), would have no problem with this method.

The issue with elastic is that it pulls in a straight line and with a mask we are trying to get the cloth to take a shape. I've used four wire types, all about 6" in length with the ends bent back and crimped:
electrical - being copper and coated, the individual wire is less likely to oxidize with washing, but its too thick
pipe cleaner - very comfortable, but will it rust?
jewelry wire - shapes light cotton nicely, but very thin and a bit of a job to fix it in place
aluminum craft wire - not thin, but extremely pliable. holding shape and comfortable... longevity?