Sewing masks for Pojoaque school children

Hello! I’m here to show you how to make masks for school children. If you are on a team, I’ll let you know when your part starts and ends.

We will be using this pattern for our masks, but I have changed it a bit to make it easier to make lots of masks in a short time. We will be using elastic and will be including a nose wire.

If you are a cutter, I will supply the fabric and one pattern sheet for you. Let me know if you need freezer paper.

Press your fabric if it isn’t already. Trace the size “teen” from the pattern onto freezer paper. Make yourself 4 copies. Be aware, after a lot of use, they will get fuzzy and not want to stick to the fabric. That is fine, you can make more. Freezer paper is cheap.

If your fabric is non-directional, go ahead and lay them out like this. Press to the fabric with a hot iron (no steam). I then fold the width of fabric over a couple of times and cut 6 layers at once. I was able to squeeze 3 more pieces out of that end part by cutting it and folding the other way. The goal here is to waste as little fabric as possible.

If the fabric pattern has a direction, make sure you lay it out like this.

Each mask requires 4 of these pieces. The lining can be the same, but I try to make the special fabrics stretch by cutting a different lining.

Here are cut masks with lining fabric. Stick them in a bag and label for your sewers. Cutters, you are done.

Sewers, you can do all of the following with a regular machine. I’ll show you how if you want to do that.

Using a 1/4″ seam, stitch front and lining pieces together at the center seam. Snip the curves and put right sides together. I usually don’t pin anything but the center seam, nesting the seams in opposite directions. Stitch top and bottom seams this way, making sure the seam is flipped the same direction on each side.

Flip it inside out and press it.

If you have a finisher you are handing off to, you are done, otherwise, just keep going.

Cut a piece of wire about 3 1/2″ long and turn each end with a jewelry tool. (I can provide a pile of these if you don’t have the tools). On the top of your mask, stitch a channel for the wire by sewing a seam 1/2″ from the edge, but not all the way across. Insert your wire.

Finish the ends of the mask with a serger or with some edge stitch (zigzag works. This is an edge stitch my machine has. Then fold over about 1/2″ and press down on the inside. You can either insert the elastic now or after the final sewing. I did it afterward. I cut 1 piece of elastic 25″ long (we are testing on kids now to see if that is correct). Now topstitch as shown. Be careful of the wire. It will break a needle if you hit it.