Becca's Crazy Projects: How I Mask

Friday, January 22, 2021

How I Mask

I've noticed more views on my mask posts so I wanted to share how I make them. This is nothing new, you can find this design in many places, including YouTube, and on other blogs, by using the search "3D mask". The main difference here is that I am a quilter so I will show you how to do it using quilter's tools. Referenced tools included at the bottom of the post with links to buy your own (these are affiliate links and I may receive a small - think pennies - compensation for pointing you to the listings on Amazon). Even if you don't buy the specific tool I recommend I may receive this small compensation.

First, use your ruler of choice to cut two pieces of quilting cotton to 10" wide by 7.5" high. These will be your outer (I chose the black heart print) and lining (the gray floral left over from a quilt back). Depending on the quality of your fat quarter, you can get two masks out of one fat quarter. To cut these I use a combination of my Creative Grid s 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle, Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler, and Tucker Trimmer III. You can use any ruler or rulers that will get you the right size.

Line them up with right-sides together. We're going to cut the corners off using another quilting ruler. I usually stack two masks (four total layers) when I do this. Not too many layers at once and makes quick work of the cutting.

Line up the Wrights 4.5" Easy Angle ruler, or other right-triangle ruler, on the dashed line just under 2". This will let you trim away triangles that are about 2" on each short side. You don't want to cut on the 2" line because that will cut away more than you want.

Repeat for all four corners and you should have this octagon.

Mark an opening on the bottom and sew around with a 1/4" seam allowance back stitching at the beginning and end. For non-directional prints it doesn't really matter which is the top and bottom. For directional prints with a clear top and bottom you should put the opening on the bottom.

Trim the points. You don't have to trim much. Leave about 1/8" between your scissors and the stitching. This will help you get sharp points after turning.

Turn the mask right-sides out. I use a chopstick to push out the points. I finger-press before pressing with the iron and keep my chopstick handy in case I need to poke at those corners again.

Start at the bottom of the mask and top-stitch all the way around at 1/8" from the edge. I start and stop at the center bottom edge but you could start almost anywhere but the top edge and it won't be noticeable. I back stitch at the end over my beginning stitches.

Back to the ironing board to press the top and bottom towards the middle. I typically press on a straight line between the corners as shown above.

Top stitch along each of these folds approximately 1/8" from the pressed line, backstitching at the beginning and end. Plus or minus a little won't make a difference but taking a much bigger bite will definitely change the size of the finished mask.

This is what you end up with. All this top stitching might seem like overkill but it serves a purpose, just like the pressing. This helps give it some of its shape. I stitch these lines so my top thread is on the center section. If you're using the same color thread on the top and bobbin it doesn't make much of a difference.

Back to the sewing machine to add the ear-bands. Put 1/2" to 1" of the band into the crease. I've made these with a length of elastic and we don't like them as much as these Adjustable ear bands from Amazon. There are other options, like t-shirt strips, or elastic and beads. This is how we like them.

Let that flap fall back over the Adjustable ear band and fold it up so you get this little triangle.

Start at the top left corner of that little triangle (the top left corner of the black fabric in this photo), backstitch, stitch to the point, with the need down rotate the work 45 degrees and stitch out to the corner where the ear-band is. With the needle down, rotate another 45 degrees and stitch halfway down the side. The stitching will look something like a backwards N. Like this: И.

Put the other end of the ear-band into the bottom fold, stitch down to the bottom corner and stop with the needle down.

Rotate the work 45 degrees so you can go up the ramp, stopping at the top corner to rotate another 45 degrees and stitch down, backstitching before stitching off the edge. This one is shaped line an N.