Friday Smiles 393: Making a Mask, Elizabeth style

It's Friday and time to join Annie (at A Stitch in Time) along with the wonderful ladies who join in at Friday Smiles.   Today the funny is in this post.  Me trying to sew a mask is indeed hilarity.  Enjoy and laugh as you read how this non-seamstress tried to make masks for myself and my friends.

I'd like to begin by saying I checked about 40 web sites and blogs to find a way to create my masks without using elastic, which I didn't own.  This was back in late March or early April, when NO ONE was leaving their homes and nothing was open to buy any elastic.  From what I understood, even ordering elastic online was out of the question, since no one seemed to have any in stock.  My friend Scott even checked on Amazon and they were out at the time.

One of the first things I read was you needed three layers and several sites suggested using dried and never used wipes of some kind.  I had a container of Lysol wipes, so pulled out four and hung them to dry.

While they were drying, I cleaned my guillotine cutter, making sure it was sanitized.  I used a Purell wipe on it 

and on my sewing machine.  I am scared of this disease and didn't want to infect anyone, including myself.

What got me were the varying lengths and widths suggested for adult masks.  Sizes ranged from 1/2 up to 1 inch differences in both directions.

I settled on 9 inches of 100 percent cotton in one directions and I don't remember what the length was in the other direction.  Many sites suggested the cotton must be tightly woven, too.

I barely had enough fabric for the four fronts I was planning to make.

I decided to use some cotton fabric that was similar in color, although it doesn't look that similar in the above photo.

Now it was time to

assemble the three layers

and sew them together.

Then it was time to trim them.

At least two of the sites suggested using pronged paper fasteners for the nose closing.  I decided to make them such that the pronged fastener could be removed in order to wash the mask.  This is where hilarity began.

The hardest part for me was getting all the folds exactly even.  Be aware, I've never sewn a straight line in my life and I'm not known for measuring, either.  This time I tried, though.

You're now looking at the back side with the pronged protector ready to sit in place and the sides attached using velcro.

What happened when I put one on, you ask.  First, the pronged protector, didn't bend.  Instead it bent at a 90 degree angle, and it made the wearer (that would be both Sally and me) look like the wicked witch of the west.

Second, Sally's velcro didn't hold and when I tried to sew the velcro to the fabric, the sticky glue on the back gummed my needle so badly it tore the thread and I had to change it.  I ended up using E6000 on the velcro to hold it in place.

Third, I got the lengths of the sides too long, even for Scott and Sally.  Each had to be removed and cut down quite a bit.

Sally wore hers about 3 minutes, then removed it in disgust saying it was a disaster.  I wore mine most of the day, and Scott keeps his in his truck, although he admittedly prefers a bandana that he can tie in place.

I gave mine up after my friend Halle sent me one she made using elastic.

I know several of you who visit are real seamstresses, so I thought you might actually find this funny.  Never trust me to make anything that involves "real" sewing.

Thanks so much for spending time here today.  Now let's head over to Annie's because she knows how to put a smile on everyone's faces.  And whatever you do, please don't forget to start your weekend off right with a few Friday Smiles of your own.  And remember, if you would like to play along, Annie would love to have you join us.