After writing an article and a blog post on making masks, I decided it was time to join the mask brigade. My choice was this pattern from Vanderbilt Medical Center. I also found a more rounded pattern that I tried as well.
I am not the neatest of workers:
A good friend of mine has compromised lungs and she asked if I could make some masks for her. No problem – anything for a friend. Then a few others asked and offered me money. It didn’t feel right accepting money for these masks, made out of scraps I already had. So at my husband’s suggestion of giving it to charity, I asked my friends if they would donate to my local food bank instead of paying me. The amount didn’t matter – if all they could afford is $5, then that’s still $5 more than the food bank had before the donation. At the time I’m writing this, the food bank has received over $350 in donations. I am so happy about that. (added August 8 – it’s well over $2,000 dollars now!)
I’m making most of my masks with bias strips I made because my elastic supply is very low. Right now, I’m saving the elastic for masks for seniors or people with issues that would make it difficult to tie strips around their head. For one mask, I tried using some piping I had left over from another project. Unfortunately, the iron melted the stuff that wraps around the rope, so I stripped it all off, leaving a very loosely woven rope. Instead of chucking it, I zigzagged over the length and ended up with very serviceable ties! Thankfully, I’ll be getting some more elastic and some twill tape this week, so that will make things easier.
A friend asked if I would join in to make masks for a local hospital. I’ve not committed to that yet. First I need to know how complicated a pattern they want and how much time I have. Unlike many people during this time, I’m quite busy with work. And because of the fickle nature of my freelance work, I usually take whatever I can when it’s offered. Just because I’m very busy now doesn’t mean I’ll be busy in a few weeks.