Hopefully this will be my last post about masks. I am firmly on the same team as those who believe these homemade face coverings are almost useless as protection against anything, never mind against a deadly virus. They could be even worse than useless if they give anyone a false sense of security. But I am now required to wear one in certain places and at least they mean I can brave public transport.
Here are some of the masks I made for my sister; I accidentally forgot to photograph the first two that I posted. I blame corona brain for that:
The mauve masks are made from an old t-shirt and I was quite pleased with myself when I managed to incorporate an embroidered part on the right hand mask. My sister bought her own mauve and green elastic.
Here are six masks I made for myself:
Again, these started life as t-shirts. I simply refuse to buy new material for these things. I did give in, though, and bought some blue elastic. I've noticed a wide variety of masks being worn in public. The homemade masks are generally very good and I wanted mine to cut the mustard with the best of them.
Apart from one mask, all of these follow the pattern by Dhurata Davies https://dhuratadavies.com/blogs/things-i-make-and-do/free-face-mask-pattern-and-tutorial. It is extremely well-written and I can recommend it for comfort and fit. I also like how the pattern involves both hand and machine sewing. There are quite a few steps to follow. But if you take your time, you will end up with a good mask.
I can't say the same for the rectangular mask at the bottom of my photo. It looked like it should have been super easy, and it was up to a point. That point came when I had to sew the two sides after folding them. My forty year old sewing machine didn't want to know and I ended up having to do it by hand which wasn't easy through all the layers. This mask is ok to wear, but not as nice as the others. It will only have its debut if all the other masks are in the wash. Realistically that will be never.
I love how online videos show sewing machines stitching this type of pleated mask with ease. I have managed to keep my machine going for years and have no plans to buy another one. After all, I have never had to change the light bulb or needle. Yes, the needle is older than my daughter! I'm not going to jinx things by changing it for a modern one. I've found that modern hand sewing needles are not as strong as older ones. Is the same true of machine needles? I'll never know!
So this is the new normal we are all supposed to be getting used to. Maybe, if we are lucky, a good vaccine will be found and we will all look back in disbelief at 2020. That is quite possible as I read somewhere that social distancing and face coverings were used during the 1918 pandemic. That died out and has been almost forgotten. Let's hope history repeats itself.
I have now made about 20 face masks for various people. I'm completely done with them. My new normal will involve knitting and crochet once again. Watch this space...
Well done you on making all those masks.Before shutdown I managed to buy some FP3 masks from our local iron monger.They are the strength that was used in the Ebola outbreak.We also have Virustatic masks which were featured in BBC news.They cost £20 each but can be washed and have been proved to be the most effective against Covid 19.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and please show us what you are knitting.I am using up my stash to crochet a blanket.I think lots of blankets will be needed in the winter this year with a lot of poverty around.
I put down a crochet blanket to make masks, but also because the weather was too hot for crochet. I'm looking forward to picking it up again.
DeleteYour masks look great. I flip flop about whether the protection they afford is worth the discomfort and isolation felt when wearing one, but I wear one most of the time I visit a store (that's about it, if I'm completely honest). I go to a store so little anymore, if most people are like me, our shopping habits will have a huge impact on the economy, or maybe just brick and mortar stores. FWIW, I broke two needles sewing masks. They were probably 25+ year-old needles, though, so I don't know what that tells you (except that I don't sew much anymore).
ReplyDeleteStrangely I started doing a little shopping every day as a way to get out of the house. Social distancing is almost impossible in shops though. Maybe I should do what you do and wear a mask. I've only worn them on buses so far, but don't feel very safe on them.
DeleteI've found that modern hand sewing needles are not as strong as older ones. Is the same true of machine needles?
ReplyDeleteBack when we sewed for sale to the public, suddenly my sewing machine needles were breaking. Singer needles! On a whim I took a new one from the back and broke it by hand. I sent an angry letter to Singer and one day had a phone call from a plant manager who wanted me to know that she was about to go to the manager of purchasing and show him their Singer needles could be broken by hand. It was a long story, but basically they fired Brazil from making needles and went back to Germany and we had a letter from Germany thanking us.
Moral: don't take anything for granted.
That's a really interesting anecdote. It confirms what I suspected. Daughter helped herself to my old hand sewing needles years ago. I really miss them. They were so strong.
DeleteWhat a great way of repurposing tee shirts! Here in Australia we get conflicting info from various health experts about the efficacy of masks but in the mass demonstrations ( which people ignored the govt advice and went ahead any way) people did tend to wear masks. I go out very little and have been able to avoid crowds being retired.
ReplyDeleteYes, the huge crowds recently are worrying. Some people feel invincible.
DeleteWell done on having the patience to make so many masks Una, I've only made two and I can't seem to force myself to make any more. I haven't been on public transport yet and I don't really want to unless I absolutely have to and I'm shopping in quiet times when the shops are virtually empty, luckily when I'm out walking people are keeping their distance so I haven't needed to wear one yet. Enjoy your crocheting I'm looking forward to seeing your crochet blanket. Oh I bought a sewing machine from Lidle several years ago and it's very flimsy and temperamental nothing like as good as the singer I had to leave behind in Syria. :) xx
ReplyDeleteI don't own a sewing machine so I was left with purchasing whatever I needed. I have a mix of cloth and disposable paper. Regarding wearing them ... well, I will do anything that involves reducing my chances of catching this virus no matter how small that percentage is. Social distancing is a bigger bullet in the fight with vaccines the biggest bullet creating herd immunity - the shield we really need. It all counts. little and big. And yes, I do think life will change permanently in some ways - even after a vaccine is in place. After all, once this virus is tamed - there will be others.
ReplyDeleteGood work! I've made quite a few. They are rather thick and hot, but I'm glad to have them in reserve. However, I bought a box of surgical masks (for way too much money) at a pharmacy, and I bought 5 white masks at WalMart, made by Hanes, for $7.50. Not bad. Seamstresses are selling their cloth masks for $5 each.
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