Make a Re-usable Facemask From Re-cycled Materials

Due to the Covid pandemic, most countries have made the wearing of facemasks in public compulsory. Single use (disposable) facemasks are not only uncomfortable, but they are also bad for the environment as this is now one more thing that lands up in the trash after only one use. Two of my favorite things are DIY and finding ways to re-purpose stuff that would otherwise land in the trash :)

For this facemask, I have re-purposed a used disposable facemask (after hanging it in the sun for a few days and letting it lie in a drawer for a few weeks until I was ready to use it, to make sure that there were no leftover Covid cooties in it), an old cotton school shirt and the bodice of an outdated dress (after using the skirt part of the dress to make a pair of pants).

The soft cotton of the school shirt is used for the lining and is now comfortable against my face while the pretty patterned material from my old dress brightens my day (and matches my pants).

You will need:

• a template or pattern for the mask. You can either search the internet for a pattern that suits you or copy the pattern off another mask you find comfortable to wear. I formed my pattern using a combination of these two methods.
• a pair of scissors
• a sewing needle (You can use a sewing machine if you have one, but I like to sew while I am watching my favorite tv soapie)
• pins
• an offcut from a cotton school shirt or an old pillow case - about 30cm x 30cm
• an offcut from an old dress or shirt, preferably also cotton - about 30cm x 30cm
• matching thread
• a piece of thin batting - 6cm x 15cm (I use the reusable batting filter from another cotton mask I bought.) This gets soaked in very hot water with a bit of detergent after use, hung up to dry and then inserted into the middle of the mask when dry. I have about 3 or 4 that I use on a rotational basis.
• a used disposable facemask - be sure to handle it by the elastic and hang it in a sunny window for a few days, then leave it in a drawer for a few weeks until you are ready to use it for your project.

You can go out and buy new material, but then you wouldn't feel good about how much material you have re-cycled.

You will cut 2 pieces exactly the same. This you can do by pinning and cutting them out one by one, or you can line two pieces of white cotton material up with their "right" sides together, pin your pattern to the material and cut the material around the edge of the pattern/template. I look for pieces of material that are already edged or hemmed and line up the cutting line for the mask lining to this edge (as indicated by the point of the pen in picture 1) so that I don't first have to neaten the edge or hem it. NB: mark the topside with a 'T' so that you know which is the top later.

You will cut 2 pieces exactly the same. This you can do by pinning and cutting them out one by one, or you can line two pieces of patterned cotton material up with their "right" sides together, pin your pattern to the material and cut the material around the edge of the pattern/template. NB: mark the topside on the wrong side of the material with a 'T' so that you know which is the top later.

Place the two cut pieces of white cotton material with the "right" sides together and pin along the curved edge which will form the centre of your mask. Stitch neatly along about 5mm from the outer edge just on this one side.

Place the two cut pieces of patterned cotton material with the "right" sides together and pin along the curved edge which will form the centre of your mask. The "right" sides are the sides on which the colours are brighter or the patterns are printed - these would be on the outside of the garment. Stitch neatly along about 5mm from the outer edge just on this one side.

Open out the two pieces of lining that you have now sewn together in the centre and pin the 5mm seam allowance to one side as flat as possible. Stitch along as neatly as possible about 2,5mm away from your seam to flatten this extra bit of material down so that it is not bulky when you put your two mask pieces together.

Do the same for the patterned material.

The aim of this step is to re-use the metal piece that shapes over the bridge of your nose from the disposable mask in your cloth mask.

Line the top of the disposable mask up with the top of your white cotton lining, taking care to make sure that the centre of the wire piece is more or less lined up with the centre of your lining. Pin it to the cotton material about 8mm from the top edge to hold it in place and tack along the bottom side of the metal as closely as you can. (Tacking stitches are long running stitches that hold the pieces in place or together to make it easier to work with. You remove/unpick these later when your project is complete)

Taking care NOT to cut the cloth/material mask, use a sharp scissors and cut the body of the disposable mask next to the wire and your tacking stitches to remove the body of the disposable mask, leaving the piece with the wire in it attached to your cloth lining.

Pin the white cotton lining to the patterned material, "right" sides together, taking care to match the centre of the white lining cloth to the centre of the patterned cloth. Stitch them together about 5mm from the edge and above the wire, as shown by the point of the pen in the picture.

Trim the excess material from the disposable mask above the wire, as closely as possible, but taking care not to cut the cloth of your lining or your patterned material.

Turn your materials "wrong" sides together, pin and sew along neatly about 5mm from the top edge, below the wire, to create a neat edge and to hold everything in place.

Turn the two pieces of material "right" sides together again. Pin and stitch 5mm from the bottom edge.

Pushing the material through the side opening from one side to the other, turn the mask "right" side out.

Pin and stitch 5mm from the bottom edge to neaten and hold the material in place, as you did for the top edge.

Hem the top and bottom edges along the printed material (past the lining) to neaten them.

Using your scissors, cut the edges of the elastic out of the disposable mask and tie a secure knot at the ends.

Place the tied edge of the elastic on the 'ear' side of the printed mask material. Pull the edge through, fold it in and fold it in again. Pin in place and hem/sew it neatly to hold it in place.

You can now throw the rest of the disposable mask in the trash, knowing that the elastic will not land up around some poor bird's beak or the wire down a poor animal's throat. Whoop whoop! :))

Insert the batting filter between the white cotton lining and the printed material and adjust in place. Unpick the tacking stitches to neaten if you wish. Adjust the wire to the bridge of your nose and wear comfortably.

If you find that it gapes a bit, you can thread some thin (shirring) elastic in the bottom edge or run some gathering stitches along the edges to adjust the fit. I like to thread and tie a pretty piece of ribbon through the two pieces of elastic, at the back of my neck/head so that the elastic doesn't sit uncomfortably behind my ears.