April 20, 2020

Easy to Sew Face Masks with Removable Nose Wire and Filter Pocket – Corgi, Tiger, Otter, Dino, Cat, Shark, Hamster, Dragon

Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried out a number of different face mask patterns from pleated to fitted and found that a lot of patterns smushed my nose down and left open areas on the top, sides, and bottom for air to flow freely in and out. The easiest to sew pattern with the best fit for me was Homemade on our Homestead’s pattern. When tied properly to the back of the head and cinched tight, the mask makes a nice seal around the chin and sides of the face that I was unable to achieve with pleated or fitted mask patterns. I’ve added a few adjustments to the pattern including a curved top to contour the nose and under the eyes, and I added a wire pocket for a removable nose wire. I also made animal versions of the pattern in adult and child sizes to make wearing a mask fun!

Please note that homemade masks are not a replacement for medical protective equipment. If you make masks to sell or donate, you should not make claims that your masks will protect against COVID-19/Coronavirus.

Materials

You’ll need:

100% cotton fabric for liner and nose strip (tight-weave cotton or quilting cotton) washed and dried
100% cotton fabric for front of mask (can be quilting cotton or t-shirt fabric)
All-purpose thread (I carry organic thread in my Etsy shop)
Marking tool (like this disappearing pen* or this water soluble pen*)
Scissors
Pins or clips
Tool for turning and stuffing (like these hemostat clamps)
Iron
Floral wire, pipe cleaners, folder fasteners, or around #20 gauge wire
50″ of t-shirt yarn (see this tutorial for making t-shirt yarn), synthetic cotton 3/16″ clothesline cut to 50-60”, or shoelaces

Links with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of them, I get a small percentage of the sale with no extra cost to you.

Printing the Patterns

Select the pattern(s) you’d like to print after following the link to download the patterns. The patterns come in both adult and child size, and there are different patterns for sewing a plain mask, a dino/shark/dragon mask, and a corgi/otter/tiger/hamster mask. The child size is based off the child size pattern by Homemade on Our Homestead. I do not have any children, so I haven’t been able to do a proper in-person fitting for children while in quarantine. I’ve sewn a few patterns for children ages 7-12 that have been picked up or dropped, and the child size pattern seems to fit well based on the photos I’ve received. For small children, you may want to trim some off the edges of the pattern for a better fit. According to the CDC, children under the age of two and those with trouble breathing should not wear a mask.

These patterns are free. It is not required to sign up for my newsletter to get the patterns. If you are having issues downloading the pattern, please try a different internet browser as some browsers display the page differently.

Get the Patterns

Print pattern at 100%. (See a tutorial on printing and assembling patterns here.)

UPDATE 4/30/20: If you are making masks to donate and would like a printable instruction sheet to put with your masks, there is a downloadable PDF info sheet available here.

Instructions for Plain Mask (See Animal Mask Videos Below)

Cutting the Fabric

Whether you are making a plain mask or an animal mask, all steps are the same except for making the mask front. The steps directly below are for a plain front mask. If you want to make an animal mask, scroll down for corgi/tiger/otter/hamster mask instructions or shark/dino/dragon mask instructions.

Trace the Adult or Child Face Mask Liner pattern piece twice on your liner fabric and trace the Mask Front pattern piece once on the main fabric for the outside of the mask and cut out.

Making the Nose Strip

Trace the nose strip at a 45 degree angle to the selvedge edge.

Cut bias strip
Fold sides in 1/4″ (6mm)
Fold in half lengthwise
Stitch ends

Making the filter pocket (liner pieces)

Mark the 3″ (7.6 cm) stitch lines indicated on the Mask Liner pattern piece.
With right sides together, stitch the liner pieces together along the marked lines.
Fold liner pieces open so right sides are facing out. Press. If you have difficulty with this part, check out the tutorial video 6 minutes in.

Top stitch the filter pocket (optional)

Cutting Curve for top of mask

Place liner pieces (filter pocket) and front piece right sides together.
Trace the cut line (and stitch line if preferred) for the curve of the nose using the tracing template. Be sure to mark the center notch.
Cut all pieces along the curved cut line.

Attaching nose strip to mask

Pin nose strip to curve of filter pocket (liner).
Topstitch nose strip across top and bottom (leave sides open for inserting and removing nose wire).
Place filter pocket (liner) with the side with the nose strip face down against the front piece of the mask. Pin and stitch 1/4″ (6mm) from edge all the way around the mask. (Optional) use a narrow zig-zag stitch around outside of straight stitch.

Flipping mask and folding in sides

After stitching around mask, clip corners.
Flip right side out and press. Fold sides in 3/4″ (18mm) as indicated on pattern pieces.
(Back View)

Attaching cord to mask

Cut 50″ (127 cm) of t-shirt yarn or 50-60″ (127-152 cm) of closeline, shoelaces, or other cord of choice. If you don’t know how to make t-shirt yarn, check out this tutorial for making t shirt yarn by Craft Passion.

With cord folded in half, cord loop at bottom of mask, and cord ends at top of mask, pin cord inside folded sides.

Topstitch sides down 1/4″ (6mm) from inside edge. Be sure to forward and back stitch multiple times at beginning and end to ensure cord will remain secure after multiple uses.

Making nose wire

While wearing eye protection, cut 6″ (15 cm) of floral wire or around #20 gauge wire. Fold ends in with pliers once or twice so nose wire can slide in and out of nose pocket without snagging. (Be sure to remove this wire when laundering.)

Instructions for Corgi/Otter/Tiger/Hamster Mask