Best Fit Face Mask
Over the weekend I completed something I’m really proud of! Honestly, I worked like a dog because I felt the urgency to share this tutorial with the world. If you happen to follow me on social media, you already know that I created the Best Fit Face Mask. After struggling with several different patterns online I bemoaned the fit on all of them. Not one of the face mask were any I could wear for any length of time. You could say, I consider myself a face mask connoisseur especially because I searched for years to find my more form-fitting and comfortable masks used for carpentry or demolition.
Best Fit Face Mask
As a general contractor and woodworker, I had searched for form-fitting and comfortable masks to protect my lungs from dust and debris and had my favorites. Several didn’t have a good tight fit around the nose, which inevitably meant I was blowing sawdust out my nose at night. A good fitting mask doesn’t allow air to come in next to your nose. For that reason, I knew there were better options than most of the sewing mask patterns I found. After a weekend, I designed this easy sew Best Fit Facemask Tutorial for use by the public and medical professionals trying to protect N95 and surgical masks while also staying safe during the COVID crisis. (These are not a replacement for N95 or surgical masks. These masks are designed to add an additional layer of protection.) Looking for a simple, stylish, and better fitting face mask? Well, I have you covered. Get it? Covered? ;-D
Truth be told, my Mom reminded me I’ve been sewing and perfecting this design for almost forty years! This is me sewing a quilted rainbow vest (remember Punky Brewster?!)
And this was my costume for Future Day in elementary school. It’s a bit crazy that I thought the future was a place where we’d have so much smog we couldn’t breathe clean air. My costume was a mask with an oxygen tank on my back made from an egg carton. Kind of scary how our current day is a place where we fear the air we are breathing.
Thank goodness, we don’t have to wear tin foil covered milk jugs on our heads. I much prefer wearing the Best Fit Face Mask, a more form-fitted cloth mask with adjustable ties around the ears to fit a wider variety of faces (and keep from irritating the ears after wearing for long periods of time). The mask pattern also has an optional filter pocket, should you need the extra protection (although, frankly it gets harder to breathe the more layers you add.)
Here are a few details about the mask:
- Two Sizes (Medium and Large)
- Easy to Sew
- Filter Pocket
- Adjustable Nose Clip
- Fitted around nose, chin and cheeks
- Less Fabric Waste
Are you ready to make your own Best Fit Face Mask?
Click here to be taken to the full instructions with video and downloadable instruction sheet with templates!
One more thing, I share several options for materials, especially because there seems to be a shortage of elastic.
Prefer to purchase a Best Fit Face Mask? This is the link to the database of sellers.
Hi there! I love this mask, and so does everyone else I’ve made one for! Thank you for posting this! I’ve made around 25 for family and several of my friends (at no cost). A few are in pharma sales so they requested extras for work. I didn’t have any beads for the adjustable straps so I stole my hubby’s paracord and he tied sliding knots to make them adjustable. I really appreciate you sharing this pattern!
Hello Brittany, i just got around to trying out your pattern for face masks, and wanted to thank you for an easy and well-fitting mask. I couldn’t find any craft beads, so I looked in my sewing supplies and found something that would do. They look like miniature grommets that one would pound into fabric; no memory of ever using them. Have a lot of quarter inch elastic, so I used that, threaded through the tiny grommet thingies, knotted elastic together. The grommet things slide up easily for making the elastic tighter. I was able to make the masks with what I could find around my home thanks to your creative ideas for the various parts. I had made another style of mask with a paperclip for the nose, but hadn’t thought of the electrical tape to keep it from working through the fabric.
As a side note, I wash masks in cold water as that is all there is in my laundry room, and hang them in the sun to dry. Easier on elastic and I figure the time in the sun (all day) is sterile enough.
Again, thanks for an elegant mask tutorial and and inspiring method for using materials at hand.
Hi Brittany – Thank you for making your pattern available! It’s the best one I’ve seen so far. I have no intention of selling masks. I’ve made about 10 so far for my family and close friends. It’s easy to put together! At first I could not find beads anywhere – so as a workaround, I went into the toy section of Target and found a key chain kit with the beads! Ta Da! work around! LOL Again, thank you!
Hello,
Love this tutorial… so you have a kids template? Or how to modify your template for a smaller face? Thanks so much..
l apologize for not being able to directly answer your question. Look at the top of the comment thread on the YouTube video (https://youtu.be/-t_Gz3lGwF8) for my FAQ comment which answers your question. You can also get answer directly on this page which was linked in the video description, but here it is again: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
Is the filter removable? Or is it just sewn in to the mask itself? I’m new to sewing and feel a little dumb asking this 🙂
The filter is any material you wish to slide behind the filter pocket layer. So, no, it isn’t permanently sewn in.
Just a suggestion, Hostess bag donuts are inexpensive and also have the double layer twist ties like your coffee bags that can be used. Making one of your masks this weekend thank you for this post!
Doctor’s recommendation is to use a hot steam iron to sterilise.
Hi Brittany, Thanks so much for making this pattern and tutorial. I make these and donate them to a local facility. I love how they can adjust to different face sizes. They are relatively easy to make (I’m new to sewing). The pattern is easy to cut out and it uses very little waste for the fabric. I love the idea of using coffee bag flat ties for the nose clip. I made minor adjustments, just because I was using material I had on hand. For those in the same situation: I used craft beads with a hole that measures between 2-3mm. Also, I used 1/8 inch soft stretch elastic. (I bought these items a few years ago for a project) I used a thread and needle to put the bead on the elastic. The elastic works great, but it doesn’t gather the fabric at the edge of the mask quite as much as the cords and thicker elastic does. I’m on my second batch of masks to donate when I though, I should let Brittany know how amazing her masks are. Well they’re great! Thanks again, Donna
i would like to get the pattern for the mask but I can not find it
l apologize for not being able to directly answer your question. Look at the top of the comment thread on the YouTube video (https://youtu.be/-t_Gz3lGwF8) for my FAQ comment which answers your question. You can also get answer directly on this page which was linked in the video description, but here it is again: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
HA! Never mind – I figured it out! WOW!!! The fit on this mask is amazing!!! Thank you!!!
Ok! How did you use the button method for this project? Could you provide a bit more details for using this method please?
l apologize for not being able to directly answer your question. Look at the top of the comment thread on the YouTube video (https://youtu.be/-t_Gz3lGwF8) for my FAQ comment which answers your question. You can also get answer directly on this page which was linked in the video description, but here it is again: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
Loved your mask pattern… made one for myself and husband. question on cleaning.. all info says to wash in washer and put in dryer but am afraid of the tape i used for nose wire. (duck tape). for now I hand washed for 5 mins in hot soapy water , rinsed and then soaked in boiling water for 5 mins based on research. Would love to hear thought on putting in dryer to dry. Sure would be quicker.
It should be fine in the dryer, but use medium heat in case.
Love this mask. I tried several other types but yours is the best- now on to making a template for a small six your old!
Thanks so much for this pattern, and your tutorial was really helpful. It really is the best fitting mask. What size bead did you use? I can’t seem to find one that works in my jumbledy bead box.
Beads have 4mm hole. All the information on materials and more is on this page: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
I really like your pattern. Any chance you have templates in small and extra large?
Not yet. But, make sure you read the FAQs on this page: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/