Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask

Behind the scenes, I’ve been working on improvements for the Best Fit Face Mask and am thrilled to finally share with you the Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask.


Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask

I’ve heard from thousands of you who have emailed me, or commented and told me how much you love the Best Fit Face Mask. So many have remarked how easy it was to sew and how it truly is the best fitting face mask available. In an effort to provide better comfort and ease of wearing, I’ve changed the mask slightly to be the Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask!

hundreds of best fit face mask pictures

You heard me right, this is by far the most comfortable, not to mention best fitting face mask. This new design uses the same Best Fit Face Mask pattern but I’ve changed the straps slightly so they don’t go behind the ears.

The Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask is super popular with:

  • Children
  • People who wear glasses
  • People who wear hearing aids
  • People with sensitivity issues
  • Workers who see people on and off during the day
  • Medical professionals who don’t want anything on their ears
  • People who want to wear the mask around their neck when not needed

This mask design will be invaluable for children who are heading back to school or people going back to work. It allows the wearer to pull it on and off quickly with ease and without the risk of misplacing their mask! Then when wearing the mask is no longer necessary, they can simply pull it down and let it hang around the neck until needed again.

child wearing most comfortable best fit face mask

You’ll use the same pattern and instructions to make the mask as the Best Fit Face Mask. When you get to the final sewing step in my tutorial, you are NOT going to add the ear straps. Instead, just sew the sides and I’ll show you how to thread the straps next.

Go ahead over to the tutorial, download your choice of five size patterns and start making your mask.

Then watch this video to see how to turn that Best Fit Face Mask into the Most Comfortable Face Mask:

Most Comfortable Face Mask Materials:

I found that the ⅝” flat foldover elastic hairband material is the most comfortable strap material for over the head wearing. It is super soft, stretches easily, and doesn’t pull on your hair or face. For this strap design, cut the elastic at 36”. You may trim a little off the length later if you find it too long (especially for a child-size mask.)

Flat 5/8" Foldover Elastic for Most Comfortable Face Mask

My Source for Flat Foldover Elastic: Amazon or Etsy

Don’t have foldover elastic? Not a big deal, you can also use any cording you like for this mask, but it may not fit through the adjustment bead. You can simply tie the tails instead. Not using elastic straps means it might not be as comfortable or as easy to slip on and off, but it’s still desirable if you want to move away from ear straps.

How to Feed the Straps Through the Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask:

Pin a safety pin to the end of your elastic. Starting from the chin side of your mask, feed the elastic up through one side, then down through the other side leaving the ends on the chin side.

feed straps through mask

Adding an adjustment bead helps make this mask easy to adjust. To feed the straps through the bead, fold some fishing line in half. Feed the loop end through the bead. Slip both strap ends through the fishing line and pull back through the bead.

feeding adjustment bead onto face mask straps

Pull the strap ends through the bead completely. Tie the ends of the ribbon elastic and singe the ends to keep them from fraying.

Finished Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask

Ways to Wear the Most Comfortable Best Fit Face Mask:

1. Straight Forward:

best face mask for kids

To put the mask on, make sure the nose clip is facing up. Put the bottom strap (or the tail end side) over your head first and rest it around your neck. Then pull the top strap over your head and let it rest on or slightly below the crown of your head. Pinch the nose clip against your nose. Then pull on the tails to tighten the strap to your comfort level. To loosen the straps, move the bead away from your neck.

easy adjustable face mask straps

2. The Good Hair Day:

no more bad hair day with face mask straps

One thing I love about the straps on this design, is the versatility. If you are having a good hair day, congratulations. You can simply put the top strap over your ears and behind the base of your skull. Now tug on the tails of the strap until it’s comfortable. Adjust your hair over the straps. Now you go rock that great hair today!

3. Both on Top:

both straps on top of head wearing face mask

If you don’t want the straps on your neck, or want a very secure fit under the chin, pull both straps to the crown of your head.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you find other ways to wear the mask. I know you’ll love how comfortable it is and how lightweight it is when hanging around your neck. I also know that kids are going to love this design change!

child wearing most comfortable best fit face mask

Please share this tutorial with friends and family. I see so many disposable and poor-fitting masks out in public. This is a much better solution, but I need your help to spread the word. In the meantime, thank you all for doing your part to stay safe and stay kind.

Pin this image to share:

Don’t forget to see my Time Saver tips when sewing the Best Fit Face Mask:

Best Fit Face Mask Time Saver Tips New Sizes

Finally, if you are looking for the original Best Fit Face Mask tutorial, here it is:

 

27 replies
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  1. Debbie Wightman
    Debbie Wightman says:

    I am using strips of tee shirts and don’t know how many inches to use for the kids mask to go around the head? You said 18″ for your favorite elastic. Can you give me a suggestion? I am making masks for kids and I have no kids that size at home 🙂 Debbie in Sunriver, OR [email protected]

    Reply
  2. Kathryn Davis
    Kathryn Davis says:

    I have been using pipe cleaners with no problems. fold over the edges and crimp them and bury the wire in the fuzz. The ones I have had to replace were the cheaper pipe cleaners. The good quality ones have held up thru multiple washings. I make a casing for the pipe cleaners so they can easily be replaced if needed but so far I have only had to replace 3 out of over 200 masks made for family and friends and those were the cheap pipe cleaners. The better quality ones have held up well. Everyone loves this pattern as it allows good coverage but also room to breathe.

    Reply
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