It’s a beautiful day here in the Seattle area. We’re having temps in the 80s, which is rare for early May. It may even be record warm temps.
I don’t know where to begin as far as explaining my adjustment to the quarantine lifestyle. The fact is, I’ve been living this way for a long time, the only thing that’s different is the shortages of certain supplies and the mask wearing. Other than that, home is where the heart is for me, and has been for quite some time.
As you know, I’m a seamstress, and in the past few years, I’ve built up my skills as a production seamstress. It keeps my sewing skills sharp, and teaches me a great deal about method, routine and organization.
I’ve been making face masks for the past month. I wasn’t planning to get into mask making (I figured plenty of folks are probably already doing that), but I needed one for myself, and then Etsy asked me to. Since I have the skills and a shop there, it seemed like the natural flow of things to do.
I began by drafting one of the many available patterns. I made my own mask, which I’m happy with. Then I gathered some of my cotton fabrics that I thought would be appropriate, and started making them for other people. I happened to have an entire roll of elastic, which also smoothed the path for me, and the rest is history:
I also made one in linen for my son. This is the same linen that I made a dress from awhile back.
Next, I tried making some masks with fabric ties, which some people wanted instead of elastic:
And most recently, I added a nose wire to all my masks and changed the styling from ear loops to one continuous loop:
The discovery of adding a nose wire was made out of necessity – it’s the only way to really eliminate the fogging that occurs for eyeglass wearers, of which I’m one. I was fed up with fogged lenses and did some reading about it, where I learned that a wire in the nose bridge of the mask is the best way to prevent breathing exhaust from steaming the lenses. I made one for myself to test it out, and the results were great, so I began offering it as an additional service to my customers, however the demand was more than I expected, so I now add a nose wire to all the masks I make.
And that, my friends, is my face mask story/journey.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you ladies out there, I hope it’s a good one 🙂
Sewcoordinated 