Face masks are the new must-have accessory (quite literally!) for people around the world.
Kids and toddlers are included in this one, so they need to be bringing their masks with them everywhere they go too.
However, kids face masks aren’t as commonly found as adult masks, so how are we supposed to supply them?
Creating kids face masks from scratch sounds challenging, but we promise it’s not.
There are a number of reasons why you might want to make kids masks rather than buy them. For starters, children are a lot messier than adults and their masks are bound to get dirty quickly.
We wouldn’t be surprised if you’d resorted to carrying around multiple masks for your kids just in case!
Food, drink, and dribble are all bound to collect on their masks, and making them from scratch will prevent you from having to pay too much for additional emergency masks.
Today we’re going to be looking at how to make DIY kids face masks. They’re easy and relatively quick to make, but they do take some practice. Let’s get stuck in, shall we?
Gathering Supplies
First, you need a suitable material to make the mask from.
The best material is cotton as it is breathable yet tightly woven to avoid any germs from escaping. If you don’t want to purchase new cotton material and would rather repurpose something around the house, you can use bed cloths or cotton t-shirts.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Two pieces of your cotton fabric.
- One piece of a non-woven interfacing filter.
- Two pieces of elastic.
- A small twist tie.
- Cotton thread.
- Pins.
- A sewing kit or machine (alternatively you can use fabric glue).
- Scissors.
- An iron and ironing board.
Dimensions For Your Child
Children grow much quicker than adults and therefore they have widely different sized faces. For example, a two-year-old would not be able to wear an 11-year-old’s mask. It would just fall right off.
However, we do know that it can be difficult to get your child to sit still long enough to get their measurements, so here is a baseline to use if all else fails.
For kids aged 2 to 6, the mask should be 8 x 6 inches of fabric with around 5-inch ear elastics on either side. For older children aged 7 to 14, their masks should measure in at around 8.5 x 6.5 inches with 5.5-inch ear elastics. Children older than the age of 14 can wear adult masks.
We know that there isn’t much of a difference in these sizes, but it is sure to make a big difference in your child’s comfort while they’re wearing the mask.
The Process
Now, moving onto the step by step process of how to make a kid’s DIY face mask.
Step One
Cut the pieces of fabric, both the two pieces of cotton and one piece of non-woven interfacing filter, out to the correct size.
You might prefer to use our rough guide above or ask your child to sit still for more accurate measurements.
Step Two
Take one piece of cotton fabric and lay it down facing upwards. This will be the fabric that is visible when the mask is being worn, so make sure that it is the right way round!
Then take the interior fabric and place it on top facing down, and pop the filter on top of the stack.
Step Three
Get your elastic pieces and cut them to size if you haven’t already. Lay them down on either side of the mask so that they are adjacent to the short sides of the mask (near where the ears will be).
The elastics should be between the outer layer of the fabric and the inner layer. They should be half an inch from the sides of the mask. Pin them in place.
Step Four
Sew along the sides of the mask with half an inch for the seam allowance.
This should secure the elastic in place so that it can only be removed from the top or the bottom of the mask.
Step Five
Place the twist tie where the nose will be and pin it down. You can cut this shorter if needs be.
Now sew along the top of the mask with half an inch for allowance, ensuring that the twist tie is also sewn to avoid it moving along the seam.
Step Six
Sew the bottom of the mask but make sure that you leave a 3-inch opening.
Step Seven
Cut off all of the corners using a diagonal line, but make sure that you don’t hit any of the stitching that you’ve already done.
Step Eight
Turn the mask the right way using the opening at the bottom.
Pull at all of the corners so that the mask makes a rectangular shape. Fold in the bottom opening so that the mask looks like a perfect rectangle.
Step Nine
Now we need to press the mask to ensure that it protects your child with a good fit. Press all four sides of the mask to start off with to ensure that the mask doesn’t protrude from the face. Next, fold the bottom to meet the top and press the fold.
Fold the top down to the middle of the mask and fold the bottom up to meet the top edge. Press these two folds so that you now have three pleats in the mask. Pin the edges of these folds close together to give a slightly rounded look.
Step Ten
Give the mask one final sew along all four sides, a quarter-inch from the edges, making sure to get the bottom opening as well.
Press the pleats for one final time and tie up the elastics to the desired length.
Summary
That’s it, you’ve just made your first DIY kids face mask.
While the steps might seem tricky at first, we promise that they’ll become easier as you go on.
Making DIY masks is a great way to add a little fun into your life, particularly in such worrying and uncertain circumstances.