Make your own face mask

What you need to know:

  • Along the contours created by the ironing, make two foldings

In his latest speech, the president made it compulsory for all people going in public places to wear cloth facemasks as one of the Covid-19 preventative measures.
And though these are available and can be bought from a variety of places and vendors, here is how you can make your own, custom made face mask.
From my own research online, there are different ways of making these. I put my own sewing skills to use and here is how I did it.

First of all, you will need a fabric from which to create the mask. On this, I looked into my DIY box at home and found a piece of African fabric which I used. Alternatively, you can use any fabric which you don’t need anymore or a damaged cloth from which to cut the mask.
The other things you will need are; a pair of scissors, thread and needle, tailor’s measuring tape, and a flat iron.

To start with, measure off a rectangular piece of fabric from which the mask will be made. I made an average sized mask by measuring a height of seven inches and a length of 10 inches. Additionally, cut out two long threads (about 16 inches long) of about a quarter an inch big with which to tie the mask. These are a good substitute in case you do not have elastic bands. After cutting in out, iron the fabric to make it straight. While ironing fold the fabric along it’s length into two and iron. Fold it again and iron.

Along the contours created by the ironing, make two foldings (darts). These will help give space to your mask when you wear it. If you have pins, hold the darts in place using these so that you are not disturbed while sewing.
On the next step, put the threads on both ends of the fabric. For each end, measure off half an inch of the fabric, fold it with the thread inside and sew the folds to hold. Your mask is then ready for use. Use the threads to tie the mask at the back of your ear lobes or longer threads to tie it at the back of your head.

NB: Use a fabric that is not too thick to let air in.