More Masks

More masks, acknowledging the arrival of Covid Delta, and recognizing that we’ll be wearing them for quite a while yet.

Both of these masks are Mr. Noile’s, and both are the Marfy free pattern. All of these are three-layer masks, per the American Chemical Society guidelines: one layer of fine, tightly-woven, silk sandwiched between tightly-woven, high quality quilting cotton. According to the ACS, this gives superior protection in a hand-sewn mask, and we’ve also found that, unlike three layers of cotton, the silk layer makes these masks much easier to wear and breathe through.

Our mask patterns are altered to fit our specific faces; masks are ineffective if they don’t fit closely, without gaps between mask and skin. Alterations were easy and fast; I made the changes on the individual patterns, and now it’s no trouble to whip them up without any additional fuss.

Fit is considerably enhanced with firm nose strips. I bought mine from DIY Mask Shop, and have been really happy with them. They conform firmly to each nose shape, for both comfort and security, but also survive washing without bending out of shape. They can be applied on the outside of a mask, making them easy to retrofit, or in a pocket, which is the method I prefer, since I’m making my masks from scratch.

Originally I bought both types, but we both much prefer the straight band, and that’s all I’ve used to date.

We use one-quarter inch (.64 cm) elastic on our masks, and I use this fantastic tool to thread the elastic through the narrow casing:

It’s a great device, and makes short shrift of any and all similar threading jobs.

Mr. Noile’s masks are the same fabric as some I made for a dear relative.

Before I knew about the DMS strips, I shaped the masks at the top by bending stiff copper wire. It worked, but was a little difficult to adjust, and not nearly as comfortable as the DMS nose strips. The nose strips are also much easier to install, which also makes the whole process a lot faster.