Between Awnings and AstroTurf

Living the American Dream of Homeownership in The Nation's Capital

Upcycled Face Masks

When we heard there was a shortage of face masks, mom took out some old T-shirt sleeves that I thought I threw away and said “We should make masks!” Granted, the sleeves were from a T-shirt quilt project that’s collecting dust somewhere, but I digress….

The shirt sleeves were too small. So she cut up a fitted bedsheet and an old tablecloth.

She even saved the elastic from the fitted sheet so we could use them as straps. Two 9×9 fabric squares, two elastics 7 inches each. Sew it all together, then turn it inside out – et voila!

Still working on perfecting the pleat. And don’t look too closely at the stitching. 😅

But overall – I’m pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished! Just seven masks so far and I’ve promised two to a friend who is a nurse in Missouri. She said they’re already out of washable ones, so while they’re not the prettiest, they are functional. And definitely washable!

We have enough material to make 25 more masks. Waiting on elastic, but in the meantime, we will sew a few with cloth straps just to keep up production.

Please stay safe. Please stay home. Support your local small businesses when you can. And sign up for your vote by mail and/or absentee ballot now.