The biggest wave of shock is hopefully over. Before we were sewing huge amounts of masks often lowering our quality standards and skipping unnecessary steps of the sewing process to be able to provide our hospitals and social services with as many face masks as possible. Once the situation has become a little better, I started focusing on making neater face masks that will also last longer. And so here is the second pleated face mask.
Unlike the first one this one has neater edges and the straps are stitched inside the mask. Also, it’s a bit bigger.
Table of Contents
Supplies
- mask: two 28 x 28 cm rectangles from 100 % cotton fabric
- straps: 100% cotton rectangle 42 x 24 cm
- thread
- scissors
How to
Pleated face mask
Place the cotton rectangles right side together and pin.
Stitch them together alongside the edges. Leave all corners 1,5 cm open and also a 5 cm opening on one of the sides.
Turn the mask right side out through the opening and press the edges of the opening together and pin. Stitch through all the edges (still keep the corners open).
Time to start pleating. The pleats shouldn’t align vertically, each new pleat should start in the middle of the previous one.
Stitch each pleat. You can also measure all the pleats and make them all the same width but I skipped this.
The upper and lower edge must stay unpleated.
Straps
Cut the fabric into four 6 cm wide stripes.
Fold each stripe in half on the long side and iron. When you open in you will see a fold line in the middle.
Fold one long edge to the center line and iron.
Do the same with the other long side.
Then fold the stripe in half once again and iron well.
Open one end of each strap a little and fold it about 1 cm in and close it again.
Stitch the whole open long edge of each strap and that’s a strap ready to be sewn into the face mask.
Insert the end with the raw edge of the strap into the open edge of the mask and pin.
Stitch around all the edges.This will keep the pleats as well as the straps in place.
The pleated face mask is done. Don’t forget! You have to boil and iron the mask after every wearing.
Do you want another type of a face mask? What about the adjustable one.
Are you looking for complex information on the Corona virus? You can find it on the webpage of the WHO.
