DIY Handmade Face Mask Pattern Tutorial and Links - Adjustable with Filter Pocket - against Covid-19 Coronavirus flu virus dust gas paint chemicals

The Ultimate List of Tutorials, Patterns, Videos, Facebook pages and Discussion Forums for making Face Masks and PPE (Scrub caps and Scrubs) to prevent getting Corona virus/Covid-19*

*Disclaimer: I make no medical claims about the effectiveness of the items mentioned in this post. Use at your own discretion.

Please note: Face masks are not recommended for those under 3 years of age (they wouldn’t keep them on anyway! 😛 )

Brief History and Timeline of Face Masks (Surgical Masks)

Sources: Wikipedia: Surgical Mask, Wikipedia:Cloth Face Mask, Uncovering the History of Operating Room Attire through Photographs, A quick history of why Asians wear surgical masks in public, Face masks and coronavirus: how culture affects your decision to wear one, Xinhua Headlines: Europe, U.S. slowly adopting mask-wearing against COVID-19, Coronavirus: Why some countries wear face masks and others don’t

General Information about Face Masks

(this list by no means exhaustive)

Wear face mask rationale chart sneeze cough droplets

Wear face mask rationale diagram sneeze cough droplets

A bit about my history with face masks

For those who don’t know, my family come from Taiwan. Taiwan‘s attempts at fighting Covid-19 are highly commendable. Not only are they located very close to China, they are a nation with a population approximately the same size as Australia, yet all living on a tiny island half the size of Tasmania! With people living in such proximity to each other don’t you think diseases would spread rather easily? Think about that for a second.

Taiwan’s Covid-19 statistics and graphs from Worldometers

Australia’s Covid-19 statistics and graphs from Worldometers

At the time of me writing this blogpost (9 April, 2020), they have had only 380 cases and 5 deaths, meanwhile Australia has 6104 cases and 51 deaths. No other country can claim to have beaten the virus like Taiwan has. And yet, nobody, especially none of the powerful Western countries listened to them. Why? Because they have no part in the World Health Organisation (WHO). China blocked their access, due to political tensions between the two countries. They have been fighting and screaming to get in but nobody would let them in. So all their experience in dealing with both SARS and now Covid-19 are not being taken into account. So while everyone looks up to WHO as the all knowing God or Bible for all of this, everyone has ignored little Taiwan,

Article about Taiwan/WHO

Update with Breaking News : Article from 19 May 2020 from Time.com: Taiwan Says It Tried to Warn the World About Coronavirus. Here’s What It Really Knew and When

Meanwhile, for about a month now, the Western countries have been saying that face masks are unnecessary and have wasted time debating back and forth. Now, finally, they have realised that the north-east Asian countries (notably China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan) were onto something and concluded that yes, they are helpful in preventing viruses and respiratory illnesses. Given that north-east Asian countries’ people have been wearing face masks for 100 years now, don’t you think they have far more knowledge and experience in this area than other countries who’ve never worn them (apart from hospital/medical staff)?

Materials

Suitable Fabrics for making Face Masks

Please use new, clean and pre-washed fabrics only.

  • Tightly woven / high thread count 100% woven cotton (not knitted):
    • Cotton Poplin
    • Quilting Cotton / Fat Quarters
    • T-shirts
    • Bedsheets
    • Pillowcases
  • Halyard H600 / SMMS fabric / Sterilization wrap (blue) (discussion)
  • Blue shop towels (from auto stores) (article)

Suitable Materials for making Face Mask Ear Loops

  • 3-6mm braided elastic
  • 3-4mm rope elastic (AKA bungee cord)
  • or make bias binding ties to tie the face mask around the back of the head (suitable for medical staff who need to wear the masks for many hours a day)

Suitable Materials for Face Mask metal Nose Pieces

  • PVC-coated florists/gardening wire
  • Jewellery wire (of a suitable gauge)
  • Bread bag closures

Suitable Fabrics for making Face Mask Filters

*Disclaimer: I make no medical claims about the effectiveness of these items. Use at your own discretion.

Jennifer Maker has a great post here and Smart Air Filters have done some great research, with charts here

  • Coffee filters
  • Disposable Pleated Face Masks inserted inside
  • Anything made of non-woven polypropylene (NWPP) including (new/clean) grocery shopping bags

Not suitable:

  • Vacuum cleaner bags/HEPA filters (since they contain fibreglass which is not safe to be breathed in)
  • Baby wipes (due to chemicals/fragrances)

Usage Guidelines

How to wear a face mask (Videos)

Washing Instructions

Wash in warm soapy water. Do not boil or microwave. Air dry. For extra sanitization, iron or steam afterwards. (NB: If the metal nose piece and/or filter is not removable, do not heat in any way. It may burn or melt).

or

Disinfect in a rice cooker (which reaches 165°C and kills 99% of germs) recommends the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration: (Article and Video)

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Websites

Facebook Pages

Websites/Videos with Tutorials and Patterns for making Face Masks

Back of head straps (to prevent pain at the back of ears from elastic)

Ikea Bevara bag clips

Articles about Fabrics and Filter Materials

  • NBC News – Making your own face mask? Some fabrics work better than others, study finds
  • Smart Air Filters – What are the best materials for DIY Masks? Fantastic research and article. Must read!
  • Smart Air Filters – Using Paper Towels as a face mask filter?

DIY Face Mask Filter Materials Effectiveness chart

Face shields/visors

DIY Face shield visor PPE

Websites with Patterns/Videos with Tutorials – PPE/Scrubs (Scrub caps, Scrub tops, Scrub pants)

Commercial Patterns

  • Butterick 4946 Unisex scrubs, Dress, Belt, Top, Skirt, Pants, Hat & Ponytail Holder

butterick 4946 scrubs pattern

  • Kwik Sew Pattern K2807 Scrubs

Kwik Sew K2807 scrubs pattern

  • McCall’s Pattern M6107 Teens’ Lab Coat Dress Top Pull-On Pants Hats & Tie Belt

McCalls M6107 scrubs pattern

  • New Look Pattern 6876 Unisex Scrubs

New Look 6876 scrubs pattern

  • Simplicity Pattern 1020

Simplicity 1020 Scrubs pattern misses and plus sizes

  • Simplicity Pattern 5443 Unisex Scrubs

Simplicity 5443 scrubs pattern

Websites (information for sewing volunteers, about donating, collecting, etc)

Other Articles

Josh Silverman (Etsy CEO) says 20,000 shops are now selling face masks

Hashtags

  • #masks4all
  • #millionmaskchallenge
  • #isewlation