Sew Cal Mask Kit Sewing Instructions

The Sew Cal Mask Kit is designed to provide you with pre-cut materials to make your own mask at home using a basic sewing machine. The commercially made Sew Cal masks are sewn using sergers, and industrial sewing machines, therefore the masks you make from the kit will not look the same. If you have a removable air filter that you would like to use, the kit provides you with an interior pouch for you to place the air filter in. There is an accompanying YouTube tutorial for how to use this kit in case you need visual assistance (https://youtu.be/q_MCLtNuvbQ). If you need help with the sewing terms used in these instructions, a great resource is Mood Fabrics Ultimate List of Sewing Terms (https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/moods-ultimate-list-of-sewing-terms-to-know/).

Materials:

1 Sew Cal Mask Kit
- Includes:
  - 1 layer of cotton jersey for inside layer of the mask
  - 1 layer of French terry for the outside layer of the mask
  - 1 cotton jersey pouch lining (this is for a removable air filter)
  - 1 nose wire
  - 2 pieces of elastic, 12 inches each
- All-purpose thread
- Scissors
- Pins
- Safety pin
- Sewing machine
- Iron

Instructions:

To create the chin and nose darts, fold the cotton jersey lining piece onto itself and pin the darts in place by aligning the V-dart edges together. Sew along the dart edge at a ¼ inch seam allowance starting a little before where two dart corners meet, and ending a little after. The chin dart is the longer dart and on the edge with a deeper curve. Repeat for the darts on both the French terry and the filter pouch.
Lay the filter pouch piece on top of the right side of the cotton jersey lining with the right side of the pouch piece facing out, matching the nose darts.
Place the French terry piece on top of the filter pouch lining and cotton jersey lining, sandwiching the pocket piece right sides together and matching darts. Pin in place.
Using a ¼ inch seam allowance, sew the top and bottom longer edges leaving the shorter ends open and unsewn.
Turn the mask right side out. The filter pouch should be visible on the cotton jersey lining (the inside of the mask that is against your mouth). Press the seams so that the mask lays flat.
Through the unsewn short ends, place the nose wire inside the mask as far toward the top as you can go. The wire will sit right above the nose seam, centered on the top edge. To hold in place, pin on either side of the wire, feeling for the edge of the wire through the fabric. Also, pin in the middle right below the wire so that the wire does not fall down inside the mask as you are sewing.
Secure the nose wire in place by sewing around the nose wire through all 3 layers of fabric. You will need to pivot the sewing machine needle at the corners. To pivot a sewing needle, you leave the sewing machine needle in the fabric and lift the foot allowing you to turn the fabric without losing your spot in the seam. Return the foot back down onto the fabric and continue sewing until you hit another corner.
Once the nose wire is sewn in place, fold the raw short ends of the mask to the inside by ½ inch, press and pin in place. These will be the loopholes that the elastic will go through. Stitch the loopholes in place by sewing as close as you can to the raw edge.
Attach a safety pin to the end of the pre-cut elastic and thread the elastic through the tube. The safety pin will help ease the elastic through the loophole, giving you something more concrete to push through.
With the Sew Cal Mask Kit, you have an option to make either ties that go around your ears, or ties that go around your head. To make ties that go around your ears, simply tie the elastic together on the same side at your desired length. A good length would be around 6-7 inches. For the elastic that goes around the back of the head, tie the top elastic to the corresponding elastic on the opposite site together. Repeat for the bottom elastic. A good length would be 8-9 inches.
Ta-da! You have made a mask!