How to make a face mask at home with Melbourne label Par Moi

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Still waiting for your reusable mask to arrive in the mail? Same.

It’s no surprise your order is delayed, really. Independent makers (of which there are many) are facing massive backlogs due to demand and are taking preorders to keep up. Simultaneously, Australia Post is still trying to work through its system bottlenecks, causing mass delays.

Financial access, too, is an issue for many.  Currently, reusable masks tend to be selling for around $30 a pop which is relatively expensive, especially when you consider they should be purchased in multiples to accommodate changing and washing.

There are solutions, though. Turns out it’s relatively easy to create your own (non-medical grade) mask at home.

Below, the highly talented Ashiya Omundsen of Melbourne label Par Moi teaches us how to create a mask from scratch, repurposing old fabrics with items from around the house. There’s minimal-to-no sewing required which is a win, plus, it will be nice to do something productive this weekend that’s not baking or yoga.

How to make a mask with minimal sewing skills

NB: If you’re an avid sewer, all hand-sewn parts can be done on a machine. Or, on the flip side, if you just can’t with the sewing thing, just wrap some fabric around a few hair ties and call it a day.

You will need

• 2 hair ties or scrunchies
• Fabric (tightly woven cotton is recommended but a cotton poly blend is also suitable)
• A sewing needle
• Thread
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Iron

Step 1: Cut your fabric

Rule out a rectangle of 18cm x 46cm onto the reverse side of the fabric and cut this out. Once cut, fold down approximately 1cm from both long ends of the fabric and press with an iron, then do the same for one of the short ends.

Note: If you don’t have an iron, fold the edges down and leave some heavy books on them for a few hours.

Step 2: Thread the hair ties

Thread the hair ties through either end of the fabric, folding the edges in so that the short edges of the fabric overlap.

Step 3: Sew

Using the needle and thread, hand stitch the ironed short end of fabric to the non ironed short end of fabric.

Step 4: Sew some more

Again with the needle and thread, stitch the two sides of the top of the mask together and then the two sides of the bottom

Done!

Tuck the hair ties around your ears and you’re ready to do some groceries.