When my husband said they ran out of face masks at work and wouldn't be getting any more, I knew I must help. So I thought of making a new pattern. But at seeing that there are already many out there, I decided to pick one to use. My favorite is the one by Mimi G, link below. It's simple, practical, well designed, and can be made with materials you most likely already have at home. Watch her video tutorial. You can get her free pattern in the video description.
I want to share how I made mine. I printed the pattern onto card stock to make my pattern more durable since I plan on making lots of these. I printed it twice and cut one for the front and one for the lining (inside) and labeled the pattern pieces.
You will need 1 fat quarter of fabric and about 22" of elastic and a little extra for overlapping and sewing together. (If you don't have elastic, you can make your own fabric bias binding tape and make it so you tie it instead of using elastic). Everything is sewn together with 1/4" seam allowance which is nice because that means you don't need to trim or clip anything. I also liked this pattern because there are no raw edges, which I think is important if you will be washing these many times.
Next, cut 2 of each. Sew the curve with 1/4" of seam allowance. To make it look and feel nice, I pressed the curves open.
Place the two pieces right sides facing each other. One will be longer than the other. Use the middle seams to match the centers. Sew the top and bottom.
Turn inside out and press.
Fold the edges in a little and press.
Edge stitch the top and bottom.
On the inside, fold in the edges on each side and press. Sew them in place.
With a safety pin, slip the elastic through both openings. Sew the elastic together. As an added detail, I did not want the elastic to be showing later where the two ends meet. So I sewed it in place at one of the corners.
The mask fit my husband perfectly. Now he is ready for work! Happy sewing my friends.
Disclaimer: Just keep in mind these are not the same as n95 masks. I made mine out of cotton fabric so it's breathable, comfortable, offers some protection, and serves as a reminder not to touch my face.