Best Fit Face Mask
Over the weekend I completed something I’m really proud of! Honestly, I worked like a dog because I felt the urgency to share this tutorial with the world. If you happen to follow me on social media, you already know that I created the Best Fit Face Mask. After struggling with several different patterns online I bemoaned the fit on all of them. Not one of the face mask were any I could wear for any length of time. You could say, I consider myself a face mask connoisseur especially because I searched for years to find my more form-fitting and comfortable masks used for carpentry or demolition.
Best Fit Face Mask
As a general contractor and woodworker, I had searched for form-fitting and comfortable masks to protect my lungs from dust and debris and had my favorites. Several didn’t have a good tight fit around the nose, which inevitably meant I was blowing sawdust out my nose at night. A good fitting mask doesn’t allow air to come in next to your nose. For that reason, I knew there were better options than most of the sewing mask patterns I found. After a weekend, I designed this easy sew Best Fit Facemask Tutorial for use by the public and medical professionals trying to protect N95 and surgical masks while also staying safe during the COVID crisis. (These are not a replacement for N95 or surgical masks. These masks are designed to add an additional layer of protection.) Looking for a simple, stylish, and better fitting face mask? Well, I have you covered. Get it? Covered? ;-D
Truth be told, my Mom reminded me I’ve been sewing and perfecting this design for almost forty years! This is me sewing a quilted rainbow vest (remember Punky Brewster?!)
And this was my costume for Future Day in elementary school. It’s a bit crazy that I thought the future was a place where we’d have so much smog we couldn’t breathe clean air. My costume was a mask with an oxygen tank on my back made from an egg carton. Kind of scary how our current day is a place where we fear the air we are breathing.
Thank goodness, we don’t have to wear tin foil covered milk jugs on our heads. I much prefer wearing the Best Fit Face Mask, a more form-fitted cloth mask with adjustable ties around the ears to fit a wider variety of faces (and keep from irritating the ears after wearing for long periods of time). The mask pattern also has an optional filter pocket, should you need the extra protection (although, frankly it gets harder to breathe the more layers you add.)
Here are a few details about the mask:
- Two Sizes (Medium and Large)
- Easy to Sew
- Filter Pocket
- Adjustable Nose Clip
- Fitted around nose, chin and cheeks
- Less Fabric Waste
Are you ready to make your own Best Fit Face Mask?
Click here to be taken to the full instructions with video and downloadable instruction sheet with templates!
One more thing, I share several options for materials, especially because there seems to be a shortage of elastic.
Prefer to purchase a Best Fit Face Mask? This is the link to the database of sellers.
The small and medium templates are the same. I made the medium and it was too big. I printed the small and lined them up to see the difference and they’re the same.
They are not the same, did you check the 1″ box for size. Your printer has probably scaled one or both print outs.
Your mask patterns have been the best to work on. I’ve made hundreds and I love yours the most. Thank you for your generosity in providing these patterns and excellent instructions to work on.! carol suto
love the pattern. have used it for friends but also noticed men with beards can’t put it under chin. so i don’t cut out chin. sew around it and the men love them. like the nose also sent to my neice for her girls to make for the girl scouts. made in america by a girl scout. thank you for making this pattern
Thankyou for what looks like a simple faff-free mask. Just printed the pattern and wonder if you could make the
1 inch box non-black… it uses quite a lot of ink and slows printing down.
I have made 15 of these masks so far, and am in the process of making 15 more. Feedback so far has been very positive, and my neighbor has declared them the most comfortable mask she has tried yet. TIP FOR MAKING THE PATTERN FIT KIDS: scale the medium pattern to 80% with your printer or copier. They fit my 6 and 8 year olds great. Thanks for putting all the work into this design!
Hi I think this is a fab pattern and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. I wonder if you have a children’s version.
I am a cancer patient and I have made loads for friends and family to raise money for my local hospice who are struggling . I have a local waste free shop who want to help by putting them in their shop to help raise money for the hospice I hope this is ok.
Mary, yes! Here you go: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-face-mask-time-savers-and-sizes-to-fit-everyone/
Just wanted to thank you for the wonderful pattern. I have made and distributed hundreds of these so far, including some for my daughter’s girl scout troop. Attached is the letter which accompanied the note:
To the Daisies of Troop xxxx
Congratulations on graduating from Kindergarten!
For our Summer Activity Pack Project, I learned to sew masks with my mom. We wear these to keep ourselves and our community safe. Even though things might be weird these days, if you see another girl wearing this same mask, you will be recognizing a friend.
If you would like us to make more masks for you in the same size, please cut out two pieces of fabric according to the template in your packet. The template was made by an inspiring woman we found on the internet. Her website is http://www.PrettyHandyGirl.com. She uses her brain and Power Tools to build cool stuff. She also has adult-size templates for your parents, if you want to cut out some fabric for them too.
Please remember to also trace out the line for the NOSE and CHIN, but do not cut it out! You can use any fabric your family isn’t using like an old character t-shirt, curtains, or pillow case, so be creative! We aren’t skilled enough to sew masks with stretchy fabrics like leggings, but we can use those for ear loops if you want to cut out 18-inch by one-inch strips for the wrap-around style I made for you, or two 8-inch strips for traditional ear loops.
Drop off the cut pieces of fabric in a baggie with a note for how you would like your mask to look on my downstairs porch at xxx Avenue with a note, or email me at xxx . I will let you know when we have finished, and return your mask onto my porch.
With love,
Amelia
Amelia, this is wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this mask I made a lot of them.. I wore one to my Dr. He loved it and said it was the best non surgical mask he had seen.. told me to keep making them .. everyone I made them for liked them the best out of all the masks they had purchased … Thanks for the update on making the masks smaller. It is an awesome pattern and so easy 😊
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern with the clear instructions. I really appreciate it.
I don’t have a printer – any chance of diagram with measurements? xx
l apologize for not being able to directly answer your question. Look at the top of the comment thread on the YouTube video (https://youtu.be/-t_Gz3lGwF8) for my FAQ comment which answers your question. You can also get answer directly on this page which was linked in the video description, but here it is again: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
Absolutely the best fitting face mask! I made several for my husband and son and they both said this pattern was the best fit by far! Thank you so much for sharing your pattern.
I do have a question…..do you have a pattern for children (or what percentage would I decrease the medium size? I ask because my 9 year old grandson has to go for his first of three surgeries on June 23rd and mom is having a hard time finding a face mask that fits him.
All this is answered in the FAQ section on the tutorial page: https://prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask/
Brittany, this is truly the best fit mask! I’ve made several for family and the fit is amazing. Thank you for sharing your pattern.
I would like to thank you for sharing your patterns for this mask. I have made many different styles of masks and yours is by far the best. My husband is an essential worker and though I have made him several masks your mask fit him the best. Just as a simple fyi. You made mention you were having a little trouble feeding the paracord through your bead. I found that if you bend the cord in half and slip a piece of strong thread through the loop and pull the thread through bead, tug gently the cord will go through easily. Thank you again and be well.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! These are amazing!! Like you, I was accustomed to form fitting masks and these are amazing!! They stay put! I have made them for adults and children alike and the pattern has been preferred over SO many others! As you didn’t have a small pattern available, I did modify your medium pattern by simply adjusting, as needed, and it is amazing!! I have pictures if you want them! You are truly brilliant and your pattern is very much appreciated!!
Brittany, I want to say thank you for sharing your amazing pattern! It fits well, is comfortable and love how easy it is to adjust. I have been making them for family & friends and to donate. I have shared your pattern with friends and family.
Thank you so much for helping to keep us safe!