At that start of the pandemic I started making cloth face masks, initially to donate to the hospital, but as word got out I started getting requests from family and friends for masks as well. At first I used a free pattern that our local hospital had put out but then thought I’d try making my own pattern as the free pattern did not seem to fit as well on those with smaller faces. So I set about to make a mask that had a closer fit and made it in four different sizes to suit various ages and face shapes.

As the kids have just returned to school – quite happily after a year and a half away – I had to dig out my mask pattern to make up a bunch for their school needs and the inevitability of lost masks throughout the year.

There are numerous mask patterns online but thought I would put mine on here in case anyone is still looking for one, or is looking for one that better fits their face shape.

You can print out your free pattern below and follow along the tutorial in this post. I have made the mask in four sizes:

• Adult Large – typically fits most men’s faces
• Adult Small – typically fits most women’s faces
• Children’s Large – typically fits children from 8 to 14 years
• Children’s Small – typically fits children from 5 to 7 years

diy face mask tutorial

what you will need

• Outer fabric – you will need a remnant, folded double, that is at least 8″ x 8″ for the largest size, for the smaller size, you will need a remnant (folded double) that is at least 6″ x 6″.
• Lining fabric – you will need a remnant of the same size listed as for the outer fabric.
• Elastic – a number of fabric stores now carry the mask elastics you see used in this tutorial, complete with a silicone ‘adjustment bead’. I like these as they can help get the perfect fit on your mask. When I started out making this pattern, I used regular hair elastics, the medium-sized type that measure about 7″ across when flattened. Most dollar stores carry these, so it is inexpensive to buy a lot of them. I’ve found though that those elastics can be a bit uncomfortable if you’re wearing your mask for long hours, such as at school or work.

how to make it

Note: As you trace and cut out your pattern pieces, keep track of which way is up on your pieces by marking a small x (in chalk or sewing marker) on wrong side of fabric. The top of the mask curves a bit more than the bottom to fit well over your nose.

Step 1: Print out the free pattern (found at the bottom of this post) and cut out desired size. Place patterns on fabric and cut 2 out of main fabric and 2 out of lining fabric.

Step 2: With right sides of the main fabric pieces facing together, sew along the front (curved) edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance (shown with black dotted line in the photo above). Do the same for the lining pieces.

Step 3: Trim edge to 1/8 inch and press seam. With right sides together, and making sure that you have the tops of each piece matching, pin main and lining pieces together, matching edges and seams. Leave the straight edges open for now – you will be placing your elastic inside here.

Step 4: Fold back your main fabric and place your elastic inside, as shown above. The elastic ends should be flush with the edges of the fabric and about 1/8″ in from the top and bottom edge (mine isn’t quite aligned in the photo above, I usually adjust it as I pin). If you are using hair elastics, you will place them with the loop inside the mask and one side of the elastic at each edge. Hair elastics are a bit more tricky to sew in, but if you go slow and carefully they work just fine!

Step 5: Hold elastic in place using either pins or sewing clips.

Step 6: At the bottom of your mask, make a mark using chalk about 1″ to 1.5″ on either side of your seam. This part you will leave open for turning your mask to the right side, once your next seam is complete.

Step 7: Make sure you’ve got your elastic sandwiched in between your two layers of fabric – the main fabric and the lining and that you have your right sides together (how many times have I mistakenly managed to have one the wrong way around!).

Step 8: Starting at the bottom edge, sew all around the mask with 1/4 inch seam allowance, remembering to leave a gap at the bottom edge for turning.

Step 9: Once your seam is sewn, trim edge to 1/8 inch and trim corners on the diagonal, as shown above, close to the stitching line, being very careful not to snip through seam.

Step 10: Now you’re ready to turn your mask to the right side – almost done! Once your mask is turned, use something pointy (large knitting needles or chopsticks work nicely) to poke out your corners from the inside. Press seams.

Step 11: Ensure that the part along your seam that you left open for turning is pressed to the inside. Now seam at 1/8 inch along the bottom edge to close the opening. I sew all along the bottom, but you can just sew the gap closed if you’d like. This edge stitching also helps you remember that that is the bottom of the mask!

Free Printable face mask pattern

Four sizes available from child to Adult

I hope you’ve found this tutorial useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message!

Quite a few years ago now, knowing how much I loved to sew, my aunt and uncle gave me a gift of a little pin cushion they had made – it had a lovely blue felt fabric and had a black ribbon tied in a cross through the centre and the base was made from a painted mason jar lid. I’ve happily used that little pin cushion for many years now and it has always served me well. Recently however, I noticed that the fabric was wearing out and it was about time to replace it.

I decided to make a tutorial here for how you can make your own simple pin cushion – it is quite easy to make up and so makes a lovely and quick gift for the sewist in your life! If giving as a gift and you’d like to include some pins along with it, I recommend Dritz Extra Fine Glass-Head pins – quality pins can make all the difference!

Using wool as the stuffing for your pincushion is a great way to keep your pins in good shape as the lanolin helps to keep them rust-free and can even help pins slide more easily into the fabric.

I love that you can make this little pin cushion easily with things you likely have lying around your house. Everyone has carded wool lying around, right? Well, if not…you can always use an alternate stuffing such as poly-fil, or even some fabric scraps!

Wool-filled pincushion supplies

• small amount of clean, carded wool
• fabric scrap – 7×7 inches
• mason jar lid
• scrap of cardboard
• thread
• sewing needle
• scissors
• paint – acrylic craft paint or spray paint *optional

wool filled pin cushion tutorial

Step 1: First prepare your mason jar base – paint with acrylic craft paint, let dry. If you have the type of mason jar lid used for canning that has a removeable centre, you’ll need to glue it to the outer ring – use a glue gun for this.

Step 2: Now measure out a 7 x 7 inch square of fabric and cut out.

Step 3: Using your scissors, round off the corners of the fabric scrap – it doesn’t need to be too precise!

Step 4: Thread your needle and knot one end. Half an inch in from the edge of the fabric, pull thread through and do a couple back-tack stitches to secure. Now start doing a running stitch around the edge of the fabric, staying at about 1/2″ from edge. Pull up as you go to form gathers. Stop when you have gone about halfway, holding thread taught to maintain gathers.

Step 5: Holding thread taught so that gathers don’t come out, take your carded wool and start to stuff the inside of your gathered fabric.

Step 6: Once you have stuffed all the wool inside, continue with your running stitch, pulling the thread to form gathers as you go along.

Step 7: When you reach your starting point, pull thread tight and form a knot close to fabric. You can also back-tack a few stitches and knot again to ensure thread is secured.

Step 8: Finish up preparing your mason jar lid base. When your painted lid is dry, cut a circle from the cardboard to fit inside the lid. Put some glue on the centre and press into lid. I use the ‘tacky glue’ above and it works quite well. You can skip this step if you’d like, but the cardboard acts as a bit of protection for the pins if you push them in too far and they hit the metal base.

Step 9: Add a ring of glue around the edge of the cardboard (or in the base of your lid if you skipped the last step). The tacky glue shown previously works well, or you could use a glue gun for this.

Step 10: Now take the wool-filled ‘cushion’ that you just made and turn it over so that the open side is facing down and press it into the base firmly, so that it makes contact with the ring of glue. You can place a book on top of it while it dried to ensure constant contact with the glue (if not using a glue gun, which dries faster).

All done! A quick and simple little pin cushion that you can give as a gift or keep all for yourself!

I would love to hear if you’ve tried this tutorial and how it turned out – please leave a comment below!