Face mask tutorial: Sewing expert withwendy uses hospital-recommended instructions
Watch the video for step-by-step instructions on how to make these for yourself or to donate
This article reflects health and safety recommendations at the time of publication. As these are constantly evolving, be sure to follow the most current public health and safety guidelines regarding COVID-19.
This article was originally published April 9, 2020 and updated April 14.
With Canada's top doctor and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both recently going on record to concur that non-medical face masks can help stop the spread of COVID-19, many of us are now investigating how we can start wearing one. At the same time, some Canadian hospitals have also put out requests for donations of homemade masks.
While there are many DIY face mask tutorials available on the internet right now, some of them may be intimidating to non-sewers or those who haven't touched their sewing machine in a while, and only certain specifications and materials are eligible to donate to hospitals or medical centres.
To help make the process a little bit easier, we enlisted sewing expert and YouTuber withwendy to host a live mask-making tutorial and brief Q&A over on our Instagram account. She followed this hospital-approved method, so if you're interested in sewing some for donation purposes, this may be the right route for you too.
What you'll need to complete the project along with us:
- Sewing machine
- Ruler
- Measuring tape
- Sewing pins
- Thread, in colour of your choice
- Polyester fabric, cut into a 23x16 cm rectangle (can use 100% cotton if polyester is not available)
- 100% cotton fabric, cut into a 21x14 cm rectangle
- Two 17 cm pieces of elastic (can use cloth ties if elastic is not available)
- One twist-tie, pipe cleaner or piece of wire, roughly 18 cm in length
You can watch Wendy's video tutorial for this and other types of hospital-approved masks here.
