This is my first post and I did not imagine it like this…
So I apologize for the lack of detail but wanted to show what I was doing as it got the interest of a crafter friend on south Whidbey Island. She is focaling an effort where people are making medical masks from regular cotton fabric and then delivering them to a local hospital, clinics and nursing homes. These are not N95 equivalents but the pattern she posted on Facebook was approved by the hospital she is working with.
The pattern was a scanned image that I got into Affinity, cleaned it up and off I went. Also cut a piece of junk plywood to hold down the fabric. Getting this all setup was really fast and the outcome is just awesome.
I love my Glowforge!!
Let know know if you are on Whidbey Island or know someone who has a Glowforge and would like to help these folks out but cutting their fabric for them. No doubt a good cause.
Hi, to cut 6 pieces of cotton fabric all at once,
Thickness = .05
Power = Full
Speed = 250
It was a “Cut”
The fabric was just your regular cotton from a quilting shop.
We have a local group that will be sewing masks for visiting nurses and possibly for police and fire as well. I know it is “bad form” to ask someone to share a design, but these are not normal times.
Would you possibly be able to share your laser cutter patterns and sewing instructions for this mask design?
Dang should have posted in the beginning.
Instructions:
My cut file is a PDF and there are 2 shapes one is the mask and the other is for the template to hold the fabric as you see in the pic. AB Mask cutfile.pdf (5.7 KB)
Just a reminder to all to be VERY careful cutting multiple layers of cotton fabric… Fan plus oxygen plus layers + laser = flame. I knew better but I risked it and just put out a small fire.
I was really concerned about fabric catching fire. This is the mask I am starting to cut out (by hand). I really don’t like to sew, but am waiting on an inline duct fan to arrive because the smell of the acrylic is causing my (adult) son in the next room to cough smelling it (more so when he walks out of his room)…then I will be cutting some more Ear Savers that I have been asked to do locally. I am cutting in batches of 10, waiting several hours and another 10 (can’t during the day because son is working and GF is loud).
They have several sizes of the mask posted below :
There is a HUGE difference between Large (38) and XL (40). I made the Large and felt like it was a little small so I just took it and added the seam allowance around the whole thing and made it from that (so it is in-between the large and the XL). Seems a better fit.
This small amount of masks will be for my family, I had a sudden thought of what if we HAVE to go out? My mother in another State has been using a bandana but that hasn’t been working too well so she will get a couple sent immediately for her and step dad. I feel I will do more of a service to the local nursing homes and hospitals cutting the earsavers, so hoping my fan gets sent and received this week.
Question: This mask you posted here is just 2 layers? Do you feel it is thick enough? I know you need to breathe through it. Just wanted to ask before I sew the end shut.
I’m guessing the pleats on the mask you shared are to enable multiple sized people to wear just one size? or am I missing something? It just looked like it would take longer ironing the pleats…
—note edited to change link to the mask pattern (wrong one)
