Has anybody tried making masks?

[dreamshark]

Official guidance on masks has been confusing to say the least.

• DON'T BUY MASKS, PEOPLE! THEY DON'T WORK (besides we need to save them all for health care workers)
• Wait, did we say they didn't work? We just meant that they only help filter outbound viruses, not inbound. If you are sick and heading for the doctor, by all means wear a mask. But they are of no help whatsoever for protecting the wearers. (Except health care workers).
• OK, actually, N-95 masks do work. But only health care professionals know how to put them on correctly, so they won't work for you.
• Surgical masks are useless  as they do not filter out viruses. And certainly those dust masks from hardware stores are useless.
• Health care workers are running out of masks and buying them in bulk from hardware stores. 
• Hospitals are desperate for masks and would like you folks to start making fabric masks at home and donating them. But we aren't going to tell you what the requirements for the masks are or what material to use. PLEASE HELP!

I understood the first 5 bullets to be a product of confusion and transparent lying on the part of the people disseminating the information, but I am nonplussed by the last one. After that cascade of warning about masks being useless unless they are exactly the right type, made of a specific virus-filtering material, and precisely fitted to the wearer, suddenly we're supposed to be sewing masks out of old t-shirts to donate to hospitals? Or alternatively, to wear ourselves when the CDC completes its official about-face on the public wearing masks and starts requiring them?

So I thought I might try making some masks. Where do I find a pattern and instructions? Okay, I know that I can find a gazillion patterns, YouTube videos, Pinterest posts, and sets of conflicting instructions online. Where do I find the right one?

Comments

[quadong]

Are actual hospitals asking for random people to donate sewed fabric masks, or are people on Facebook hysterically spewing random suggestions, including to do this, in a desperate bid to feel useful?

[dreamshark]

From an article in today's Strib that started out to be about the Federal med stockpile running low and then suddenly veered in half a dozen different directions when it got to the second page:

"State officials put out a call Wednesday for handmade masks, asking people to donate them to local hospitals, nursing homes, correctional facilities, and transit operators."

[quadong]

I see. I've now read the article and the linked PDF (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/hcp/masksalt.pdf).

[dreamshark]

Ah. I didn't see the link because I am old-school and stupidly read newspaper articles out of a paper newspaper. Interesting - it actually is a Requirements Document. A clever and experienced fabric designer could create a detailed design based on this requirement. I want that detailed design (not being a clever experienced designer).

I already found this design:
https://www.gfclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/Approved-Pattern-Info-for-Great-Falls-Clinic-Homemade-Masks.pdf

Oh, I see there are some links at the bottom of the requirements document to various patterns and instructions. I'll look at those.

[mdlbear]

One of the hospitals in the area put out a call for volunteers to sew (surgical) masks, and provided a kit containing all the right materials. They got plenty of volunteers -- their supply of kits was gone within a day.

Here in the US the "guidance", such as it is, is coming from a health-"care" system in total disarray. Home-made masks aren't as good as N95 masks, but they're a lot better than nothing. Outside of a health-care context, the main benefit is reducing spread from asymptomatic people who might be infected but don't know it (yet, in most cases).

We're making enough masks for the household in case we have to go out of the house for any reason or one of us gets infected.

If you can't sew, try https://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie or https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3050689/how-make-your-own-mask-hong-kong-scientists

[minnehaha]

I wish I had learned to sew.

I have pipecleaners if you want them.

K.

[laramie]

I have read that JoAnn Fabrics stores are giving away free mask-making kits (for curbside pickup.) I am not sure which local outlets may be participating.