How to make a coronavirus face mask

By Lorelei Yang, Countable News

With the news of the Trump administration’s potential shift to recommending face masks for everyone, people are becoming more and more interested in making their own DIY face masks.

There are numerous ways to make face masks out of a broad range of materials, including cloth, bananas, and air filters. Some designs require sewing skills, while others are no-sew. We'll show you both.

DESIGNS THAT REQUIRE SEWING

All-fabric mask

Jessica Nandino, who is herself a nurse, has developed an all-fabric face mask design. Step-by-step instructions and a template are available for free on Instructables.

Olson Mask using cotton weave fabric, hair ties, a 0.3 micron filter and double-sided skin adhesive

UnityPoint Health Cedar Rapids’ Made @ generate program offers step-by-step instructions for making hospital-grade masks using fabric, hair ties, a filter, and double-sided skin adhesive. The instructions also include printable templates for the various pieces of the mask.

Free one-page PDF template for fabric facemasks

These face masks with filter pockets using the free PDF template have been approved for use by the incident command team at a hospital in Boseman, Montana. Step-by-step instructions and printable patterns are all available for free.

HEPA vacuum bag mask

This Instructable's uses HEPA vacuum bags to produce masks with better filtration than cotton fabric alone.

Mask using a replaceable furnace filter

This YouTube tutorial demonstrates the process for making a face mask using fabric, a replaceable furnace filter, a pipe cleaner, and elastic.

NO-SEW DESIGNS

No-sew face mask using a bandana:

This YouTube tutorial shows how to make a face mask using only a bandana and rubber bands.

No-sew mask using a T-shirt

A t-shirt, pen to make markings, and scissors are the only materials required for this no-sew mask made from T-shirt material.

Best practices

Regardless of the design that you choose, it may be useful to consult the fabric mask best practices that mask sewers and producers are collecting on a globally-accessible Google Doc. 

Ensuring that the materials you use are appropriate is most important if you’re planning to produce masks that will be donated to frontline healthcare workers.

Good luck with your creations!

(Photo Credit: Screen Capture: Darbin Orvar YouTube)