Over the weekend I completed something I’m really proud of! Honestly, I worked like a dog because I felt the urgency to share this tutorial with the world. If you happen to follow me on social media, you already know that I created the Best Fit Face Mask. After struggling with several different patterns online I bemoaned the fit on all of them. Not one of the face mask were any I could wear for any length of time. You could say, I consider myself a face mask connoisseur especially because I searched for years to find my more form-fitting and comfortable masks used for carpentry or demolition.

Best Fit Face Mask

As a general contractor and woodworker, I had searched for form-fitting and comfortable masks to protect my lungs from dust and debris and had my favorites. Several didn’t have a good tight fit around the nose, which inevitably meant I was blowing sawdust out my nose at night. A good fitting mask doesn’t allow air to come in next to your nose. For that reason, I knew there were better options than most of the sewing mask patterns I found. After a weekend, I designed this easy sew Best Fit Facemask Tutorial for use by the public and medical professionals trying to protect N95 and surgical masks while also staying safe during the COVID crisis. (These are not a replacement for N95 or surgical masks. These masks are designed to add an additional layer of protection.) Looking for a simple, stylish, and better fitting face mask? Well, I have you covered. Get it? Covered? ;-D

Truth be told, my Mom reminded me I’ve been sewing and perfecting this design for almost forty years! This is me sewing a quilted rainbow vest (remember Punky Brewster?!)

And this was my costume for Future Day in elementary school. It’s a bit crazy that I thought the future was a place where we’d have so much smog we couldn’t breathe clean air. My costume was a mask with an oxygen tank on my back made from an egg carton. Kind of scary how our current day is a place where we fear the air we are breathing.

Thank goodness, we don’t have to wear tin foil covered milk jugs on our heads. I much prefer wearing the Best Fit Face Mask, a more form-fitted cloth mask with adjustable ties around the ears to fit a wider variety of faces (and keep from irritating the ears after wearing for long periods of time). The mask pattern also has an optional filter pocket, should you need the extra protection (although, frankly it gets harder to breathe the more layers you add.)

Here are a few details about the mask:

• Two Sizes (Medium and Large)
• Easy to Sew
• Filter Pocket
• Adjustable Nose Clip
• Fitted around nose, chin and cheeks
• Less Fabric Waste

Are you ready to make your own Best Fit Face Mask?
Click here to be taken to the full instructions with video and downloadable instruction sheet with templates !

One more thing, I share several options for materials, especially because there seems to be a shortage of elastic.

Prefer to purchase a Best Fit Face Mask? This is the link to the database of sellers .