Introduction: A.B. Mask 2.0 - for a Nurse by a Nurse
For video and updated pdf can be viewed and downloaded HERE
Updated version of the original pattern. This pattern will make one cloth mask/N95 cover with aluminum nasal bridge and a pocket for a filter.
Step by step photos are in the works... please see instructional video until then.
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From me: This was designed for love, not profit. Respect health care workers. Please respect my intellectual property. All masks made with this pattern are to be donated to healthcare workers in need. Re-posting is welcome. I only ask you give credit where credit is due and state your design source.
THIS PATTERN WAS DESIGNED TO BE USED AS A LAST RESORT!!!
Please do not let this provide you with a false sense of protection.
Before scrolling any further, please take a moment to read a brief article on Critical Supply Shortages, from the New England Journal of Medicine. Healthcare workers need YOU to call or email your state's representative and demand our federal government take immediate action. We need proper PPE to stay healthy and on the job. The nation needs us now more than ever. Thank you.
If you have a question, suggestion, or request with regard to this pattern, I want to thank you for your interest, and for the outpouring of love for frontline healthcare workers in your community. I am currently getting more emails than I can keep up with. When I'm not pretending to be a seamstress, I am a wife, a mother to 3 young kiddos, and a nurse. I love the feedback and encouragement, so please feel free to email me at jessica.nandino@gmail.com. Just hang in there, and I will respond as soon as I can.
For mask donations please contact your local Nurses Union, Rosie Sews, or #GetUsPPE
From the lawyer: This mask pattern has not been tested or approved by the FDA or the CDC. Fabric facemasks do not effectively filter small particles from the air and do not prevent leakage around the edge of the mask when the user inhales. However, our masks do serve as a barrier protection against droplets, including large respiratory particles. The masks are completely re-usable and washable. We recommend washing them before using.
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Many of us front line health care workers are experiencing a range of emotions in the wake of the current pandemic. To add to the confusion and uncertainty, healthcare professionals are being told by hospital administration to use disposable equipment in unprecedented fashion with next to no acknowledgement of the compromised they are making to personal safety. PPE is extremely limited. Nurses across the nation report they are working without access to any type of mask. Nothing homemade will ever compare to medical grade PPE. This is a pattern of last resort. If you have access to the proper PPE use that first - obviously.
In my family, sewing is an act of love. This pattern could be how seamstresses in our communities communicate their solidarity. This mask says, I see you. I worry about your safety and I want to contribute in the way I know how.
Finally, I believe these mask may demonstrate our protest and passive disobedience. We will make a statement when all across the country, medical professionals start showing up to work in fabric masks, sewed by members of their community, from of a hodgepodge of fabrics in every color. The act of wearing this mask could become an visual representation of the sacrifices we are making and our unwavering dedication to care for others in their time of need - regardless of the most recent constraints of the terribly broken system we work within.
Sew On! Be Safe!
love, Jessica
Attachments
Supplies
100% cotton fabric
sewing machine
straight pins
1/4" flat aluminum wire
wire snips
Step 1: Print Pdf of Pattern, Cut Out Fabric and Aluminum Nose Piece
Print and cut out pattern.
When done you should have:
(2) mask face pieces - 1 outside and 1 for inner lining
(2) 1 3/4" x 42" ties - 1 for top of mask and 1 for bottom
(2) 1 3/4" x 4" tie - 1 for left side of mask and 1 for right side of mask
*binding ties should be pressed into single fold tape - 1/4" folds (see pink binding picture)
Cut one 4" strip from the roll of 1/4" flat aluminum wire.
Attachments
Step 2: Sew Sides
With the two pieces of mask face stacked, place both pieces of fabric right side out.
Sew both sides using a 1/2" seam allowance.
Step 3: Iron and Sew Pleats
Ironing pleats starts at 6:23 of video tutorial.
Pleats should be facing downward when looking at outside fabric of mask face.
Sew pleats in using 1/2" seam allowance.
Step 4: Iron and Stitch Pocket Hem
Instructional Video 1 of 2 - starts at 8:26
With iron, press pocket hem 1/2". I used a zigzag stitch, but straight stitch would work just as well.
Step 5: Mark and Sew Top Darts
Instructional Video 1 of 2 - starts at 12:24
With the mask face flipped inside out, mark the top dart on the wrong side of both pieces of fabric.
Sew along marking.
Flip mask right-side out, nesting darted seams.
Stitch along top side of mask, using 1/2" seam allowance.
Step 6: Pin and Sew Folds
Instructional Video 2 of 2 - step starts at 0:05
Step 7: Trim Edges
Instructional Video 2 of 2 - starts at 3:05
Trim edges to 1/4".
Step 8: Attach Bottom Binding
Instructional Video 2 of 2 - starts at 4:12
Attach bottom binding, making sure to catch both sides of the binding, while still leaving pocket open.
*note - after multiple versions and trial and error, I prefer binding cut on the fabric grain versus cut on the bias or store bought single fold bias tape. The bias tape stretches in a way the binding cut on the grain does not. Stretch in the ties makes it more difficult to creating a tight seal between the mask and the users face.
Step 9: Attach Top Binding and Aluminum Flat Wire
Instructional Video 2 of 2 - starts at 7:34
Attach top binding, making sure to catch both sides of the binding. As you reach mask face insert 4" aluminum flat wire on top of front side and top edge of mask. Layer should be mask front, aluminum, binding and stitch into place. To prevent the aluminum piece from shifting along the binding, stitch edging vertically at both edges of aluminum flat wire.
Step 10: Filter Suggestions
THIS PATTERN WAS DESIGNED TO BE USED AS A LAST RESORT!!!
Please do not let this provide you with a false sense of protection. Stuffing a coffee filter, hoarded toilet paper, mid-grade furnace filter, unrated vacuum cleaner bag, etc., in the pocket and calling it good gives you no protection against virus size particles.
To have any level of protection from virus size particles you MUST use filter material that will filter 1 micron or smaller. For example, a HEPA rated vacuum cleaner bag. I do not feel comfortable providing you with a specific filter shape or design as I have no way to scientifically support any recommendations I may have.
There is always the chance of leakage around the edge of the mask and/or the edge of the filter material - if this happens, no filtration is taking place. Please utilize whatever resource you may have to test the efficacy of the filter you may choose to use. For example, ask your healthcare facility to allow you to trial your mask with a N95 fit test kit.
My fellow healthcare professionals - Nothing is worth compromising you or your family's health. Protect yourself first so you can continue caring for others. There is no emergency in a pandemic. Please remember that. Much Love!
