Sewing While in Isolation | Sewing Pattern Reviews

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Like many of you, I am at home. I am staying home to help flatten the curve of the spread of Covid 19. So here’s what I am sewing while in isolation. It’s easy to feel helpless and lost during this time, but here are some easy sewing projects you can do to contribute in your own way.

I am taking the time that I have to sew and do other crafty things. I have an enormous stash of fabric that I can go through. There is definitely no shortage there. While it is good to treat yourself and do some “selfish sews”, you can also sew some things to help others during this time.

Face Masks

Now I know that there is a whole lot of debate over face masks. The masks I’ve sewn are just for friends and family. I don’t leave the house often – only to get groceries, and so when I do, I don a face mask. The effectiveness is not an issue with me. It makes me feel better when I’m out and that’s got to count for something. When out grocery shopping, it has become the norm to wear a face mask and disposable gloves.

There are numerous patterns out there. I didn’t get all fancy with the slot for the filter, because quite frankly, I have nothing to put in there. I’ve been sewing a basic, pleated mask that covers my nose and mouth. The pattern I used was the Deaconess Mask which you can find here.

Making the Deaconess mask is quite easy. It uses 2 pieces of 6×9 fabric – one quilting cotton (it has a tight weave) and one flannel cotton (it’s soft against your face). You also need 2 pieces of elastic – I cut mine 6 inches long as the suggested 7 inches was too big for me.

You will want a good quality cotton fabric that has a tight weave. If you don’t have quilting cotton a bed sheet with a decent thread count would also work.

These masks work up quickly – especially when you do it in an assembly line style. I will cut a bunch of fabric, then cut a bunch of elastic and then do all the sewing. I used my Babylock Acclaim to sew the fabric together and to also secure the elastic in the corners. I then topstitched using a 2-needle coverstitch using my other Babylock machine. This ensured that the pleats would stay in place.

I’ve also used my Janome sewing machine to make masks as well. Although I do love my serger, I was reminded how nice my sewing machine is too. Sewing clips come in handy for holding those pleats down. I actually felt that I had more control over the pleats with my sewing machine than my serger.

There are several face mask patterns out there. This just happens to be the one I’ve made. Pick the pattern that works best for you.

To make a similar mask for children, I used the suggested smaller size and only did 2 pleats on each side.

Now elastic has become quite the commodity around North America. Seems that everyone is sewing masks and needs elastic. Most shops and stores are closed down, so most have to rely upon going to an online retailer.

Alternatives for Elastic When Making Masks

Can’t find elastic? Here are some clever alternatives that work.

• elastic craft cord from the dollar store
• elastic hair ties
• cotton lycra fabric scraps
• swim fabric scraps
• pantyhose – cut 1.5 inch wide loops (from the legs)
• children’s tights (any tights for that matter) – cut 1-1.5 inch wide loops as above
• t-shirt yarn – either ready-made or cut up an old t-shirt
• clothesline cord
• sew your own ties, like a drawstring (check out my post here on how to make your own drawstrings)
• twill tape

Be careful when sewing the corners. My coverstitch needles didn’t like craft cord very much. I had to manually turn the wheel to get around the corners, otherwise, I would end up with a broken needle.

Button Headbands for Face Masks

The medical personnel in our local hospitals have been requesting button headbands. Now here’s something that all of us can sew to help out those people on the front lines.

Wearing a face mask all day can hurt the ears after a while. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it is ingenious. These are headbands with buttons sewn on just above the ears. The person wearing the face mask can now loop the elastic from the mask around the button instead of their ears.

For woven fabrics, consider the Double-Sided Headband from Happy Together. This pattern uses quilting cotton as well as a small piece of elastic (1/2 inch) at the back. This pattern is easy to follow. It used up a lot of my quilting cotton stash. Again, it requires elastic which is pretty scarce. Then, don’t forget the buttons! Good thing I have a decent button stash, but did you know that the dollar store sells buttons too? I actually ran out of buttons and had to go out and buy buttons.

For a similar headband made from knit fabrics, consider the free Hippie Headband from Made for Mermaids. Be sure to use a knit fabric with good recovery, like athletic or performance fabric. This pattern does not require elastic! It has unfinished edges, so make sure your fabric doesn’t roll on the edges. Otherwise, you may wish to finish the edges.

Another style of a button headband is an athletic headband. This is more like the old-school sweatband. Again, you will want a knit fabric with good recovery. Remember all those leggings I made? The fabric scraps make perfect headbands. This pattern does NOT require elastic either! It’s a simple headband with added buttons.

This is a basic headband made from a rectangle of fabric that measures 18×5. With the right sides together, sew the long ends together. Turn right side out and then sew the short ends together. This is a great unisex style.

I personally prefer a contoured headband. This is a headband that is wider at the top of the head and narrows towards the back. Simply taper one end and widen the other end.

I tried wearing a headband while out grocery shopping and it held my mask nicely.

No knit fabric? You could also buy dollar store headbands and just sew buttons on them. I’ve been sewing buttons a lot during my Zoom meetings.

Button Neck Bands

Looking for something to use up even the smaller scraps? These button neck bands are a simple band of fabric with buttons on each end. It is worn at the base of the neck and the face mask hooks around the buttons.

This is the perfect project for those woven cotton scraps leftover from the masks and button headbands. I have lots of smaller, usable pieces of fabric that aren’t quite big enough for the masks or headbands. You will need interfacing to give these neckbands more structure.

These neckbands measure 6 inches across and can be anywhere from 1.5 – 2 inches wide. I had a long strip of fabric that was 3.5 inches wide. I fused interfacing on one side and then folded in half with right sides together.

Then I sewed along that long end. After that, I turned it right side out,

I cut 6-inch lengths and serged the sides. Lastly, I added the buttons.

You can easily make multiple neckbands this way.

Scrub Caps

Here is another sewing project that you could do to donate to hospitals. It incorporates sewing the buttons onto a scrub or surgical cap.

Rad Patterns offers a free surgical cap pattern. This cap has ties at the back and is reversible. There is an optional elastic part for the back. Simply add buttons to this pattern for the face mask to hook on to – much like the headbands. Good quality cotton is recommended for this pattern.

Water Tower Textiles also offers a free sewing pattern, the Hope Scrub Cap 2020 which is available as a PDF download in their Facebook Group.

It makes me feel good to be able to give back to these people on the front lines. I know it’s not much but it’s something and every little bit helps.

As I have been making these items, I can’t help but think of my mother and how much I miss her. I know that she would be right here in with me helping me sew things up.

Want to remember these project ideas for sewing while in isolation? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.