Masquerade

Inspirational song: Who's That Girl? (Eurythmics)

I have expected this day to arrive for a while now. Yesterday the orders came down in California. Today they came here via our governor, and then to a lesser extent from the feds. They changed the recommendation on wearing masks. Now we are joining many other countries, especially those in east Asia, in wearing them whenever we are outside. 

I picked out fabric from my stores weeks ago. I have more than enough to make homemade masks (the kind they asked us to wear) for the whole family. I'm actually relieved to be directed to make it. I've been staring at it where it sat, under my bedside lamp, for a couple of weeks. I saw the first videos on how to make them in the middle of March, which was, let's see... sixteen years ago? I hoped I remembered how to do it after all this time.

I had been meaning to make myself a better-fitting swimsuit for the hot tub (I have a long torso and most cheap suits are very uncomfortable), but I had been dragging my feet on clearing space in my craft room and digging the old serger out of storage. I might have considered making it without the serger, but still I delayed, not being able to put my hands on the elastic I bought in December for this very purpose. It was this lack of elastic that slowed me down on masks, too. It wasn't until this afternoon that I found a workaround for the elastic. I had these old headbands that were made of the same stuff as ponytail holders. I cut one in half, and made my first attempt. 

Lesson learned. These headbands were way too long. I think they ended up being 10 inches each piece. When I tried on the mask, it drooped and gapped away from my face. I didn't want to tear it apart to shorten the elastic, so I called out to see whether it would fit a man-sized head. It still looked loose to me, but he seemed to think it was perfect. I made a few adjustments, and the second one fit my face. I was ready for production.

So far I've cut out a handful of pieces, including liners and soft white bits to go against the face for most of them (one is dark blue and already soft). In lieu of elastic, I'm also using bias tape as ties. So far, on the one other one completed this evening, it seems to work.

Now, how to avoid fogging up my glasses when I go for a walk...