March 20, 2020
As Covid-19 has begun to exponentially proliferate across the US and face masks supply level has gone to almost none, hospitals have put out the call for help from the DIY crowd to make face masks for them to wear until more medical masks are available. As they are also not available for the common folk, many crafters are now whipping up masks for friends and family to help offer at least a little amount of protection during these trying times. {Here is an article with a great post on how to make your own mask with easy-to-follow instructions: Facemask: A Picture Tutorial} Obviously none of these DIY masks made from fabric are even remotely close to being as effective as the medical grade or the N95 masks that are recommended, but they do keep us from touching our faces, our mouth and nose in particular, and they can definitely help with the spread of droplets.
We noticed a large up-tick in sales of our skinny elastic several days back and as the hospitals have made the request in the last day or two for any kind of masks at all, our sales have gone through the roof as crafters are buying the elastic to use as the ear pieces for the masks they are making. The demand is so great that, unfortunately, we will be sold out quickly, probably by tonight. As we won't be able to get more in for at least several days, some of our crafty employees began to look around the warehouse for other items that could be used and found a couple more great options that we are sharing here in the hopes that it will help to fill the skinny elastic void.
Elastic Option 1: Skinny nylon headbands
Our baby skinny nylon headbands are SO soft and stretchy that they are our first and favorite choice, even better than the skinny elastic typically used! Simply cut one of these in half to make two ear pieces so you would need one headband per mask. The amount of elastic normally recommended is (2) 6.5" pieces and this is less than that, but they are so stretchy it won't be a problem. The fabric is amazingly soft and light so these will feel great against the skin and shouldn't irritate the backs of the ears.
You can find the headbands here
Elastic Option 2: Ponytail holders
We offer two different types of ponytail holders. The premium nylon elastics are 6.5" length when cut and are soft and stretchy, making them our first choice of the two options. They are also almost the exact same length as specified for the elastic pieces in the tutorial linked to above. You can find the premium nylon elastics here.
Our standard elastics are similar to what is sold in stores as a typical ponytail holder. They are only 6.25" when cut which is a little shorter than the elastic length called for in the tutorial, so if using these, we recommend making the mask a little wider so that they will still fit an adult. Be sure to cut the elastic on the glue joint so that the joint would not be touching the skin anywhere as it will be scratchy and irritating. You can find our standard ponytail elastics here.
Elastic Option 3: Fold-over elastic
Our 5/8" width fold-over elastic is soft and stretchy, but as it is quite a bit wider than a skinny elastic, it would be bulky behind the ears. However, even though the DIY mask patterns typically call for shorter elastic pieces to wrap around the ears, there is no reason that you couldn't use longer pieces of a wider elastic to wrap all the way around the head. You will need to experiment to see what the proper length would be for each piece, but our elastic is fairly stretchy so it would most likely fit a range of adult head sizes.
You can find our 5/8" width fold-over elastic here.
Here is the link to the tutorial referenced on how to make your own fabric face mask generously offered and shared by the Button Counter: https://buttoncounter.com/2018/01/14/facemask-a-picture-tutorial/
We hope to have at least a couple of color options of the 1/8" skinny elastic back in-stock within a few days, so check back frequently here.
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