my sister is going crazy sewing masks, making the most of her new sewing machine. plus i'm driving her crazy with all the crazy ideas i have in my head. so far, i have 12 masks and i dress some of them up with charms that are, thankfully, on sale at michaels craft store. i don't know how to work the sewing machine but i sure can stitch a hook (or is that a loop) with which to attach the charms. last weekend, i found a camera charm to attach to one of my favourite masks (inset). tonight, i took the hour-long commute downtown to find more charms at michaels and i found horseshoe charm and a rhinestoned clover leaf charm. the sales clerk at the fabric department was gushing at my camera charm mask; she said she was going to make her own mask and will also use charms to accent it. yes, she guessed that i like photography!
a friend of ours said that the problem with the fabric masks is that they shrink after washing. not our masks. my sister and i learned from my mother that you soak the fabric in lukewarm water overnight so that when you cut and sew, the fabric would have already shrunk (depending on the fabric -- cotton will almost always shrink just the first time, polyester won't shrink too much). always works!
i'm still hunting for a book charm, a typewriter charm, and a quill-and-ink charm. i do have quill charms but i prefer something with the ink well.
a friend of my sister got a copy of the mask pattern from her and now she's selling her masks for $7.50. i suppose if you can make money out of it, why not? but my sister and i aren't selling. i'm fine with her donating to the homes and church using the left over fabrics i bought. i'm just happy with dressing mine up with charms and blings!
OMGoodness why didn't I think of charms ... Someone's going to michaels tomorrow!!!! I need to visit the fabric store for fall fabric since the masks I made are springish (when you could go buy fabric). At the beginning of this pandemic I was also obsessed with making masks from fabric scrapes for all my friends still working at the grocery store and a couple of nurses I know. I set up a table for my cutting board , an ironing board and my sewing machine on the kitchen table. It was up for months.... You are the fashionista .....
@lesip - go, quick! maybe michaels there also have a sale like here. the charms are two bucks! and i bought 3 Christmas fabrics. i could only find one camera charm so i might have to order from amazon. if you're giving to your friends, you should put charms that are symbols of their occupation or hobbies. show us, okay?
@summerfield sure.... thanks for the idea .... more masks...ugh at least the weather is getting colder which makes them easier to wear . Who would have ever thought and maybe all winter ....sad just sad
I like the colorful masks you and your sister are compiling. I "shrunk" the bit of fabric I had lying around yesterday. It kept blowing on to the ground so it wasn't dry when I brought it in. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get busy.
that is a find set of masks you have got yourself there - well done to you and your sister. I have one or two that I am trying to shrink, as they are a little oversized! But I like your tip which I might just use in future.
