How to make your own face mask
by Chase Ogoshi | April 15, 2020
Amid this pandemic, “wash your hands” or “don’t touch your face” are familiar mantras. For some of us, that may be easier said than done. To help remind me not to touch my face and do my part in “flattening the curve,” I decided to make my own face mask or what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) call a “cloth face covering.”
Now at first, I was among the skeptics, or the majority of people in the U.S. who didn’t feel the need to wear a face mask. I also did not want to wear it because it didn’t look “cool.” I then got slapped hard, in the face, with reality. On April 2, 2020, Mayor Kirk Caldwell held a news conference and asked “all Oahu residents to wear a cloth mask when they go into the community, including when they exercise or grocery shop.”
As the number of COVID-19 cases increases in Hawaii (currently at 517), I realize I should do my part. I live with my girlfriend and the first thing I wanted to do was to make sure that we both wear face masks since we do go grocery shopping quite frequently (usually twice a week). I also thought of my parents, who aren’t getting any younger and are at higher risk. They are essential workers for their employers and need to report to work, even during the pandemic. I didn’t want them driving or walking around without a mask.
The best option for me was to create my own facemask without going out and getting supplies. The materials you need can be found in your home. You will need one (1) old T-shirt or any shirt you don’t use anymore, toilet paper, scissors and one sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper. The best part about it: There is NO SEWING REQUIRED! Follow these steps to make your own facemask:
Step 1: Place the T-shirt on the ground completely unfolded. Then, place the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper onto the middle of the T-shirt and cut completely around the edges. This will give you two rectangle-shaped pieces of fabric that you can use to make two masks.
Step 2: Take one of the fabric pieces of the T-shirt and fold it in half (hamburger style, not lengthwise).
Step 3: On both sides of the folded end of the fabric, make a 2” cut (lengthwise) and a ½ inch cut (widthwise). This is for the ears.
Step 4: Unfold the piece of fabric and add a few squares of toilet paper into the middle. This should be between the two cuts you made for the ears in step three. This will act as the mask filter.
Step 5: Fold the fabric in thirds over the toilet paper so it stays in the middle. All done!
Keep in mind, this is just how I made my mask. There are so many other templates and options online. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores and pharmacies. The CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus. It’s especially helpful if everyone wears face coverings because so many people are asymptomatic and don’t even know they have the virus. The simple act of covering up could prevent them from transmitting COVID-19 to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials can be used as a low-cost alternative. The facemask I created, or the ones recommended for the general population are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. The N-95 masks are critical personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and other medical first responders — so let’s make sure those are reserved for them.
I hope this small step to wear a cloth face covering helps make a difference. We all need to do our part to help flatten the curve — even if we don’t look that cool in the process.
Chase Ogoshi is a digital communications and social media specialist at Hawaiian Electric Company.
