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Face-friendly masks with pocket for filter and nosepiece

By JANET BURGAN
Posted 4/9/20

I am a musician and have been on tour this winter. As I was driving back to my home from New Orleans two weeks ago, I started thinking about what I could do to be helpful during this COVID-19 …

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my view

Face-friendly masks with pocket for filter and nosepiece

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I am a musician and have been on tour this winter. As I was driving back to my home from New Orleans two weeks ago, I started thinking about what I could do to be helpful during this COVID-19 pandemic. I knew I could have online concerts and write some new songs, but I felt that wasn’t enough. I have been sewing since I was a little girl and I started to think about making fabric face masks.

I started doing research online. There were a multitude of patterns and they were all beautiful, but they all looked as though they had been designed by seamstresses, not by the people wearing them. I contacted my sister, a veterinarian, and asked her opinion. We spoke at length tossing ideas back and forth. The biggest issue was how to reduce stitching and seams that could rub on the face, and what best to use for a nosepiece; Dr. Sister suggested pipe cleaners.

I knew from my research that these masks should be constructed of 100 percent cotton and should be able to be sterilized. I bought some supplies and got to work. I came up with a design that fit my criteria. I made several prototypes and had my friend, Amy Platko-Williams, DVM, and her staff at Friends for Life Veterinary Clinic in Honesdale, PA try them out. They machine washed them and sterilized them in their autoclave. The masks held up and were comfortable.

I wanted to be able to give this information away, so I posted an email to Upper Delaware Network offering the pattern and instructions for any takers, free of charge. I posted the same offer on Facebook.

The result has been very gratifying. Many, many people have volunteered to make these masks and give them away to the people or facilities of their choosing.

I will keep singing and writing songs, but I’m especially proud that I’ve been able to help my community in such a concrete way during this horrible pandemic.

My dear friend, “Homeboy Steve” Antonakos, musician, writer and bandleader died of COVID-19 on Thursday, March 26. I was very glad I already had this mask project started. I dedicate this work to him. Rest in Power, Steve.

Janet Burgan is a singer-songwriter living in northeast Pennsylvania. She tours extensively throughout the United States.

View her step-by-step tutorial here.

masks, sewing, coronavirus

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