Here’s How To Make A Homemade Face Mask That ‘Filters Particles 2x Better’ Than Cotton

Under the current circumstances, many places have sold out of face masks. So, many have taken the homemade route to ensure their own safety and the safety of those around them.

Now, three fashion designers have gotten together to create a homemade surgical-style face mask and are giving the pattern away for free!

Their creative design includes a pocket inside of the cotton shell that can be filled with a material to help the face mask filter tiny particles better than the typical mask made solely of cotton.

After these designers tested a number of materials with rented particle-testing equipment, they found that polypropylene, a fabric found in white industrial cloths, as well polyester hydro-knit, a fabric found in blue shop towels, can help the homemade face masks much better than cotton. 2-3 times better to be exact.

While testing their homemade face masks, they also realized that the fit of the mask was extremely crucial. The better the fit, the better chance of filtering more particles.

To be clear, this is not an FDA-approved N95 mask.

This is a pattern to help those making homemade masks have a better chance of making a well-fitting, well-filtering mask for themselves.

They have this pattern available for free as a downloadable PDF on Suay’s and Schempf’s GoFundMe pages.

Both are raising money to aid the professional making of face masks in LA and Michigan.

Many have been concerned at the idea of adding other fabrics to face masks because of the fact that it would be touching your face which could cause a sensitivity. That is why this pocket that allows the extra non-cotton fabric to go inside of the mask instead of the exterior is genius!

And they adjusted the pattern to add a snug wire nose piece to hold the mask in place much better. These two ideas are genius game changers!

We hope this tutorial helps many get the safety and protection that have been looking for during this time.

Stay safe!