Fabric Cut Templates for Cloth Face Masks

thingiverse

Our household has been working diligently to create extra face masks for personal use as the limited availability of standard N95 consumables has created a pressing need. We have focused on making fabric-based masks because they are relatively quick to produce and provide exceptional comfort. Based on this design from The Fabric Patch, we have successfully supplied masks to our community at large. We appreciate the flexibility of the pattern, the ease of sewing, and the four sizes available. From our experience with working from the Fabric Patch design, cutting fabric for the masks has been a significant bottleneck in production. A fast way to cut fabric is by using a rotary cutter. Typically, you would use a paper template placed on the fabric, but this can be damaged when cutting through it and does not provide a physical guide for tracing or cutting safely. These templates allow us to place them on multiple layers of fabric, providing an edge for our rotary cutters to cut against. They are thick enough to remain rigid, yet thin enough not to interfere with our rotary cutters. The only slightly tricky part is using the rotary cutter on the concave portion of the pattern. Larger diameter rotary cutters may struggle here - a 45mm cutter will barely clear the "large" pattern. We successfully use a 28mm cutter for all four sizes. The pattern includes a generous 6.4mm (1/4 inch) seam allowance from the pattern, resulting in a ready-to-sew blank that is perfect for sewing.