Sew-in Quick-Adjust Elastic Connector for Face Masks

thingiverse

Elastic connector tab designed to be sewn into cloth masks. Simply pull to adjust the elastic. **Field Tested and Mother Approved** [How-To: Sewing Guide ](https://youtu.be/tXLP6fNCRxg "Video guide") Loop around the ears OR Cross bands across the back of the head. Print with a flexible material, TPU (which includes TPE), this adds a simple T-Slot cut to thread the elastic through and simply pull to adjust. OpenSCAD file included to enable customization. ### My Story My wife started sewing masks for friends and relatives. Everyone loved their masks; however some said theirs were too small while others said theirs were too big. Sizing is judged by the tension of the elastic. Too tight, and the mask is too small. Too loose and the mask is too big. If only it was adjustable... ## 3D Printing I've been printing ear savers with flexible material so I decided to see if it's possible to print a flexible tab that could be sewn into cloth. Through experimenting, I determined a grid design produced a strong flap that could be sewed through without notice. The simple T-Cut V-Slot I created for my first POC worked much better than I anticipated. It holds the elastic without making a knot so you just thread and pull to adjust. Putting the two together, my wife helped me tweak the parameters. She wanted a long tab so it would be easy to hold while sewing. Once we had it dialed in, I printed a sheet to ship tabs to relatives making masks and published the model and OpenSCAD file for anyone who wants to customize it. Please let me know if these work out for you and share a picture of your masks!