Hey Guys, pretty surreal time we are going through atm, we just have to remember we are in this together and will get through lockdown if we follow the advise of the government and stay at home. Sending you all positive vibes! How beautiful is the clapping for the NHS each Thursday, we really are together in this. Despite the scariness and sadness of this situation, the world is with us, no person bigger or smaller is not going through the same as we are, the whole world is united and we all need to really care. listen, respect and help each other.

Image taken from Stylist Magazine Instagram

Business has slowed down all around us, I am assuming because everyone is so uncertain about the time ahead..I mean I am not spending either just on food and my home bills. How about you guys?

So along side making new designs for Quillattire, painting and getting annoyed with my husband who has now set up his work from home desk right next to me and is always on calls (snore), I decided to learn how to make fashion masks with my off cuts, which means they are all sustainable (what a bonus!). The mask are fun and great to pair back with a cool outfit. I don’t know about you but I cover my nose and mouth when going out to the supermarket or for a walk now to avoid people’s germs and my own spreading..and I struggle to breathe with all that fabric on my face, so I thought I could make fashion masks for you guys to make things easier and also to give another option to purchase a mask that is not going into the stock that is needed by our Health care system (NHS for everyone in UK).

Our First Reversible Leopard Print Face Mask

Above our Reversible Leopard print face mask, not bad for our first attempt. We thought we would give you two for the price of one (what a treat), we have made this mask reversible so the other side is black lace. You get two looks in one mask, how cool! Below an image of the other side of our face mask, it will be like have two faces lol

Each mask has elasticated straps to hang over the ears. This mask as an outfit would look dope with our Unisex Leopard print Shell Suit Bottoms and Black, Mint or Red Mount Fuji hoodies- such a cool , happy and colourful vibe which is what we need during this world wide pandemic called Coronavirus. All pieces are above are Unisex home boy clothes, perfect to quarantine and chill in, the masks would be great to gift for Birthdays, or general gifts for family or friends - so get involved. Free shipping for all UK orders, small fee for worldwide.

Our Leopard Embellished Shell suit Bottoms that would go great with your Leopard print Mask ;)

Some of the masks i have made, more dropping soon, click here to purchase :)

If you have any spare fabrics lying around, help yourself and others and make them into masks! I saw a post on Forbes and downloaded the pattern and simply followed the instructions below written by the lovely guys at Free Sewing who sew patterns for the non average people.

The mask patterns come in small, medium and large, what you need to make them listed below:

Breathable Fabric not too thick as you need to be able to breath.
Elastic for the sides to hang from your ears.
A Sewing Machine
Scissors
Iron
Printer to print the patterns

Step 1: Join centRE seam

Join the curved seam that is centre of our mask by placing the good sides together and sewing them in place.

Step 2 (optional): Press the centRE seam

This step has no functional value, it will only make your mask look better. So if you’re not too bothered about that, feel free to skip it.

Press the seam allowance on the centre seam open so the seam lies nice and flat.

As this is a curved seam, it won’t lay flat. But you can approach it with your iron from one side, then do the second half from the other side. Alternatively, you can use a tailor’s hem or cushion to press.

Step 3: Sew the outer to the inner fabric and attach ribbons

Now we will sew the inner (lining) fabric to the outer (main) fabric, and attach the ribbons all in one step.

Place your lining fabric down with the good side up.
Then, place two ribbons on the corners of one side (right in our example) so that they peak out just a bit from the mask, but the ribbon extends inwards.
Now place the main fabric on top of this with the good side town. You should now have both layers of your mask on top of each other with good sides together and two ribbons sandwiched between them
Pin through ribbons and layers to keep them in place
Now do the same on the other side
Now sew around the mask, making sure to leave one side open so we can turn the mask inside-out later.

Step 4: Turn the mask inside-out

Actually, your mask is inside-out now, so turning it inside out will mean we get it outside-out, or regular.

Just reach in through the side your left open and carefully pull the mask through to turn it.

Step 5 (optional): Press the mask

Now that the mask is as it should be, it’s time to press it. Before doing so, make sure to fold the seam allowance of the side we left open inwards, so that we press it flat as if it was sewn.

Step 6: Close open side of the mask and edge-stitch around the edge

Now it’s time to close the side of our mask the we left open to turn it inside out.

We are not merely going to close the opening, but also edge-stitch around the entire mask to give our mask some extra stability, and keep the lining at the back.

Make sure the open side is folded neatly inside, then edge-stitch around the entire mask.

Step 7: NOW GO MAKE YOUR MASK OR MAKE FOR OTHERS!

Our Denim Face Mask with Neon Yellow Back that we have been working on You could wear this for your virtual parties, a trendy trips to the supermarket, somethings telling me even after the lock down masks are still going to be needed. Feeling the pain for the Aries crew who have birthdays that they will be self isolating through :( My birthday was on the 7th April, I was wearing my own sequin mask - self love and all that!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, get in contact with us if you have any ideas for your very own custom, personalised Face Masks! Stay tuned for our next blog post where we will be talking about being Self Employed, having your own business and the struggles that the Coronavirus has caused us all and then a talk about the go to series on Netflix ‘Tiger King’!:) Stay safe people and if interested in any masks click here. :)

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