There has been an increase in demand for homemade masks in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. As the use of facial protection continues to evolve, items that can be used to create a mask can be found in the comfort of your home!

Due to the pandemic and recent stay at home orders, it may be scary to some to go out and shop for the necessary supplies. Stay at home orders has also effected many people financially. Luckily, you can use things you already have to help protect yourself and those around you, without breaking the bank.
Below are three low-cost ways to create your own face mask. You don’t even need a sewing machine!

First up are some tips directly from the CDC. Recently, the CDC released a video demonstrating it’s recommendation of a cloth face covering.

This do-it-yourself project only required three items: A bandanna and two elastic hair ties. 

This is the easiest of all three of the options that will be offered in this article as it doesn’t require much work. 

If you don’t have two hair ties, there’s a trick to making one. I’ve learned that, if you find two old socks and cut the elastic ends, you’ll have made two bands, once gently stretched. 

A video tutorial on how to make this specific face covering can also be found here.

Next up is another DIY project that requires only a t-shirt. There’s no sewing required for this mask either and it only takes five minutes to make!
In this tutorial video, you’ll find that t-shirt sleeves are more useful than you think. I would highly recommend a size medium shirt in both men and women sizes.

With a pair of scissors, gently cut to prevent your mask from looking choppy.

This last DIY option is a smart way of making a cloth replica of a medical mask.  This demonstration requires a 20 by 17 centimeter piece of fabric, a pair of gloves, and a hot glue gun.

I’ve tried doing this without shirt pins to pinpoint your creases and it didn’t go well, so bee sure you have all the items or it can get messy.

A tutorial video for this mask is also available and can be found here.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, studies show that many individuals with COVID-19 lack symptoms, which means infected individuals can transmit the virus to others before ever showing symptoms.

The CDC has even recommended wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (ex. grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

Even if you feel healthy, you may unknowingly have the disease and spread it and other could do the same to you. During these times, any face mask is better than no face mask.

For more information of facial coverings and the coronavirus, head to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html.