there is a new shop in the list of new shops and when I looked it says designed in Lithuania…??? OK so it doesn’t say they are made there, but why would someone in Lithuania design them and just send the designs to the UK,.
I have reported it because I suspect they are made over there and have been imported
There is also a shop selling cord but maybe that comes under supplies, so I didn’t report that one…and please don’t even mention the paintings yesterday that were painted in human blood !!
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Most of the ones I’ve seen don’t make any medical claims and are just to slow down any droplets getting into the air. They are also possibly used by nail technicians (when they are allowed to work) to stop them breathing in dust from filing acrylic nails and I have seen dog groomers asking for fabric masks to stop them breathing in dog hair and dust/dirt from the animals coats. I have no problem with people making/selling them (so long as they aren’t upping their price just because of the present crisis) I hope I don’t have to wear one as I hate having my nose/mouth covered but if it is required I’d rather have a nice handmade fabric one and save the medical ones for those who need them.
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The PM is now saying to wear them when on public transport etc and they have even suggested making them from an old t shirt etc, with a guide online on how to make a simple face covering. I have already had family members asking me to make some, people should be advertising them as face coverings not masks. I am going back onto scrub making in a couple of days so not sure I will have time to supply them for villagers now but will see how it goes.
I love some of the rainbow items and would happily buy those to give as gifts.
I think charging £10 and upwards for a face covering is totally different. If people charged the money back to cover the cost of buying the fabric it would be fine but there are a lot of people making huge profits from it.
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We are being advised to wear cotton face coverings now and there are suggestions of how to make them online. I will happily mske them for family, friends etc and myself but I won’t charge for them. I think there are a lot of people selling them for £5 ish which is fine to cover the cost of fabric etc but some shops are placing hefty price tags on them which I feel is just profiting from a very sad situation.
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I know - I’ve been looking up tutorials on how to make them online - I’m going to give it a go! (Only for me and my family - not to sell!)
I have been wearing my glazing mask when going into the pharmacy but it’s hard work to wear for long periods of time as it gets really wet inside!
I was looking at some on here for about £5 and I think that’s a good price really but I guess it depends how long they take to make - I’ve got no idea but I guess I’ll be finding out later…now I just need to find some suitable material!
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I’ve found from experience that if you do something for nothing, the entitled locusts descend en masse and I’d end up making a trillion masks at massive expense to myself. Then I’d be dealing with the ungrateful gits who moan their faces off cos they didn’t get the chuffing print or colour they wanted.
Nope. I’m charging a nominal fee and that’s that. I’m only making for neighbours, friends and family though, not listing here online!
I’m making triple layered cotton masks that can be machine washed at 60 degrees (as recommended), with a pocket internally for additional filters. I spend a lot of time on them, making sure they’re robust and can handle repeated machine washing (they’re to be washed every single time you use them, even if it’s just a five minute dash to the post office).
I’m covering a little of my costs at £5 per mask. That doesn’t come close to minimum wage or cover my material costs, but it’s a start and helps me out financially.
I’ve also found that people feel better giving me a little money for them and a fiver seems to be an amount that we’re all comfortable with.
Everyone locally knows my business has tanked (I do bridal alterations, so that’s me stuffed for the foreseeable) so if someone wants to up the price and give me a tenner per mask, I will accept it gratefully, but I can live with a fiver for now. Ask me again in four months and if I’m down to eating my fabric stash, it’ll be a different story. Principles are great if you can afford them.
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I hope this is allowed, but this is a link to the pattern and tutorial I began with. I tried some of the pleated, rectangular masks but I could not get a comfortable fit that also provided a “seal” around the nose. This one does it, there are four different sizes AND there are variations for additional filter pockets, nose wires (especially useful for specs wearers to avoid fogging). I’ve adapted it to my own purposes, changing the construction method to enclose all the raw edges and make it a bit more robust, but it’s perfectly adequate as it is, as a simple cotton face covering.
I’d advise machine washing your cotton fabric at 60 degrees before you cut anything out, so it’s preshrunk. Fabric should be a tightly woven, but lightweight cotton. Furnishing fabric works if it’s a lightweight one, but anything heavy will be impossible to breathe through. Layer up your fabric and lining in the appropriate number of layers and try to breathe through it before you commit, and end up with suffocation devices rather than useable coverings.
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Thanks Lois - that’s all really useful information. I do have some furnishing fabric that I was thinking of using for the men in my family (as nearly everything else I have is floral) so I had better see what it’s like to breathe through before I use it.
What kind of wire did you use for the nose wire? - I’ve got some of that plastic covered gardening wire - I was thinking about using that.
I’ve not done the nose wire as I didn’t feel it necessary, the fit of this design is really good already. The pattern instructions do make some recommendations but I cant say what’s best I’m afraid. You could make the insert for a wire and tell people the suggested options so they can find the one that’s comfy for them. That’s what I’d do.
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I should have said, a medical friend asked around her hospital and the overwhelming consensus is multiple thin layers are better than one layer of something thick.
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Thanks Lois - I’m only making them for me, Mr DP and my boys, so they’ll have to see what fits best (that’s if I can even manage to sew them at all - lol!, My skills are limited)
It will probably take me all day to sew 4!
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I’ll just reassure you that these are actually quite simple to sew, I promise. Just pay attention to the seam allowances (so you don’t make them too small) and clip all the curved seams before you turn things through, and you’ll be fine. The instructions are good for the tutorial I linked. Shout me if you’re not sure though, I’m happy to help if I can!
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I think £5 is a decent price to pay…a nominal fee to cover the cost and doing it to help others is great but there are some people out there taking advantage of a terrible situation and putting very high prices on them to make a huge profit from it.
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Just wanted to add a different perspective.
I am appalling at sewing- i’m the sort that attaches her work to her own trousers, or regularly sewed together two equal sized squares and found one side was longer than the other.
I wanted to buy a mask as the new guidelines state it’s sensible in supermarkets etc. I’m convinced I’m healthy, but live in horror of making others ill.
However, I don’t want to buy from Amazon etc- I wanted to support UK small business, and get something unique, quirky and that wouldn’t scare my young children if they see me wearing it. Also, I don’t want to buy medical grade as that’s one less mask for the NHS. So: clearly, I’ve bought from Folksy. And I’m not the only one, as most of the shops selling them have little or no stock left! Unfortunately, I don’t know how well established the shop I bought from was, but did see the reviews were all good.
I appreciate it may be seen as profiteering but from my point of view, it’s important and necessary. I certainly wouldn’t want whoever made my mask to be out of pocket. Perhaps those who are worried could make a donation to a relevant charity?
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That’s the perspective my neighbours have - not wanting me to be out of pocket, and knowing they’re getting something well made and fit for purpose from me. I think the discomfort for me as a seller comes from knowing they have limited usefulness as protection from the virus. Now that we’re being asked to wear them when in contact with others to protect others from us, just in case, I think it’s sensible to buy if sewing is not your forte. Not everyone has cotton, thread and a machine in the house.
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the little twist ties for sandwich bags are perfect for nose wires in masks 
i used them for mine - pushed them up against the seam (inside the mask) before top stitching, and used the top stitch to trap them in place. they made a good seal around the nose 
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Thanks Fiona 
I’ll see if I’ve got any.
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I made some yesterday (just for family) using this style as I read/heard somewhere that this shape is better for people who wear glasses than the basic rectangle ones (less chance of you fogging up your glasses as you breath) I used a mixture of scraps of fabric from my dressmaking hobby and an old shirt of Hubby’s. I think now the government have advised us to use then in certain situations there could be more shops asking us to wear them (if only to cover themselves from complaints) so thought we should be prepared (even though I’m not keen on wearing one!)
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Debby Absolutely. That was my complaint …making them to make money, to take advantage of the situation. Not those making to help make the situation better.
Step daughter is making some at the moment… she is Very handy… so I will let her make them for us… my eye sight is fantastic nowadays… medium, long range, rarely wear my glasses but I have forfeited close up to acheive that so threading needles is…out (and those that thread themselves ? they unthread themselves just as easily so no ta )
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Yes I can see there will be many people unable to make one themselves, I never really thought of it in that way and we are now being advised to wear face coverings in public (made me laugh as even I have sewn fabric to my trousers in the past 
.)
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