I have been on kind of a mask-making bender since I posted about it on the last thread about this. Here’s the current version of my Ikea-style instructions. It is inspired by the ragmask pattern, but it only uses a single pair of tapes shoelaces.
Obviously the point of making your own is that you can use whatever materials you want. But, as I said on that other thread, I don’t think it’s a good idea to focus on the nominally highest-performing material if it’s hard to breathe through; in this context, that means more air going around the filter instead of through it. Based on a couple of the sources noted above, and my tests with actually breathing through different materials, my suggestion would be to use a reasonably high-thread-count cotton bedsheet / pillowcase / shirting poplin for the inner material (in this design, you’re breathing through two layers each of the inner and outer material).
Other tips I have found:
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take time to get the nose wire adjusted right; you want a snug fit, but if it pinches your nostrils then you’ll feel out of breath even just walking.
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7cm / 2¾" is a good size for that wire – it may seem like longer is better, but actually it tends to just make the mask sit off your face as it moves around.
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If you use a stretch fabric (e.g. from a T-shirt) for the outer layer, be sure to use a non-stretch fabric for the inner layer, and vice versa. Apart from being harder to sew, it’s harder to get stretchy masks to fit right.
I would be interested if anyone had feedback about my design! But mere name-calling doesn’t count.
