Making N-95 type masks (sharing pattern to leather workers)

[hvxsilverstar]

Calling All People Who Sew And Make: You Can Help Solve 2020 N95-Type Mask Shortage
https://freesewing.org/blog/facemask-frenzy/

[mikesc]

We stopped all leatherwork and have been in production of these masks for around two and a half weeks already..

I think it is worth pointing out that the original pattern is from a lady in Malaysia.. Joanne.L and she released it for free over 6 years ago.

That is the original source of the pattern..( just giving credit to a lady whose  pattern is recommended by major hospitals facing Covid 19 )

https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/

Many French hospitals are asking for individuals and businesses such as ours to please make them..

As I mentioned in another thread here a few days ago..my wife is a health care worker, specialising in the care of the elderly ( those with Alzheimers, Dementia etc )in their own homes and in care homes )  in the front line of exposure to Covid 19..She and all other health workers around the world are in need of masks..as are those who are cleaners in the hospitals where the patients are being treated etc..

If you have a sewing machine..even a domestic will do..make masks..

If the lady ( Joanne.L ) at craft passion's website gets swamped..when / if  I have her permission*, we'll then be hosting the pattern (  we are making a variant of it, as are many other around the world ) on an unlimited server, which will be open to worldwide access..

*We are waiting to hear back from her..meanwhile, her pattern is available with instructions in English, and some of the posters in her comments section have translated versions in various languages..French translated versions are already online ( translated by medical staff and others at or connected to various French hospitals and health workers )..as are some other languages, but other / more languages are obviously needed.

Pm me here..and I'll give you an email address to send translated tutorials ( pdf preferred, but we can work with almost any format and convert it to pdf which is the most widely used ,and is the easiest to print at the correct size ) of her pattern to ( please note..the latest version of her pattern includes a "male / man's" pattern.. the original was for her kids.the elastic she mentions at 12" or 30 cms is too short for adults..you need to allow for  an elastic length ( unstretched ) of around 50 cm to 60cms ( for the version that goes around the back of the head ) for an adult.

We will ( if Joanne.L says it is OK for us to operate a "mirror" download ) not be putting it on facebook, twitter, or Google docs as all such services require you to "login" or "join" or "accept scripts " ( which actually means, allow them to follow you all over the internet for years )  to be able to download..and downloads will of course be entirely free and with no strings..just like Joanne.L made her original pattern back in 2013.

Thanks to the OP for mentioning masks, even if it was concerning someone else's site attempting to claim that they had the idea 1st..a few days ago ;).We were so busy making the masks that I was only looking in occasionally, and would not have been spurred to think of hosting a mirror of Joanne.L's pattern.

After midnight here now.. and has been a long day..so don't be surprised if anyone does not get a reply before late Saturday or Sunday ( my time..France )..If Joanne.L is OK with "mirrors" ( which will credit her as the original pattern maker ) and be free and require no "logins" , or allowing "scripting" or "tracking cookies" etc from the GAFAM etc..Then I'm thinking that any one who can help with their own "mirrors" on their own sites, would be welcome , as any website , anywhere, even the "big dogs of "social media", even allowing for all their redundancy, cloud flare and data centres all over the world )  can go dark for any number of technical reasons, not the  least of which is that the people who run some or all of the DCs and the ISPs etc across countries and continents may well be affected by covid 19..The internet is resilient, but only when it ( the data / info) is not all in one place or accessible via a few portals**, which is why none of us should rely on the big sites , Twitter, Facebook etc to be our only way of exchanging data..

**That was the original idea..not that everyone would all log into " the same huge social media few sites" to communicate with each other..Just in case things like pandemics etc happened.

Edited March 20, 2020 by mikesc

[Bert51]

Thank you.

Bert.

 

[Aven]

Thanks for posting this.

 

[motocouture]

Thanks for sharing, and for respecting the work and rights of the original pattern owner. Will likely make some of these for our daughter, who is currently working as a nurse’s aide here in PA

[mikesc]

Joanne L has been in touch with me..she has been swamped with emails about masks.She has upgraded her server to unlimited and so for now she is able to cope with all downloads of her pattern and access to her pages with the tutorial on her bandwidth.

https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/

Translations to other languages are still useful.

So for now a "mirror" is not required..I'll be watching her server to see if it stays up..and staying in contact with her.

We'll be continuing making only masks until they are no longer required, or until we run out of supplies of suitable textile.

If you can make masks..please do so..

Stay safe..follow what are called social distancing rules ..1 metre ( about 1yd ) between people, disinfect your hands frequently, especially if you have been out, avoid touching your face..avoid going out into contact with others unless it is strictly necessary..you can be infectious without showing any symptoms, and you can infect others, or be infected by them.

Edited March 22, 2020 by mikesc

[rodneywt1180b]

What kind of fabric do you use?  Also, thank you for your dedication to making them and for the link.

[Ferg]

I also am making masks. Wiz hit the nail on the head with the needle holes etc.

Use Quilting cotton. There are thousands of variations in the prints. Some of the cotton is of very light weight. I question a little if they will do much good with that potential problem.

I use my Consew 206 RB5 to attach the elastic. I convinced my wife to let me buy a new Singer Domestic, they are on sale. I have used a sewing machine since a very small child, learning to use them correctly is equally as difficult some times as the industrial leather machines. My intended use for the Singer was for making masks. A Non-Profit Organization within a few miles of our home will take all I can make, along with other folks. Some of the instructions and patterns are "iffy" in my estimation. One Video on the web has the lady saying you can just turn the mask around and use the other side. She also states that they are throw-away item. Neither opinion is true. I top stitch the seams on the outside and use a rolled hem on the edges that will have wear. Mine are open on both left and right side/ends so an N95 insert can be used if desired. Anything with the N95 designation is very difficult to come by, I only have ten of them so unless someone asks for them I won't be supplying them with the masks. Elastic is likewise difficult to find but it is out there if you can wait a month or so. We used 1/4" white ribbon for a product we made several years ago. We still have a number of rolls of it. When I run out of the elastic I have we will use the ribbon that can be tied behind the head and neck.

I made at least a dozen before I decided how I wanted to make mine. I use a piece of Floral Wire in the portion that fits over the nose so it can conform. The wire is embedded in a seam. We bend a little loop in the ends of the wire so it won't puncture a person's nose.

Am working on a batch of thirty now. Hope to have them finished so they can be delivered tomorrow. Tedious work for someone who dislikes repetition. Small inconvenience if it helps someone else.

BTW: These are washable.

Ferg

[lostcaggy]

This is an alternative site for making a re-usable mask with a description of differing filters https://diymask.site/

 

 

[mikesc]

I would also suggest reading some of the more recent comments on Joanne L's  page that I linked to above.

In particular someone posting recently there references this link..I didn't mention it in my previous post here because it is somewhat complex unless one has a medical or scientific background.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39956

Ferg ..Thankyou   ..the article there from a research team looking into ( back in 2017 ) ( and having 100% success rate ) into antiviral treatments to N95 type masks ( which normally offer no protection at all to corona viruses due to the size of the gaps in the polypropylene non woven filter layer in them..they are a 3 layer sandwich ..outer layer..filter layer..inner layer )..It is obviously better if the filter layer can be treated with a "salt crystal barrier* before the N95  type mask are manufactured, however many hundreds of millions, if not billions of them have already been made..and the production lines on the machinery in place is set up to use the polypropylene untreated..But, I have found that the standard N95 type mask can be "retro-treated" ..I have some, as my wife is a health care worker in daily contact with potential Covid 19 infected, ( and some actually infected ), geriatric patients in their own homes and in care homes here.

This involves simply making a saturated salt solution ( with a small amount of surfactant  ....the ubiquitous liquid "dish soap" will do, at about 20ml per litre of saturated salt solution ) and spraying it lightly ( enough to wet it ) on the outer surface of the N95 mask..and then allow the mask to air dry before wearing.

This is able to convert what was a basically useless mask , the N95 type, against the Covid 19 ( and other corona viruses ) into a highly protective mask ..there is  of course still the ^problem of "the fit"..N95s fit badly at the sides, and thus expose  the wearer to contamination that is not coming from the front..The mask type referred to here in France as FFP2 ( which is a mask made primarily from a laboratory filter paper type and is close fitting ( the kind of "beak mask" and it's variants ) ) gives better lateral protection..however even it would benefit from treating with the saturated salt solution..enough to coat it, but not to dissolve or weaken it. I've been treating her N95 masks just before she leaves the house  to begin her rounds, and also each fresh mask as she needs to change them..Normally the recommendation for an N95 type is to change them every 3 to 4 hours ( even given that in their unprepared state they are ineffectual gainst corona viruses)..due to the shortage of all masks ( even for heath care personel outside of the intensive care units in the hospitals ), she , and her colleagues have been dealing with Covid 19 for the past month with no masks at all until 7 days ago when they were issued with N95 type..but only at the rate of 2 per day..( 12 hour non stop working day ..in close contact with patients )..We had already been making washable textile masks ( with a "pocket" for filter paper than can physically filter out the virus size particles ) since early March ( I'd , as I said above stopped all other production to work on them )..and she was aware that the N95 is more "for show" and reassuring the patient than for any actual prevention use...As many of her patients have dementia in various forms ( Alzheimer's is only one form ) many are not aware at all that there is a pandemic, nor what a pandemic is, many do not remember who they are. reassuring them is important..they do not get panicked by the sight of a health worker wearing an N95 or any FFP2, the face covering textile mask is another matter, particularly as all the textile suppliers here are closed down, or not delivering and travel is forbidden ,  and my textile stock ( which is fast running out ) is black, or fluorescent orange, fluorescent yellow or fluorescent green.

When making any of our very rare excursions out for buying food or diesel etc, we have been wearing our production textile masks and washing them ( rotating 3 masks ..wear, wash , dry ) and then treating them with the salt saturated solution and a chlorhexidine biocide solution ( perfectly safe for skin contact, or to be breathed in, as is saturated salt solution, whether dried** or humid, and the two can be mixed )

* Doesn't need to be a solid barrier of crystals..just a saturated solution of salt impregnated will do..the crystals themselves are minute or microscopic..

**Because of the way that the saturated salt solution works in it's interaction with the virus, it is better if the solution has dried on the mask before the virus contacts it..it will still work if humid, but the effect is lessened..( IMO probably down to 70 to 80% effectiveness ) you'll understand why upon reading the research paper .

Btw..if you are making washable masks, with, or without the "pockets" then polypropylene as the padding or filter will do fine..if they are for sterilising with heat ( as in hospital use ) then the pocket version is better, as whatever you use for a filter layer can be removed and replaced before the mask goes through the hot wash..if you use the salt barrier treatment make sure to re-do it before wearing the mask again..I find it easiest  to supply masks in sets of 3 ( each with a colour code stripe*** ) so that the wearer ( do not wear someone else's mask ) is able to identify easily which mask is the next one in the sequence that is to be worn..orange striped mask today, ( "todays" mask when worn, goes into the wash and when it comes out gets retreated and put to dry ) yellow striped mask tomorrow, green striped mask  the day after tomorrow..and repeat.

*** if you are adding nose wires..the colour stripe can be used to contain the nose wire..

lastly..the kind of polypropylene that is used as filters in the N95 and as an additional filter in some of the FFP2 variants is everywhere and is really cheap , less than a dollar per yard..all you have to look for is "polypropylene non woven"..the "non woven" part is important as the spaces between the fibres are already smaller than in almost all woven type textiles.apart from some of the specialised types that cost a lot more, or are not suitable for washing or other types of sterilising.

So..back to mask making..another batch to finish and treat before tomorrow ..I'll read through for typos just the once ( my system says every word is a typo )

Added..I'd be more convinced by the "Dr Kwong" at diymask.site ( in the post above mine ) if he didn't think ( against all the scientific evidence to date ) that N95 masks worked against Covid 19..and if he didn't refer to facebook so that the facebook page that you land on shows you advertising and the page owner gets paid per person landing who looks at the ads..

We are ( and have been now for nearly a month ) making masks at no charge at all and donating them to mediacl staff and other health workers, without being paid for any of our materials our time..that is all we are currently doing, as are many others, pros ( waves to Brian "RockyAussie" and hobbyists, here on this site and elsewhere around the world..and the mask version in the pattern on Joanne L's site has been endorsed by many French hospitals and other hospitals and medical staff around the world..They do not claim to have invented something that was invented by someone else and has existed since 2013, nor do they send one to a facebook page where you'll be shown ads, tracked by facebook, and they and facebook will get paid per ad shown to each and every visitor.

Edited March 29, 2020 by mikesc