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Original poster

Sewing your own mask!

99 replies

Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:03

Has anyone done this? Yes, I know it's probably not very effective but everyone is wearing them to shop where I am but I can't get hold of one for love nor money...

OP posts:
LittleBeauPeep · 30/03/2020 20:04

I'm planning to do so this week. They seem quite simple.

LittleBeauPeep · 30/03/2020 20:05

I'll just add wash it on a hot wash and steam iron to kill germs

Orangesarenottheonlyfruit · 30/03/2020 20:07

Umm I think this isn't the best idea. Best case - it does very little. Worst case - it gives your a false sense of security and you let your guard down.

Bearbehind · 30/03/2020 20:08

Do you honestly think it’s a good idea to have some germ filled, damp, soddened piece of cloth next to your mouth for prolonged periods?

Proper, high grade masks filter the germs and are effective

DIY masks are far worse than actually breathing fresh air

Think people!

eatanazurecrayon · 30/03/2020 20:11

My moms being doing it for weeks. She's made one for the whole extended family. Probably not that effective but makes me feel better 🤷🏽‍♀️

Sewing your own mask!
Scottishgirl85 · 30/03/2020 20:13

Please don't do this!! At best it's a waste of time, at worst it's more dangerous than no mask! Please read the science!

Original poster
Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:15

Do you honestly think it’s a good idea to have some germ filled, damp, soddened piece of cloth next to your mouth for prolonged periods?

I get what you're saying but if I don't have a mask then I have to have a bandana or something (or get some disapproving looks) and it would be easier to have a mask that actually stays put.

OP posts:
Cadfaelfan · 30/03/2020 20:17

Coronaviruses are 120nm in diameter. That's about a tenth the size of a red blood cell. A cloth mask won't provide any protection. Worse, the risk is, you touch your face more because it feels odd and increase your chances of catching the virus.

The guidance is wash your hands for 20 seconds and practice social distancing.

The guidance is not to wear a cloth mask, because cloth mask are recognised not to provide any protection.

Runmybathforme · 30/03/2020 20:18

Completely ineffective, but hey, it’s your choice.

Bearbehind · 30/03/2020 20:20

Why do you have to have a bandana?

Think about it - if you are exposed to the virus and you’re just shopping then you breathe it in then out and move on

If you have a face covering that’s anything other than high grade the germs stay attached to it and you continually breath them in and out

I’m no doctor but this seems blindingly obvious

If you are in a country that insists on masks then you don’t go out until you get decent ones

Frenchfancy · 30/03/2020 20:20

It is definitely worth doing. There is an article (sorry on my phone so don't have a link) about research done by Cambridge University showing homemade masks can be up to 75% effective compared to proper surgical masks. That is a lot better than nothing.

I've made some at the request of a district nurse who had nothing. 2 layers with a pocket for a 3rd layed you can change out. The whole thing can be boil washed. I used ties rather than elastic as elastic doesn't like being washed in hot temperatures.

Original poster
Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:22

Worse, the risk is, you touch your face more because it feels odd and increase your chances of catching the virus.
I have read the opposite - if anything it stops you touching your face.

If you are in a country that insists on masks then you don’t go out until you get decent ones
Well I've been trying for a month and I need to go out so....

OP posts:
Original poster
Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:23

@Frenchfancy - yes, I read something similar which made me think it may be worth trying. I am using a bandana at the moment but I keep on having to pull it up which defeats the purpose. Do you have a pattern?

OP posts:
applemango9 · 30/03/2020 20:24

I made it for our family members. 2 for each. My daughter is going to make for her own. But we need to attach the filter inside of the face mask as it’s just cotton. The filter could be any kind of cleaning cloth. I haven’t gone out yet but if I need to buy groceries shopping I am going to use it.

Original poster
Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:29

Thanks!

OP posts:
MaybeDoctor · 30/03/2020 20:30

The link posted by FrenchFancy leads to the Cambridge research.

It describes them as 'better than no protection'.

Peacenquiet2 · 30/03/2020 20:36

There's a video doing the rounds which shows a lady making a very basic but probably just as effective mask from a sturdy sheet of kitchen roll, two elastic bands and a stapler. Google it, perhaps you might find that useful. I don't know how to do links

SugarSugarShimmy · 30/03/2020 20:40

I too have read that homemade masks make transmission more likely rather than less likely

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 30/03/2020 20:42

You will need a highly woven cloth, a sateen or lawn, double up, I suppose it better than nothing or maybe better than the flimsy ones in the corner shops.

Original poster
Seventyone72seventy3 · 30/03/2020 20:43

@SugarSugarShimmy Where have you read that? I have read that they do help albeit not as much as a surgical mask.

OP posts:
LeGrandBleu · 30/03/2020 20:43

@Scottishgirl85 I would love to see the science on this, because the only science I can find is about facemark being effective
Here you have 34 medical papers on it docs.google.com/document/d/1HLrm0pqBN_5bdyysOeoOBX4pt4oFDBhsC_jpblXpNtQ/edit# but I couldn't find a single one saying there were not or even dangerous.

And the Washington Post states :

'' When historians tally up the many missteps policymakers have made in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the senseless and unscientific push for the general public to avoid wearing masks should be near the top.""

Covid -19 is airborne. Full stop. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.23.20039446v2 and www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973 and if you don't want to bother reading, listen to Michael Osterholm (minute 44)

In France, hospitals are giving patterns for people to use to make their own at home. coutureetpaillettes.com/mes-coutures/masques-tissus-prevention-coronavirus/ (sorry it is in French, but if you scroll down to the brown box, you can download it)

So anyone who has a medical paper that shows no benefit or that proves that you get covid because you touched your face, or someone coughed on you, yeah , put those links.

Can I remind you, WHO said FOUR times there was no human to human transmission and WHO said they were disappointed by travel ban and that we shouldn't impose them.

So show me SCIENCE not a tweet.

LeGrandBleu · 30/03/2020 20:46

@Seventyone72seventy3 look at the links I posted just above.
The French recommendation when sewing your own is to make a three layers one with an internal pouch in which you put some sort of filter. You should make 4 or 5, when you come home, you bin the filter, and put the mask in the wash.

The science say they are effective. Listen to the science not the tweets.

Bearbehind · 30/03/2020 20:48

there was no human to human transmission

Eh?

How the fuck is it being transmitted then?