3 ways to make a face mask from socks

Against the background of general panic due to the coronavirus, unusual ideas of self-defense are being born among the people. One of them is making a reusable fabric mask from an ordinary sock.

What you will need

We'll need a new, clean sock. An old product with frayed and grayed heels is not suitable, and you are unlikely to wear such fabric on your face. It is better to take natural and breathable material for the same reason.

The color of the sock is your choice. Plain black ones are an option for adults, while colored ones with drawings will appeal to children. This is quite fun: a striped sock turned into a mask. You can involve children in needlework.

You will also need sharp scissors, a sewing needle and threads that match the color of your socks.

Instructions

We will sew a face mask in three ways.

First way:

Take a short sock with a strong elastic band at the ankle.
Cut off the front part where the fingers are located. Calculating the size of a face mask is easy: place the heel part to your nose, elastic side up. The mask should completely cover the chin. The toe is cut along its line.
Now you need to “open” the sock by cutting it lengthwise, from the side opposite the heel.
The cut off part will be useful for creating elastic bands for the ears. Just cut a thin strip of about 1 cm, then cut the circle in half. You need to make 4 such stripes.
We firmly sew the elastic bands to the edges on the wrong side of the sock.
Four elastic bands allow you to adjust the tightness of the mask to your face. Tie them together behind your ears or at the back of your head.

Long sock mask

Another way of emergency self-defense using socks:

You will need a sock that is just above your ankle. This time we cut off the strip of elastic - we don't need it.
Fold the sock in half, the heel part should be in the center.
Now cut the sock diagonally.
We leave the part where the recess is for the heel, that is, for the nose.
We take up the scissors again: cut off some of the corners in a semicircle. These will be the ear holes. Since socks have good stretch, cut the armholes away from the edge. The sock is long enough to protect your face without the holes getting torn.

The third option for a sock mask:

This time we take part of the sock from the heel and above. Cut along the ankle line and leave only the elastic. To make the mask wide enough, you will need a high sock.
A needle and thread are not needed in this method. All that remains is to cut out the armholes. To do this, fold the fabric in half, then bend the edge 1-2 cm and fold it in half again.
Use scissors to cut off the corner.
We do the same on the other side of the sock.
This results in two armholes on each edge of the mask. This is necessary for a tighter fit of the fabric in the lower part of the face. Place the top bands on your ears first, then the bottom ones.

Reliability of a sock mask

When you don’t have a medical mask or respirator at hand, but you urgently need to go out into a crowded place, this unusual method of self-defense may well come in handy. But a mask made from socks cannot be considered complete: it does not have the proper filtering properties, and after washing it will most likely quickly lose its shape.

Now that the shortage of protective equipment has passed, and a mask can be bought at any store or pharmacy, this method should be used only when absolutely necessary.