Month: March 2020

How to make a face mask with a pocket

Heather Studios has started making masks to donate during the coronavirus outbreak, and here is a quick tutorial: How to make a face mask with a pocket.

Cut out the Fabric

You will need to cut 3 rectangles. The front fabric is cut to 6″ x 9″. The back is made of 2 rectangles, cut to 4″ x 9″. You can see I finished off one edge of the lining fabric, I did this the length of the strip before I cut into 9″ sections. You can fold and sew, or serge the edge to finish it off. These masks will be reused and washed often in hot water so keep that in mind.

Mask Instructions

Lay one of the lining pieces right sides together lining up the raw edges. Then lay the other lining piece, right sides together on the other edge as show below:

The finished edges of the lining fabric should overlap in the middle to create the pocket opening.

Elastic

If you are using elastic for ear or head ties you will want to lay these into the mask now prior to sewing. You can use round corded elastic or flat elastic, 1/8-1/4″ is ideal. If being used around the ear cut them 6.5″ long, if around the head cut them 10.5″ long. If you are using corded elastic, knot the ends to help hold in the mask after sewing. Below this is the around the head placement.

Elastic around the head placement

Sewing the Mask

Sew around the edges of the mask. You will be able to turn right side out through the pocket opening so sew all the way around continuously. I back stitch over the elastic and opening area.

Next, turn the mask inside out and press flat with an iron. While ironing, pinch the fabric 3 times to create the pleats and press. The pleats go in the same direction.

Top Stich

Now top stich arounf the mask twice to hold the pleats in place.

Ties

If you are making ties and not using elastic, you add these at the end. You can make ties by cuting 1 1/2″ strips of fabric the full width of the fabric (45″). Iron in half then fold the each half in again. Sew the lenght of the tie.

Then sew the middle of the tie to the front of the mask over the pleats.

Finished Product

Here are some of the finished product pictures. Thanks for contributing to your community and country by making these face masks with pockets.

How to remove old caulk from your tub and tile

Here is how I removed old caulk from the tub and tile. I recently had the pleasure of working on my rental unit, and the tub had not been taken care of properly by the tenants, it was covered in black mold all in the silicone caulk.  I could not wash it off, and the caulk was very dry in many places and really needed to be replaced.  This took a really long time because it was so dry and hard in many places, but after seeing the results I had to do it on my own tub too! When I purchased my home it came with a pretty ratty tub and tile job, and it was a mix of several caulks, some white, some clear, and it also had black mold imbedded in the caulk. YUCK!!!!

The tool:

First, I purchased this razor blade kit from amazon, its two tools and 3 types of blades for different jobs.  There are 2 heavy duty blades, which were great for the really dry and hard caulk, 20 standard razor blades, and 10 plastic blades for delicate jobs.

This process of removing old caulk, like I said, was very slow where the caulk was incredibly dry and hard.  I broke or chipped the standard blades easily, but I could extend the life by flipping the blade in the tool, it was sharper on the other side.  Sometimes I could get a good roll going parallel to the tile, other times I had to dig in perpendicular to the tile.   

Also note that the tile is very resistant to scrapes and damage, where as the tub was easily scrapped and damaged.  I made sure I used a fresh blade on the tub, and kept careful watch for when the blade was damaged enough to cause scrapes. 

 My home tub was much easier as the caulk was still flexible, and it only took me a hour to scrape and peel off.  I also did not need to scrape the whole shower, just the tub/tile line.  And wow what a difference!  I’m embarrassed to show the before picture of my tub.

how to remove old caulk from tub and tile

For now I used a caulk strip to cover the gap. This is what I bought from amazon, however I’m not too impressed with this brand.  I will be posting how I apply the silicone caulk neatly in another post.

Thanks for checking out how to remove old caulk from my tub and tile.  It is a slow process, but anyone can remove old caulk from their tub and tile with the right tools and some patience. And now check out the after photos!

The reveal: