As school begins again and we all settle back into our dorms and classrooms, one glaring difference is noticeable here at NSU: we can’t see the bottom halves of each other’s faces. Masks are now required everywhere on campus, and while I personally feel pretty cool while wearing a mask, others might feel strange with a random piece of fabric over their face for hours on end.
However, as time has passed over this summer, many people have found joy in customizing their masks. While you can order a special print for your masks online, you may not always be able to find exactly what you want — or you may just want to add your own personal flair. In these cases, keep reading to find out how you can personalize your own cloth face mask.
Time to tie dye
One of the easiest methods to customize your cloth mask is to tie dye it. Remember that if you choose to tie dye your mask, you must use safe dyes that are not harmful to inhale and will not irritate skin. There are many different patterns you can utilize while tie dying something; you can twist your mask up and tie it to create a spiral, you can crumple up your mask and pour dye on it to create ripples or simply just splatter the dye all over your mask to create a spilled dye effect. After you’re done dying it, wrap it up in a plastic bag and let it sit for 24 hours before you wash it alone in the washing machine. After waiting for it to dry, voila — you have a truly colorful and unique face mask.
Enjoy some embroidery
Another way you could decorate your mask would be to embroider it. When you’re embroidering a mask, make sure your cloth mask has two layers, and that you’re only embroidering through the front layer. While embroidery may seem like a skill that would be hard to conquer, there are many YouTube videos on how to begin. After a little practice, you’ll be embroidering patterns onto your cloth mask like a champ. When embroidering a pattern, the possibilities are literally endless. You can choose any design, phrases or objects that you want with a wide variety of thread colors.
Make faces on your face with felt
Have a specific pattern or animal you want on your mask? Don’t feel comfortable with embroidery? Sewing felt onto the front layer of your cloth mask is an easier alternative to creating the designs you want on your mask. All you’ll need is a sewing needle or fabric glue, any felt or fabric that you want for your design and some thread to connect it all. Some popular felt and fabric cutouts include dinosaurs, flowers or planets, but you can choose anything to your heart’s desire. Once you’ve cut out your design, you can sew it right on or glue it on to create fun and original face masks.
