In an attempt to a) keep friends, family, and folks in our community safe, and b) keep myself entertained and out of the pool hall during our shelter-in-place adventure, I’ve been making fabric masks with custom-made replaceable liners from blue shop towels.

Why blue shop towels?

A recent study found that of all the material likely to be available to home-grown mask makers, the blue shop towels had the highest performance of microbial filtration available (https://www.businessinsider.com/homemade-mask-using-hydro-knit-shop-towel-filters-better-2020-4).

Why custom-made to fit these particular masks?
Because trying to just shove a square of shop towel into the pocket results in an uncomfortable bunched-up mass of material in front of your nose and mouth that are hot and hard to breathe through.

Wearing masks is weird enough for most of us without making it more uncomfortable than it needs to be.

By cutting and sewing them into a shape that matches the exact contour of the mask, they fit smoothly and keep the structure of the curve snugged up tight to your nose for a better seal while giving you (literally) more breathing room.

Upside to the filters? Safer, more comfortable peeps.
Downside? They can be maddeningly fiddly to insert smoothly.

So, I made a quick video to show the easiest way to get the little buggers in. (Please pardon the accidental advertising for those amazing Persian pickled vegetables on the counter, although they are pretty darn tasty if you’re into pickled veggies.)

I also made a mask for Winston, who immediately had some thoughts he wanted to share on the subject.
#winstonspeaks

On a final note, may I just say how much it sucks when your dog’s video is better than yours?

Lots.