So... here it is the holidays, and we have all (mostly) come to grips with a new normal of being required/requested to wear masks in public. People that resist are shamed and branded 'Karen', so it's pretty long odds that we all haven't experienced a need for face coverings. Heck, in other parts of the globe, non-participants are being jailed, or fined excessively for refusal.

That's not what I'm posting about, if you dissent, keep it to your damn selves.

Those of us that ARE wearing them as asked (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Mask, No Service), have all begun to source our supply of face crack somewhere. Either make or buy, durable or disposable. For those of us doing durable, the laundry drying rack (per the wife, 'lingerie rack') has become a part of our home laundry setup because it's way nicer to wear a clean mask than one full of breath funk.

All this in mind, the Mrs. and I are headlong into our 2nd big push to sew masks. During the first shutdown, we needed them immediately, and there truly weren't any available to purchase, so we sewed up a bundle for immediate needs, using whatever fabrics we could get our hands on and whatever supplies that we had already to make do.

After that first round, my mid-20s daughter lost her permanent gig to the Covid shutdown (temporarily at least) and began putting her seamstress side business/hobby to work as volume mask maker. I personally pushed at least $1000 of mask sales through my work/friends/acquaintances at $5/each over the time she was out of work. At no markup might I add. And I helped her with some materials to assist. Upshot being, I became the neighborhood crack dealer.

That said, here it is Dec 2020, and many of our masks are beginning to wear. Repeated washings, sneezes and abuse have some of them looking and feeling like that old set of underwear that need retired. And the ones that I forced into my employees hands for work use are in as bad or worse shape. So this year, employee appreciation gifts will consist of a holiday ornament and additional new masks for their use (and I bet they end up used at work when needed the most). This latest round has benefitted already from better materials (better ear elastics, better nosepieces than pipe cleaners), and additional professionalism by bringing in a sewing consultant (the afore-mentioned daughter gave us a pizza fueled evening of tips, tricks and shortcuts to increase quality and speed of production). It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Leanintree home.

SO... short story long, share 'em up. I can't believe we aren't the only people on ST.O that aren't using disposable parking-lot condoms (I mean jeeze people, use the flippen trashcans!).  Show your resource, and fill this thread with ideas for us all.

Smaller pics to overload your computer: (every mask shown is made by the Trees, Leanin, Mrs., or Little. New to old approximately)

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 <---- (OK just kidding, not ours. It just seemed to fit though...)

Do you make masks with a pocket for replaceable filters?  (Our next door neighbor does.)  You can buy disposable filters on Amazon.  They're popular around here because of an untested but perceived additional layer of protection.

I certainly understand harboring an objection to wearing a mask like this in public.  I just don't think it would go with my shoes.

The dual layer design we make has a hole in the reverse for any additional filter media anyone chooses to put in. These aren't N95, they are a barrier, nothing more. That said, judging by the goobers on the inside, they are filtering something each day.

And I agree, the cheezeburger mask isn't for everyone. Gotta be special to sport it... 

LT

I got 2 from the Large Chicago Based Aerospace and Defense Company I work for and 2 from Kaiser Permanente when I got my flue shot. I just wash them and re-use them, I'm the Anti-Fashionista... 

I don't go out much, so I don't have many. I like this one (I have two of them), although I have since dyed it so that the light pattern isn't so obvious.

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And here I am in full get up when I had an MRI the other week    I think the mask really pulls it all together

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I have a couple of others, but no photos of them.

Oh, no!  It dyed!

I've come to appreciate my mask as the weather has gotten colder. I wear it outside even when people aren't around. It keeps my face toasty warm.

I'm also thankful I don't wear glasses, because the fogging issues are legion.

That's why you need masks with metal wires to bend to conform to the bridge of your nose.  The masks without that feature are completely useless to me.

We started with pipe cleaners which worked, to a degree. Repeated washings and some were rusting or discoloring the fabric (particularly light colors). Also needed some finesseing after washes. New hotness is these:

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Amazon. Like 7bux for 100, adhesive backed with 100 sets of ear adjusters to match. Game changer, they're much more comfortable.

neck gaiter / buff thing that I can pull up and down with ease which I have to do all day long. 

But I question the effectiveness of a buff-like gaiter, as they are (generally) just one layer of fabric, and the "word on the street" is that you should have three layers, or a filter of some kind.