Masquerade

Hi, Y'all!

Originally I planned a blog post covering the usual suspects for this time of the year: advent wreath, Christmas decoration, gift ideas. And although I was torn between having a decorational ball for the last holiday season in our current house or keeping it minimal, I got in the mood last weekend. But I'll save that for my next post - perfectly timed with the first advent.  

Due to the current situation, I changed the topic for a masquerade. Might be interesting for those of you who don't necessarily need a medical mask. And you know me: As self-confessed Rhinelander and carnival-fan I know my share of masquerade! And assuming the topic will stay on our agenda for quite a while, we make the best out of the situation - especially in light of the design potential :-)

To start with a disclaimer: I don't wear make-up right now, my photographing skills are limited and the frown lines are a heritage of my family - thanks, mum! You'll get my naked self without filter! But after weighing all options I came to the conclusion that you're able to deal with it, and you simply can evaluate the  masks better when worn.

I start with the first examples I made for hubby, my family and the neighbors: The classic model according to the pattern of the university clinic Essen with straps and nose wire. Btw: the inner wire of an electric cable is perfect for the nose bridge, far better than the metal part of a filing strip, because it is insulated and there's nothing which can poke through the fabric:

It's a one size fits all model, with the nose wire it's adaptable to any face, and the straps are tied at the back of your head and thus don't make you look like Dumbo the elephant. But I worked my butt off ironing kilometers of bias tape which was needed for the straps.  

Shortly after, the older daughter sent me two masks which fit pretty well; I only cleaned the edges and replaced the straps by elastic: 

That worked pretty good for a while, but then I wanted to add a few more to my collection, and therefore, I made these two examples with box pleats: 

I wore them all the time although they do not work very good with glasses. They fog up, but as I need my glasses mostly for driving or watching TV, it worked for me.

But besides, I wanted some variations which a) don't fog up and b) are a bit more intriguing design-wise, thus I tried some different patterns. This one was designed for hubby: 

There is a chin coverage in the same pattern as for the nose. It fits hubby quite well, especially with his beard. As I don't have that much facial hair, the mask is too large for me, obviously :-) The fabric is reused material from the pockets of an old pair of jeans, in case you're wondering. 

Next variation is a 2 in 1 mask, which means you can wear it as is, or inside out. My model in baby blue and with a rose print on the other side: 

Hubby's version in cream and black: 

Here's a close-up, but to be honest, he needs to size up for a perfect fit: 

My current favorite is this one: also a reversible mask, and on the one side I combined two matching fabrics. That's the side I usually wear, although the other side with the little fisher huts is also very cute. Apart from the checkered mask and the one with the red ties, none of them has a nose wire, but this one here fits extremely well, and when you put the glasses over the mask, they don't fog up. 

Let's hope that some time in the future we'll be all able to go unmasked in public again. But just in case I might need a more dressier mask to wear at a special occasion, I treated myself with this draped black satin number - isn't it gorgeous? 

Please stay safe and healthy, Y'all!!!