Everyone should be protecting the people they love by wearing a mask! But don’t wear a plain ordinary mask. Make a stylish mask and wear it with pride.
I tried to make my own masks and my sewing machine and I don’t get along that well. If you want to make your own masks from scratch, Jennifer Maker has some great tutorials at her site.
What you will need
- HTV
- a mask to put it on
- Iron or Easy Press
- Download File
Where to Get Masks to Make a Stylish Mask
I bought my masks from Walmart. They have several types. The Hanes brand is the best at about $7 for 5 masks. You can get black (I have some designs that I will add to this post when they are done) or white masks. They all have a metal nose grip piece that keeps your glasses from fogging up. They have another brand that has 2 white masks in it fora little cheaper too, but they don’t have nose grips.
Preparing your Vinyl Design
Cutting the Vinyl to Make a Stylish Mask
If you only knew how many times I have cut the wrong side of HTV. LOL. I use a pick to separate a very small part of the HTV in a space I am going to weed anyway. It is easy to tell which side is the HTV and which side is the “paper”. Put the “paper” side down. BTW if you ever cut the wrong side, just turn it over and re-cut. Most brands the backing is thick enough that you didn’t cut all the way through it anyway. It makes weeding a little more difficult because you now have two images, one reversed on the wrong side, but at least the vinyl isn’t wasted.
I always set my Cricut on custom materials to cut then you would select the material”iron on” or if you use glitter HTV, “glitter iron on” and set it to more. This seems to work with one cutting but before you unload your mat, check to make sure it cut all the way through. If it didn’t press the C and it will cut again. I usually do this anyway just to make sure it is cut all the way.
Weeding
Once the pattern is all cut, you need to weed it. I have a Cricut Bright Pad. They are about $48 at amazon. You need some type of light source to put under the project. Before I got the Brightpad, I used a LED lamp , a bowl and a piece of glass. It wasn’t high tech but it worked. Any light pad will work. You can find others on Amazon for under $20. These designs are simple though and shinning a bright light on the top is usually enough. I have an OTT Lite and if you have never seen one, try it. Mine has a caddy in the base for tools and such. They make all the difference!
Also you will need a sharp pick. I have a set from Harbor Freight that cost 2 or 3 dollars. I have just found a pinpen from 651vinyl.com that works great. While you are there look at the weeding ring. It is great! I used to stick the weeded vinyl to my hand but my skin had a reaction to the sticky. The weeding ring solved that. Or I just found one at the Dollar Store.
Here is another trick that works well. Rub a very little bit of baby powder on the back of the vinyl. You will be able to see the lines clearly. If you do this, make sure to wipe the baby powder off with a damp rag before applying the vinyl.
Ironing to Make a Stylish Mask
I finally broke down and bought an Easy Press but I didn’t use it on these. I have a mini iron and it fits in the small spaces easier so I used it. These masks aren’t quite flat so make sure iron the centers flat before you start. And make sure your design lays flat. If you look close at the lips, I missed a small wrinkle in the fabric and the vinyl split there.
With an iron set and the highest setting without steam, warm the area you are going to put the design on then place the design where you want it. Press fairly hard on the design in segments. Use a lot of pressure. You are trying to melt the material and force it between the fibers. After you have pressed each area, go over the whole design slowly a few times. If it doesn’t stick well try again. Glitter vinyl is very difficult to melt. This make take a few tries.
After it cools and I’ve taken the paper off, I always repress the design just to make sure it seals. Use parchment paper between the iron and your design.
BTW if you are layering your vinyl, never put a layer on top of glitter vinyl. It just wont stick.
And now you know how to make a stylish mask. If you use a different type of vinyl or just need to review the basics of working with vinyl, see my other tutorials.
This tutorial contains links to sellers of which I am an affiliate and get a small commission. Your price is not affected.
