New Sewing 101 kits!
We were making kits for one of our Sewing 101 projects - sleep masks and thought we should share them with you!
This post overviews the kits' contents and the project itself. We have limited collections of each kit, so once a color selection is gone, it’s gone!
What’s in a Sewing 101 Sleep Mask Kit?
eye mask pattern
illustrated instruction sheet
enough fabric to make two masks
silk lining for two masks
elastic for two masks
batting for two masks
How to make your eye mask
1. Prewash and iron your fabric
if you are working with small scraps, we recommend washing them in a laundry bag.
2. Cut out your shapes!
You’ll need…
1 long rectangle for your elastic casing
1 eye mask shape out of your exterior fabric
1 eye mask shape of your lining fabric
1 eye mask shape of batting
~15 inches of elastic (more or less, depending on the size of your head!)
3. Trim your pattern pieces.
Cut your batting down by ~1/2 inch all along the outside
Cut your lining down by ~1/8 inch all along the outside. This helps keep the lining from being visible when the mask is worn.
4. Make your elastic casing
Fold the long rectangle in half, long edges together. Stitch along the raw edge at a 1/2-inch seam allowance.
Turn the tube inside out - using a small hook like a loop turner can be helpful here. Thread the hook through the tube and catch the opposite end. Pull the end towards the inside of the tube and gently turn the tube right side out by pulling it through the length of the tube.
5. Insert your elastic into the casing
Pin a safety pin to the end of your elastic and use this to help thread your elastic through. Pin both ends in place. Stitch the elastic to the ends of the casing to prevent it from pulling out
6. Assemble mask
Pin lining to exterior fabric, right sides together. Position the elastic sandwiched between the two layers. Center the ends of the elastic with the dots on the pattern piece.
Sew around the outside edge at 5/8”, leaving a small gap (~2 inches) at the top to turn it right side out.
Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and end to prevent your seam from being pulled open when you flip it right side out.
Lots of pins can help you navigate curves and keep the two pieces lined up! Make sure to pin the elastic straps in place at the two sides.
Sewn at 5/8” seam allowance. You’ll notice that the lining pulls a little at the exterior if you lined up the edges - this is because you trimmed it a bit smaller to roll towards the inside!
7. Trim your seam allowance.
Clip small triangles into the allowance at the curves to help the mask sit nicely.
clipped seam allowance with the batting laid on top
8. Pull the mask right side out through the hole you left. Insert the batting through the hole and smooth it out.
Turning your mask inside out through the hole you left. You can insert the batting at the same time as seen above!
9. Iron the mask flat and stitch the hole closed by hand
You’re done!