MASKS part one!

I have been busy filling home time with making stuff.  Not just baking.... which I have put on hold for a while. I think I may have a case of "bread belly". 

So masks... lots of masks.

I first sat down to look up patterns to sew masks. Which were fine except all of the patterns were apparently for people with normal heads.  I have now made at least three styles of masks and none of them fit me correctly.  Do I have a fat head and small fave or something!? Am I a monster!? 

In a nutshell I think I am honing in on something that might work for me. If I do find something that "works" I will post it online.  

I found two potential mask templates that seem to be close to something that might fit my fat face. One is a basic shape that has a seam down the front (video here, screenshot of the template below). The other template has two seams across the front. So I have been adapting both to fit my face (giant head, no chin, skinny nose, worn with glasses).  I first started by making a ton of paper models, altering them with tape and sharpie then re-drawing them in CAD to make another paper model.  I am trying to reduce the seems in the front of the mask (also reduce the sewing in general).  Also it would be great, at least for accessibility for the pattern to fit on one letter size piece of paper for at home printing/scaling. As in: This pattern should be downloaded and printed on a regular piece of paper.  No fuss no muss. 

The other problem I have had with all the prototypes I have made is that the material I have used is either too loose or too tight.  If it is too tight my breathing becomes labored at a normal walking pace. If it is too loose..... might brain can't be convinced that it is doing anything. 

I am "disinfecting" the cloth masks with a wide spectrum UV lamp. I bought one a while back off of Amazon which I had been using to cure my resin prints.  It's range is between 200 - 400 nanometers.  The CDC says that meets the requirements to kill viruses!  DIE CORONA. We could also wash them I guess but it might destroy/shrink the fabric. Maybe just dry them?  I will have to look into that. It should be pointed out that I am not a doctor or an expert.....at anything....I am actually not a smart person I just play one on the internet. 

I will make a separate post about the mask I am 3D printing which, is going through a "prototyping" phase. If anyone wants a PDF of the template I have come up with please let me know.  

Just a couple of things.  First, I know I am lucky that I even have a sewing machine and 3D printer to even be doing this. I hope that this information might be helpful to anyone that is interested in making a mask.