Elastic for face masks

[JudyN]

Just a quickie - someone on a community group has asked if anyone has spare elastic for making face masks. I have plenty of 1" wide elastic, but no thin elastic. Can wide elastic be cut into strips that would work, or would they fray?

[Greybird]

I have tried to cut down wide elastic before and it did fray horribly. Try it on a short piece. If you do decide to cut it down, what about encasing it in bias binding?

[JudyN]

Thanks Greybird To be honest, by the time I managed to get round to encasing them in bias binding the pandemic may well be over! Not to worry though - someone else has offered them some thin elastic which should keep them going for a while.

[Vezelay]

Plenty in the online sewing shops - I just bought some from Sew Essential. Minerva is open too but they're all taking longer to process orders of course.

[Renegade Sewist]

Elastic is good for masks for civilian use but locally the medical professionals prefer masks that tie. They say they can get a better fit which means less exposure for them.

[BrendaP]

Prolonged wearing of masks with elastic behind the ears can cause chafing of the skin behind the ears.  SOme have been wearing headbands with buttons at ear level to hook the elastic over.

[Lilian]

Ah, I wondered what the buttons were for, now I know.