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| A sleep mask made out of an 8.5" square of fabric |
Today I continue with my "what to do with Spoonflower swatches" challenge (part one here, part two here) by sharing another quickie project: a sleep mask!
If you go slowly around the curves, it's very easy to make. The pattern is from one of my regular spots to browse: Sew4Home (direct project link at the end of this post).
As always, though, I did my own thing with it. The original called for satin fabric on the back and piping along the edges. While it looks (and probably would feel) luxurious with satin on the underside and piping is always a nice touch, all of that required extra effort (and materials) that I didn't think belonged to this particular challenge of using a swatch.
I came across other free sleep mask patterns too, but this was the first one that fit onto the Spoonflower 8.5" square. (The one shown here is DICIS Phrases (Neon).)
It's weird trying out a sleep mask... you go to look in the mirror and can't see! So to make things easy, my panda will model for me again.
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| My favourite bear models my sleep mask... |
One of the neat things about this sleep mask tutorial is that it makes use of an elastic headband. Such a smart idea! It really makes for a more finished look that is — to be honest — sometimes missing in the other sleep mask patterns out there.
As with all things that are meant to be worn like this, take a few moments to ensure that the sizing fits you. The recommended length of the headband in the original tutorial was too big for me. (Guess I have a smaller head than average!)
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| "Back" view... (it's technically reversible) |
Here is what I did with the pattern template so that I could determine the best use of the fabric. I printed out a second copy and cut out the middle (leaving just the seam allowance) and used it as a "window" to frame the best location.
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| A second template lets you choose what fabric area to cut... |
It's a common trick used for fussy-cutting. (On a Spoonflower swatch, you won't have a lot of leeway to fussy cut, of course.)
The original project calls for just a single layer of batting between the fabrics. I interfaced one of the fabrics with fusible fleece and then added an additional layer of padding as you can see here.
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| Additional padding with a scrap from a blanket... |
This layer (a piece of the blanket that I've been recycling all over the place) was cut a good 1/2" smaller than the fabrics and glued to the fusible fleece. (If you plan on making one of these and want to use it as a mask under bright conditions, consider adding a layer of tightly woven dark fabric.)
Then I pinned both sides together, sewed and turned right side out through an opening across the top (where you see the elastic poking through). Some topstitching around the perimeter was then used to close up the gap.
All in all, much quicker than the version with piping, but as I said, piping is always a nice touch if you can manage it. Check out the original Sew4Home sleep mask pattern & tutorial project here, and stay tuned for part four of my Spoonflower swatch challenge.
This little thing is going on the plane with me on my next vacation.
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