At the beginning of the pandemic I started sewing masks to give to medical friends who needed PPE. This evolved into an online shop where I now sell masks.
But I have a side project of making free masks for people who have some sort of special situation or difficulty that requires them to find a custom mask. Recently I made a set of masks for a young man with severe autism, such that he’s non-verbal and often tears off his mask. He’s required to wear a mask for his adult day center and this posed a serious problem for his parents who both work. I made him a couple masks with horses and cats on them, patterns that he likes, and a special strap that sits on the nape of his neck and snaps through the ear loops of his mask. He can still take it off his face, but at least the mask is still on him and his caregiver can gently put it back on his face. The very short strap and snaps make it so it’s not a hazard around his neck.
This took some experimenting, special fabric, and few hours of time, but I was so happy to help out.
Catherine