Craft Passion Mask Review - DON’T SEW Until You Read This

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I made the Craft Passion face mask 9 times for myself, 2 adults, and 2 older kids (aged 10-12). I made the ‘teen/woman’ size with no filter pocket or nose wire. Here’s my review.

The pattern looks great, it’s relatively easy to sew, and it’s recommended by 11+ hospitals.

It takes twice as long to sew as the simple rectangle masks, but it’s worth making.

The outward curve creates space for your nose, so the mask doesn’t feel tight there.

The outward curve also means your lips aren’t touching the mask as much. This makes breathing and talking easier.

Just make sure you’re using a slightly thicker fabric with ‘body’. If you use thin, floppy fabric, the mask won’t stand away from your face.

The channels on the side are a great design feature. It lets you swap your elastic or ties easily if they become worn, or if you find them uncomfortable.

I had to make some improvements to the pattern:

For 3 out of the 5 people tested, the mask didn’t cover the chin enough. I made it ½” – 6/8” longer.
I shortened the lining by 2/8” to stop the lining showing at the front.
I understitched the top edge to stop the lining showing at the front. Topstitching is also an option.
The sides of the lining are left raw, so the edge frays inside the channel and pokes out of the top. I folded in the raw edges of the lining piece to stop this.
The instructions recommend 8” of elastic for each ear and 18” for elastic around the head. I recommend changing the ear hook design into an adjustable ear hook – there’s a great way to DIY this with pony beads. And I recommend 24” for elastic around the head – my (adult) head is small and 18” is too tight.
Use a firmer fabric with ‘body’. This will keep the mask away from your lips and make talking and breathing easier.

In this review, I’m sharing the pros and cons I learned about the mask, and how to make improvements to it.

Contents list:

Is it quick and easy to sew? (Skip to this)
How well does it fit? (Skip to this)
Is it breathable? (Skip to this)
Does this pattern work well for children? (Skip to this)
What size elastic should you use? (Skip to this)
Problem 1: the mask didn’t cover the chin enough. How to fix this. (Skip to this)
Problem 2: the lining shows on the outside. How to fix this. (Skip to this)
Problem 3: the lining edge frays at the top of the channel. How to fix this. (Skip to this)

Review: Is the Craft Passion mask easy to sew?

The Craft Passion mask is simple to sew for people with experience.

For a complete beginner, the rectangle styles are quicker and easier. There are no curves to sew and clip, for example.

The Craft Passion mask takes 6 to 7 lines of stitching to make, whereas the rectangle mask only needs 3 lines of stitching.

So it takes double the time to sew.

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Review: How well does the Craft Passion mask fit?

side view of dark floral Craft Passion face mask with elastic around the head

Overall, I would say the fit is good.

It’s not airtight, however.

Air leakage:

If you don’t use a nose wire, you’ll get a lot of breath leaving the mask through the top.

If you wear glasses, make sure you place your glasses on top of the mask or you’ll get fogging.

You also might get leakage at the bottom of the mask.

The sides of the mask fit snugly.

If it’s too long for you, the sides will gape. Thanks to the channels, you can gather the fabric to stop gaping.

Fabric ties hold the gathers better than elastic. Elastic slips and slides in the channels, so it’s harder to gather the side of the mask.

The mask didn’t cover my chin properly:

how to lengthen the Craft Passion face mask template — How I made the mask cover my chin.

I had to lengthen my mask by ½”+ because it wasn’t covering my chin enough.

I had to make the same adjustment for other people. It was a common issue.

When I lengthened it, I followed the inward curve. This makes the mask fit snugly under the chin and really reduces any gaps there.

However, when I talk, my jawline moves and this makes the mask go up and down. I think this is inevitable really if a mask covers the chin, so it’s not a criticism of the Craft Passion mask.

The curved design is great:

blue and yellow floral face mask using Craft Passion Olson pattern

The curved center seam is great because it creates room for the nose. Without this, the fabric will pull tightly on the nose and create pressure.

I also like the curved top edge because it keeps the fabric away from the eyes.

It’s also high enough that I can slide my glasses on top of the mask to stop fogging.

If you wear glasses, this is a great pattern.

I have heard that others feel the opposite.

The maker of the ‘Jesse’ mask, which was based on the Craft Passion one, wanted a deeper curve at the top. He had a problem with the Craft Passion mask riding up into his eyes.

So if this is an issue for you, just make the curves deeper.

Review: is the Craft Passion mask breathable?

star wars Craft Passion face mask for children

The curved shape gives you some room in front of your nose and mouth.

This means your lips aren’t touching the mask as much, making talking and breathing easier. You don’t have fabric wrapped tightly over your mouth.

There is one important thing to know, however.

Your fabric has to be thick enough that it can stand away from your face.

A medium to heavy weight cotton with ‘body’ is ideal.

Avoid thin and floppy kinds of cotton.

They will make the mask floppy, so it won’t stand away from your nose and mouth.

My dark floral mask is made from thin cotton. It’s always falling onto my lips and getting sucked in when I breathe.

If you want more space in front of your mouth, check out the ‘Jesse’ mask instead. It has a “beak” design which will give you a good 1” gap in front of your mouth.

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Does this pattern work well for children?

Craft Passion face masks for children using red and blue Star Wars fabric — Star Wars and dog bone masks for 2 older boys.

Yellow Harry Potter face mask using the Craft Passion template — Harry Potter mask! Did you see the fun ‘platform 9 3/4’ reference?

I made the Craft Passion mask for 2 older kids, aged 10 and 12.

They liked the look of it, but were more interested in the fabric I used – they chose Harry Potter and Star Wars 🙂

The biggest problem I had with their masks was the elastic ear hooks.

They were a bit loose, so the whole mask kept falling off the face throughout the day.

I recommend making adjustable ear hooks instead.

Here’s how using pony beads:

FIND PONY BEADS (AMAZON)

I also made the mistake of using the ‘teen’ size template for them. The sides of the mask were too long, so it caused gaping there. I should have sized down.

Craft passion mask elastic length

Type of elastic	Elastic length (Craft Passion instructions)	Elastic length (my view)
Elastic ear hooks	8” per ear	Longer and make it an adjustable design using pony beads
Elastic around head	18”	24”

The Craft Passion blogger recommends 8” per ear for elastic ear hooks, and 18″ for elastic around the head.

Elastic ears:

Getting the elastic ear hooks the right length is a nightmare!

If it’s a little loose, it feels better on the ears, but the mask will fit loosely and slide down throughout the day.

If the elastic fits snugly, it will pull the ears forward and give you sore ears.

My recommendation is to make adjustable ear hooks using pony beads.

FIND PONY BEADS (AMAZON)

Elastic around head:

24” of elastic around the head was much better in my experience.

My head circumference is about 22”. According to a hat company, this is considered a size small. I needed an extra 2″ to go through the side channels in the face mask.

18” of elastic would have been too tight and uncomfortable.