DIY Kitty sleep mask

Ingredients:

Two fabrics of your choice, a pretty one for the front and a silky/ soft one that would be nice to have against your eyes.
Felt
Elastic

Equipment:
A sewing machine
Pins
A white pencil
Hand needles
Thread to match your fabric
Scissors

1.   Get out your felt and draw the mask shape out with a white pencil or tailors chalk, I already have a face mask so I used that for the template and then added the ears. When adding the ears I would make them bigger than you actually want them, as when you sew the fabric it will make them a lot smaller and less defined. Once you have a basic shape fold it in half down the centre to ensure that the mask is symmetrical. And cut around the shape. This felt pattern is the size of the final mask so make sure you are happy with the sizing.

2.       Cut your two fabrics about 2cm bigger than your felt mask to allow for the stitching

3.       I quilted the front of my eye mask but that is optional. When doing this the spotty fabric was really handy as the lines between the dots made it easy to make sure I was sewing in a straight line. If you are not quilting then I would lightly tack around the outside of the felt to keep it in place. 

4.       Measure the elastic around your own head, cut to size and pin to the front of your mask. Sew the ends to the mask, either by hand or with machine. Making sure it is in the 2cm allowance of fabric.

5.       Pin the backing fabric to your mask so it faces the front of your mask, this is so you can sew the mask neatly and hide the stitching within the mask. Make sure your elastic is tucked well inside the mask so it is not sewed into the outside of the mask. 

6.     Sew around the outside of the mask leaving a good inch at one side, I left a space where the elastic was on one side.

7.       Turn the mask out and poke the ears out with the pencil. Hand sew the side you left open so you could turn out the mask and you are finished!

And you get to go to bed feeling like Batman/ Catwoman . There is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

I hope you liked this tutorial! Just as a warning, this gets a bit addictive, since making this cat mask I have been thinking of other ears that would be cute on a sleep mask, like bear ears or a giraffe if you are being adventurous.

With love from,

Emma x