How to make a face mask with applique {free templates}

Hi Creative Mamas! Making a face mask with applique is another super cool way of making face masks that your kids will love and that you can have fun with. By using fabric applique, you can add a unique touch to a face mask and also you can turn any face mask into a holiday themed one.

In this tutorial I will show you how you can make creative, easy and quick fabric face masks using Applique Printable Templates. I will show you the different ways to apply the fabric appliques onto the face mask base fabric so that it remains safe and breathable but also holds the applique in place.

This tutorial is based on one of my most popular face mask patterns . You can access the full tutorial on how to make a face mask which comes with the free patterns and a FREE PDF Sewing tutorial as well.

You can also check out these really popular posts which will show you how to make a face mask in ten minutes, how to make a fitted face mask for glasses, the best way to make color coded face masks for kids, how to embellish your face mask using embroidery templates and how to make a Christmas face mask.

I based the Christmas face mask tutorial on the best face mask for glasses wearers which is a fantastic no fog face mask.

Using Applique in a face mask

For this tutorial I will be using the Printable Applique Templates which are FREE for you to download by completing the form below. The templates are the correct size for most face masks pattern but you can play around with the sizes by reducing them or enlarging them in the printing process.

What kind of Applique can I use on a Face Mask?

For this tutorial I will be using a single layer 100% cotton fabric applique piece. I will not be using any adhesive fusing since we don’t want to add any glue to the mask.

For the face mask to be usable and safe it still needs to be made out of 100% cotton fabric and it needs to be completely chemical free. We can embellish and have fun with the design but we must be careful to respect these safety guidelines. Please always follow these steps:

• Use 100% cotton fabric
• Pre wash your fabric before sewing face mask
• Pre wash Applique fabric before cutting applique
• Use 100%cotton thread to sew the applique

Is it safe to use applique on a fabric face mask?

Absolutely. As long as you follow the guidelines listed above you can embellish your face masks and have fun with the designs.

Face Mask Tutorial using Applique

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Cutting the Applique templates for the face masks

Gather all your fabric scraps that you may want to use as your applique pieces. This is a fantastic way to upcycle left over fabrics that otherwise they would end up in the bin.

Print out your Printable Applique Templates. Cut around the shapes with paper scissors.

Types of Applique patterns

There are different types of applique patterns. Some are a solid shape such as the hearts and the stars. Others have different elements to them such as the bumble bee and the flowers. You can also get applique patterns from cutting around the prints from your fabrics.

In the next section I will show you how to cut and sew these different types of applique onto a face mask.

Sewing a bumble bee applique on a face mask

For the Applique patterns that have more than one component such as the bumble bee or the flowers with petals you need to cut the different elements separately.

Pin each element of the applique design on the chosen fabric and cut around.

You can use contrasting fabrics for the different parts as I did with the bumble bee in the photo below.

Place the bumble bee on your face mask fabric and sew around the applique pattern using a simple regular sewing stitch. I placed the wings under the body so that they would remain loose and give a nice effect.

I sewed around the inside of the body to create the lines of the bumble bee’s little body 🙂 and then I sewed the antennas onto the face mask fabric.

I placed my applique bumble bee within one side of the face mask.

I made 2 different bumble bees applique so I made 2 different face masks 🙂

This is one of them during the sewing process:

And this is the other applique face mask all finished:

Sewing hearts and stars applique on a face mask

For the love hearts and the stars templates you can trace them using an erasable pen.

Sew around the star or heart with a regular sewing stitch. You can choose to do one line of stitching or several. It’s up to you and they will both deliver beautiful results.

After washing the face mask the edges will fray and they will look like this:

In the example shown in the photo below I sewed the star using a zig zag stitch and then further embellish it by adding a piece of ribbon. I was going for a Christmas look!

In this case I used a heart and sewed it with a double zig zag stitch.

In this example I sewed the applique hearts using a zig zag stitch and then I sewed around again with a straight stitch.

And this is one of the hearts face mask all finished 🙂

Using fabric prints as Applique designs on face mask

Another great way to create beautiful quick and easy applique designs is to use the prints from fabrics. In this case I have used a beautiful cotton canvas fabric that I bought with my mom in Hawaii.

I liked the yellow and pink flower so I cut around it with my fabric scissors and I used this cut flower motif as my applique.

Look what a great applique it created! It also creates a different look and feel depending on the base fabric that I choose.

Sew around the applique with 1, 2 or 3 rows of stitching.

As you can see the applique covered most of the side of this face mask but I love it like this!

I cut out the exact same print and used it as the same applique pattern for this different face mask. It created a totally different look due to the background fabric.

How to sew a quick and easy fabric face mask

For this face mask applique tutorial I have used a quick and easy pattern. It comes in 3 different sizes for you to use with the whole family and its super easy to put together. You can find the full face mask tutorial here and start making your applique mask right away.

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