Hello all, hope you are all staying home and staying safe. Feels like we have been in lockdown for a long time now. Days definitely seem to be flying by – never a dull moment in our house!
So I thought I would make these little face mask attachments to help our NHS Heroes. I know they are all struggling with sore ears when they are wearing face masks for so many hours a day.
Now I’ve have seen that people have been making them, so thought we need a few rainbow ones in the mix. Thought it would help them know how much we are thinking of them & appreciate how hard they are working! So here is my pattern for a rainbow and a plain coloured face mask attachment, if you want a simpler one to make up. Hope you like the pattern. Once you have made a few, you just need to deliver them to someone you know that works in the NHS and they can distribute them accordingly. Even if you only make a couple, it will help someone. You just need to remember to use cotton yarn so that they can be washed at high temperatures with their uniform and make sure the buttons are attached securely.
Any problems just give me a shout.
Level – Easy
Supplies –
So these little mask attachments only use about 5g of yarn. I have used a 4mm crochet hook and some Double Knit Cotton yarn. (It must be cotton so that the attacher can be washed with their uniform at a high temperature.) You will also need some scissors, blunt ended needle and 2 buttons with thread to sew the buttons on.
Stitches –
Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.
Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.
Slip Knot – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. Then insert your hook and pull the tail tight to create a slip knot.
Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.
PipsTips –
Changing colour. When you need to change a colour, you work your new yarn into the last stitch of the last round. So here I am changing colour from green to blue. I have worked the second to last stitch in the green round and also I have worked the first part of the last stitch. So I am basically working the blue yarn through the last yarn over and pull through two loops in the double crochet stitch. You can see I have looped the blue yarn over the hook and then you need to pull both the green and blue yarn through the last 2 loops.
Ok, so now that you have finished the green yarn round, you can now fasten that off and just use the blue yarn.
Ok so here goes…
Rainbow Face Mask Attachment –
Using your green start by making a slip knot then chaining 17.
1 – Then miss a chain and work 2dc in the next chain.
Work 1dc in the next 14 chains up the one side, followed by 2dc in the next chain. In the last 1dc, change your colour to blue. Now with your blue yarn turn your work, miss the first chain and work 2dc in the next chain. Then 1dc in the next 14 chains finishing the round with 2dc in the last chain. In the last dc stitch change to yellow yarn. (36)
2 – Pop a yarn stitch maker over the stitch so that you can count your rounds.
With your yellow yarn work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 14dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 2 stitches. In the last 1dc change colour to blue again. Then with your blue yarn work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Finally 14dc stitches and finish off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. In the last dc stitch change to orange yarn. (44)
3 – With your orange yarn work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 18dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 2 stitches. In the last 1dc change colour to purple. Then with your purple yarn work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Finally 18dc stitches and finish off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. In the last stitch change to red yarn. (52)
4 – With your red yarn, work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 22dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 2 stitches. In the last 1dc change colour to pink. Then work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Finally work 22dc stitches and finishing off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Finally slip stitch into the next stitch and fasten off your yarn. (60)
Now all you need to do is sew your ends using your blunt ended tapestry needle.
Finally block your work so that it keeps its shape. To do this all you need to do is wet your work and then smooth with your hands and pin it in place on a foam mat over night. This will give a much neater end product and ensure all those little ends stay firmly in place.
Finally sew on 2 buttons securely at either end of the mask attacher.
And there you have it. Here is the pattern for the plain coloured face mask attachment. It’s definitely a simpler pattern to follow and as you can imagine, they are definitely a little quicker to crochet up. Don’t forget you can play around with your own colours, one option is to change the colour in the last round.
Plain Coloured Mask Attacher –
1 – Start by chaining 17. Then miss a chain and work 2dc in the next chain. Work 1dc in the next 14 chains up the one side, followed by 2dc in the next chain. Now miss the first chain and work 2dc in the next chain. Then 1dc in the next 14 chains finishing the round with 2dc in the last chain. (36)
2 – Pop a yarn stitch maker over the stitch and work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 14dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 4 stitches. Finally work 14dc stitches and finishing off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. (44)
3 – Work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 18dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 4 stitches. Finally work 18dc stitches and finishing off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. (52)
4 – Work 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Then 22dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 4 stitches. Finally work 22dc stitches and finishing off with 2dc in the next 2 stitches. Finally slip stitch into the next stitch and fasten off your yarn. (60)
Now all you need to do is sew your 2 ends in and block it so that it keeps its shape. Finally sew on 2 buttons securely at either end of your attacher.
And there you have it. Two different mask attachers.
Don’t forget to use cotton, as these will need to be washed at a high temperature with their uniforms.
As always, if there are any problems or queries just give me a shout.
Stay Home.
Stay Safe.
Happy Hooking guys!!
🌈Xx
(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)
If you are quite new to crocheting, here’s a few links to some of my videos that you may find useful.