My Faux "Respirator" Mask For Cons - Free Template & Tutorial!

A few days before Dragon Con I dashed together a quick and casual mask for me to wear during non-cosplay times. I'm more comfortable in masks, plus this one has functional cotton filters to help protect against con crud:

 

Considering that most of my fellow DCon friends fell victim to the crud - and for once I didn't! - I've gotta say, this is one cosplay accessory that can actually be good for your health.

That mask was a very quick, make-it-up-as-you-go affair made from leather scraps, so after the con I decided to make another one - only this time out of craft foam.

The instructions are largely the same whether you use leather or foam, so it's your choice. Leather is more comfortable and durable - and less steps to make - but foam is easier to find, and of course the vegan option. The leather I used came from a bag of scraps from the craft store, so it didn't cost much - I think the whole bag was $10? - but I also used waxed cord and a specialty punch for the stitches, which adds to the cost.

In fact, let's break down the materials. 

You Will Need:

- Scrap leather OR a large sheet of 3mm craft foam (Make sure it's 3mm! The 1mm is too thin.)

- A 1.25 inch PVC sink drain coupler, which is the thing on the left here:

You can find it at the hardware store for a couple of bucks.

- A set of plastic hair rollers from the Dollar Store (you'll only need 2)

- 3/4 inch elastic  (for the strap)

- small rivets with setting tool

- Waxed cord (for leather) or regular thread/cord (for foam)

- black plastic spray paint

- Gold Rub N' Buff (or gold paint)

If you're using craft foam you'll also need contact cement, cheap craft paint in black & brown, and a water-based sealer like Mod Podge.

And for specialty tools (ie stuff beyond paint brushes & scissors), you'll need:

- A heat gun or hair dryer

- A hot glue gun

- A hacksaw

Now, let's make a mask!

First, download and print this template:

It took me a lot of trial and error to get that shape right, so please, learn from my frustration.

Cut it out, and trace two pieces onto your leather or foam:

Remember to flip the template over for the second piece.

While you're at it, cut out some 3/4 inch straps, too; roughly 6 inches long each.

NOTE: For some reason all my local craft shops only carry 3mm foam in bright orange. If you can get it in black or brown, though, DO. The orange is a pain to cover up later. :/

- Position the PVC coupler where you want it, then trace on the INSIDE for leather, or on the OUTSIDE for foam:

 (Leather will stretch, which is why you want the hole too small for leather.)

Cut that out:

Then use this piece to trace the hole for the other side, and repeat.

- If using foam, crumple up some tin foil and iron the fronts of your two pieces:

Remember this fun texture from my Bracers Tutorial?

This is also the time to do any carving, if you want any.

Now apply two thin coats of contact cement to the front curved edges, and stick those suckers together:

Start at the top edge pressing down on a flat surface, then pick them up and carefully stick the rest together, forming the curve.

To keep the edges from separating, pop the nose section inside out while the contact cement firms up, like this:

If you're using leather, though, then you'll be stitching the two halves together, not gluing. I highly recommend a leather stitching hole punch for this, to get the spacing right.

Now let's make the "respirator" part.

- Pop off the covers of two hair rollers, and flatten them out using a heat gun or hair dryer:

I used a silicone spatula to help flatten it, so I wouldn't have to touch the hot plastic.

- Trace and cut round inserts from the rollers to fit inside the couplers:

Now you have a nifty little grid piece!

(Not gonna lie; I'm pretty proud of myself for dreaming this up, you guys.)

- Use a hacksaw to cut the threaded PVC pipe into two pieces. For my leather mask I just cut the pipe in half, so the pieces stuck out a ways, but for my foam mask I trimmed them so only the threads stick out, which I like much better:

The lower profile is easier to take pictures with; my leather version wouldn't let me get the camera near my face! Ha! OOPS.

- Paint all the plastic pieces flat black.

 - To place the PVC pieces in leather, saturate the leather with water and stretch it to fit. If you're using foam it should stretch enough as-is. With either material, though, go ahead and reinforce the back side with hot glue:

Don't worry if the glue is sloppy; no one will see it!

 Now, let's paint! 

(For foam, that is.)

Here I have two coats of brown craft paint, one coat of glossy Mod Podge, and a quick rubbed-off coat of watered down black:

Remember to paint the straps, too.

And to REALLY sell the "leather" look, stitch up the center seam with some cord, like this Hemp:

 SO LEATHERY. 

:D

- Use Rub N' Buff on the edges and raised sections of the couplers to give them a worn-through, metallic look:

 I used gold, but silver or copper would look cool, too.
(No Rub N' Buff? Try dry-brushing metallic paint instead.)

Now, you could use all elastic for the strap, but it looks better to have the first several inches be leather/foam... so do that:

Attach the two straps with rivets so they can swivel a bit, then use elastic to bridge the gap, for stretch. If you wear a hat, this back section will be covered anyway:

Check out my steampunky sunglasses! They were less than $10 on Amazon - aww yeah.

- The last step is to make some removable cotton filters for your respirators. Cut two thin rings from either 1mm foam or card stock to fit your couplers, then hot glue on scraps of black cotton:

 

ONLY use hot glue or something equally non-toxic for this, please. You're going to be breathing through it!

- Trim the rings to fit, squish the whole shebang into the screw-on cap, and you're good to go.

Here are my two completed masks for comparison:

Leather

... and foam!

Both materials can be formed to fit your face better. For leather saturate it with water, and for foam use a heat gun. Either way, you should get a nice comfy fit.

Speaking of comfort, I had a tremendous amount of airflow with my mask, and was quite cool even in the grueling Atlanta heat. By contrast, I also brought a cotton medical mask ordered from Japan, and barely lasted an hour in its muggy awfulness. Because this mask isn't touching most of my face, it's much cooler and feels less restricted.

 

Plus I look all bad-ass and mysterious in blurry, blown-out selfies.
And you just can't put a price on that.



Now, who wants to see my knockers??

HEYOOOOOOO!!

("IT'S VERY RUDE! TO STARE!")

This... this is why I don't do selfies, you guys.

Ahem.

Feel free to go nuts decorating your mask with extra doo-dads, chains, carving, etc. Here's another leather one I made a few years ago, where I added chain and gears:

 (From one of my earlier steampunk cosplays.)

And finally, while this may be obvious, let me point out this mask is not a real respirator. It is not air-tight, and the filters are not medical-grade. This is simply a sneeze-guard sort of protection, on par with a paper mask, which is still pretty darn effective at protecting you from common airborne ickiness in large crowds.

Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts on airborne ickiness and/or the air speed velocity of unladen swallows? Then hit me up in the comments!

And as always, if you make one of these yourself, PLEASE share pics over on the Epbot Facebook page, so I can fawn over/congratulate you!

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Pssst. Want more crafty goodness? Then check out my Tutorial Page to see ALL my projects in one place!