Jack Skellington Face Mask
This year has been an incredible challenge with trying to achieve some sort of normalcy in our lives as I’m sure it has been for so many. My son’s school Halloween celebration is coming up and there’s a lot of rules about the what type of costume he can wear. As an avid DIYer I’m not only working on his Audrey 2 Halloween costume but a costume that will fit all the rules his school as requested. They must obviously be wearing their non-medical masks so he requested Jack Skellington which is a perfect way to tie in his mask into his costume. In this post I will show you how to make your own Jack Skellington Face Mask!
For this project you will need:
- White Cotton Fabric
- Elastic String
- Silicone Cord Locks for Masks
- Black Iron on Vinyl or black acrylic paint
- Pipe Cleaners or Nose Wire
- Cricut if you have one
- Pins
Step 1: Cut your Mask Pattern
I found some great mask patterns you can print out online and cut from. You can basically google “Children’s Non-Medical Mask Template” and find a bunch to choose from. I chose this template because this DIYer has a great video on how to make the mask and I was looking for something to accommodate my son’s glasses. I found that this one didn’t go to close to his eyes and the bridge raised up enough to fit under the glasses in order to minimize fogging. I also recommend these great anti-fog wipes they really work! I also liked how this pattern bows out away from his mouth so his mask doesn’t suck in when he breathes.
I did not pre-wash my fabric so I cut about a 1/4 larger than the pattern to account for shrinking in the wash. They definitely shrink so I recommend this approach if you don’t feel like going through the hassle of pre-washing and ironing all your fabric. Pre-washing is for sure the safest way to do it, but I always opt for easier! You’re going to need 6 pieces of this pattern. I just double, then quadruple fold my fabric… cut out 4 and then double and cut out another 2. You could try to do it all in one cut but it might be too thick.
Step 2: Assemble Mask Pieces
Stack 4 pieces together and pin for sewing. Then stack the remaining 2.
Step 3: Sew Mask Front Seam
Step 4: Fold & Sew Sides of Internal Liner
Take your piece that only has two layers and fold the side once…
and then fold it agin…
and pin down. Do this on both sides so it looks like this…
You will then sew a straight line where the pins are. This is your internal liner piece.
Step 5: Assemble Mask Front and Liner
Sandwich the two pieces together so that all raw seams are on the outside.
Sew the bottom and top to the end of the inner liner. It should look like this…
You will then take a piece of pipe cleaner and line it up where the nose bridge will be. I suggest bending the ends in so there are no sharp points that can stick out of the fabric.
Use a zig zag stitch to sew on the pipe cleaner to the edge of the nose bridge section.
Step 6: Flip Mask Inside Out
Step 7: Sew Around Mask Edges
Fold in the raw edges of the front piece and pin them.
Then stitch all around the top and bottom edges of the mask. This will keep the materials in place and keep the overall shape of the mask.
Step 8: Prepare your Elastic & Assemble on Mask
The easiest way to get the elastic through the silicone cord holder is to follow these directions in the Amazon description. I simply used a nail and pushed it through.
Next you’re going to place your elastic loop onto one of the mask flaps and then roll the fabric twice over it to create a little pocket.
Make sure when you place your stitch you move the elastic all the way to the right and stitch all the way to the left so you don’t actually sew down the elastic. This way if you ever need to replace the elastic you can do so.
It should look like this. You’ll have to do it for both sides.
Step 9: Create and Cut Design with Cricut
If you do not have a Cricut you can still accomplish this mask using a little good old fashion black acrylic paint and a paint brush. It should hold up in the wash.
I found an .SVG file of his face just by doing a quick google search. Heres the one I used… Jack Skellington SVG.
I imported it as a simple image for cutting. and selected the eraser tool to get rid of the eyes for my Jack Skellington face mask.
Before you cut measure your mask. I sized my image at a little less than 7 inches. Make sure you size your design correctly before you cut.
Remember for cutting vinyl you have you but the plastic sheet side down and do “mirror image.”
Once you have your cut you will weed out the design.
Step 10: Iron 0n your Design
In order to iron on the design smoothly I folded the mask in half and ironed it. Then I placed the design on top like so.
I used a mini iron to iron on the one side, wrap it around and iron on the other side.
And voila! You’ve made your very own Jack Skellington face mask!
If you have any issues with placement I watched this video on how to remove the vinyl and replace it.