Too much light in your bedroom? Sleep masks are an easy way to increase the darkness of your sleeping environment. This is a diy sleep mask project review.

Introduction

I slept in both hotels and houses during a recent trip. Sometimes there was too much light in the bedroom to sleep well. An easy diy solution to block unwanted light and sleep better is a sleep mask. I selected 3 styles of sleep masks to try out.

Materials

Common sleep mask materials include silk, cotton, satin and polyester. Silk can be expensive, but it has excellent light blocking capabilities and is both soft and luxurious. Cotton is inexpensive, breathable, moisture wicking, soft, lightweight and, it blocks unwanted light well. Satin (a combination of silk and cotton) is lightweight and breatheable, great at blocking light, and both more durable and easier to take care of than silk. Polyester is inexpensive, lightweight and durable, but it isn’t moisture wicking. Fusible fleece, flannel or batting is used to give a sleep mask extra body. Elastic helps it stay in place when you are sleeping.

I selected cotton for my sleep masks and used fusible fleece. To make the comparison between the three mask styles more fair, I used the same soft-handed cotton for the exterior of all three sleep masks, the same fusible fleece for all three, and quilting weight cotton for all of the interiors. My elastic was ¼” wide.

 

DIY Sleep Mask by Treasurie

The DIY Sleep Mask by Treasurie requires 2 pieces of cotton, 1 piece of fusible fleece and 1 piece of fusible interfacing.

The fusible are applied then the elastic. My elastic is narrower than the recommended elastic so I used two pieces. The layers are sew together and the mask is turned right-side-out and topstitiched.

Here are some photos of my finished Treasurie Diy Sleep Mask.

This sleep mask is representative of the most common style of diy sleep mask. The overall height and width and the nose bridge depth and width may vary with different patterns. You may wish to try more than one pattern if the dimensions of this one don’t fit your face well.

The DIY Sleep Mask by Treasurie, covers a large area of my face and is comfortable to wear. The nose cutout doesn’t fit my the shape of my face and lets in some light.

 

Sleep Mask With Nose Pad by Koala Sewing

The Koala Sewing sleep mask requires 4 pieces of fabric, 1 piece of fusible interfacing, 1 piece of fusible fleece, bias tape, an additional strip of fabric and a small amount of polyester fibrefill. I used a scrap of polyester fill left over from my t-shirt quilt project.

The main pieces are sewn together then the nose pad pieces are sewn together and filled. The fabric strip and elastic create a fabric covered elasticized band. The elasticized band and nose pad are sewn to the main piece and bias tape is sewn to the perimeter of the sleep mask.

I fused the fusible fleece and fusible interfacing to the incorrect main pieces. I don’t think this affected my final result. The seam allowance isn’t indicated, but I estimate it to be 1/8” for most of this project. My elastic is ¼” wide so, I cut my additional fabric strip 1.5” wide by 18” long and sewed it with a ¼” seam allowance.

Here are some photos of my finished sleep mask with nose pad.

I had a little bit of trouble sewing the bias tape along the nose bridge. Overall my mask is comfortable. It’s slightly smaller than the Treasurie sleep mask, but blocks about the same amount of light. The nose pad improves the fit along my nose but there is still a gap.

 

3D Sleep Mask by MadeByJOJO

The 3D Sleep Mask requires 3 pieces of fabric and 1 piece of fusible fleece.

The two front pieces are sewn together and the two back pieces of are sewn together. The shaping lines are folded, sewn then trimmed. The elastic is added then the front and back are sewn together. Next the sleep mask is turned right-side-out and the turning gap is closed.

This pattern doesn’t include a seam allowance and I didn’t notice until after I had cut out my fabric. I used a 1/8” seam allowance instead the of the ½” seam allowance.

This mask reminds me of swimming goggles. Its contoured shape prevents the fabric from resting directly on my eyelashes and eyelids. My MadeByJoJo Sleep Mask is slightly smaller than my 3D Sleep Mask and fits my face well.

Conclusion

Everybody has a unique face and the sleep mask that works well for one person may not work well for another. All three of these masks block light, are comfortable to wear and easy to sew. The Treasurie mask covers the largest area of my face. People with larger faces may prefer it. The Koala Sewing mask has the best fit around my nose. People with smaller or narrow noses may prefer it. The MadeByJoJo mask has the most eye relief. People with long eyelashes or sensitive eyes may prefer it. It’s my favourite overall.

Have you sewn a diy sleep mask? Have you used a sleep mask? Did you like this diy sleep mask project review? Comment below and/or Pin me for later!

Tanya

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