How to Sew an Embroidered Sleep Mask: Step-by-Step Tutorial

How to Sew an Embroidered Sleep Mask: Step-by-Step Tutorial

A sleep mask is a comfortable and practical accessory for travelling by train, car, or plane, as well as for relaxing at home. This project is also a lovely way to turn your finished cross stitch into something useful.

For this project, the finished embroidered piece serves both as the template for cutting the other mask pieces and as the front of the finished sleep mask. Use its outer shape to cut the matching lining, batting, and backing pieces.

You will need

• Finished embroidered sleep-mask front
• Silk, satin, or another soft fabric for the back
• Batiste or lightweight cotton fabric for the inner layers
• Cotton batting or thin quilt wadding
• Elastic, 38 cm (15 in) long and 1 cm (⅜ in) wide
• Silk, satin, or another lightweight fabric for the elastic casing
• Sewing thread
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Hand-sewing needle
• Scissors
• Iron

Step 1 — Prepare the mask pieces

Use the finished embroidered mask as your template.

Using its outer shape, cut:

• two pieces from batiste or lightweight lining fabric;
• one piece from cotton batting;
• one back piece from silk, satin, or another soft fabric.

The embroidered piece itself is the front of the sleep mask, so there is no need to cut a second front piece.

Add a 1 cm (⅜ in) seam allowance around the fabric pieces if this allowance is not already included around your embroidery.

Step 2 — Assemble the inner layers

Place the cotton batting between the two batiste pieces, as shown in the picture.

Place the embroidered front on top, right side facing up.

Align all the layers carefully so that their outer edges and the nose indentation match.

Step 3 — Pin and baste

Pin all the layers together around the entire edge of the mask, as shown.

Then baste the layers together by hand. This will keep the embroidery, lining, and batting from shifting while you sew.

Step 4 — Stitch the layers

Machine-stitch around the entire mask, following its outline.

Sew slowly around the curves and take particular care around the nose indentation.

The layers are now secured together and can be treated as a single front piece during the remaining construction.

Step 5 — Cut the elastic casing

Cut a strip of silk, satin, or another lightweight fabric measuring:

52 cm (20½ in) long × 6–7 cm (2⅜–2¾ in) wide.

As shown in the picture, you can also make the strip from two pieces, each 27 cm (10⅝ in) long, if you do not have one continuous piece of fabric.

Join the two pieces with a 1 cm (⅜ in) seam allowance to create one long strip.

Step 6 — Sew the casing

Fold the fabric strip in half lengthwise, with the right sides together.

Align the long raw edges and pin them together.

Stitch along the long edge to form a narrow fabric tube.

Step 7 — Turn and press

Turn the fabric tube right side out.

Arrange it so that the seam runs along the centre of the strip, as shown in the picture.

Press the strip carefully to flatten it and keep the seam centred.

Step 8 — Finish the casing

Topstitch along both long sides of the strip, approximately one presser-foot width from the edges.

These rows of stitching help the casing lie neatly around the elastic.

The short ends remain open so that the elastic can be inserted.

Step 9 — Insert the elastic

Thread the 38 cm (15 in) elastic through the fabric casing. Attaching a safety pin to one end of the elastic will make it easier to pull through.

As you pull the elastic through, the fabric will gather naturally around it.

Once the elastic is completely inside the casing, secure each end of the elastic together with the corresponding end of the fabric casing using pins.

Machine-stitch across each end to hold the elastic securely in place.

Step 10 — Attach the elastic and add the back

Position the prepared elastic casing across the right side of the embroidered mask front.

Place one end of the casing at each side of the mask and pin them securely in place. Keep the gathered part of the casing towards the centre so that it will not be caught accidentally in the outer seam.

Place the back fabric piece on top, right side down, so that the right sides of the embroidered front and the backing fabric are facing each other.

The elastic casing should now be enclosed between the front and back pieces.

Align the edges carefully, pin all around the mask, and baste if necessary.

Step 11 — Sew, turn and finish the mask

Machine-stitch around the entire mask, leaving a small opening along the upper edge for turning. Backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam.

Trim the seam allowances to approximately 0.7 cm (¼ in). Carefully clip or notch the curved areas where necessary, without cutting through the stitching.

Turn the mask right side out through the opening and gently shape the curved edges and nose indentation.

Close the opening by hand using a ladder stitch or invisible slip stitch.

Carefully smooth and press the finished mask. When pressing the embroidered front, use a clean pressing cloth and avoid applying heavy pressure directly to the cross stitches.

Your embroidered sleep mask is now complete and ready to use.