There are a batch of people I work with sewing face masks, which...

There are a batch of people I work with sewing face masks, which is awesome, but for non-sewing-machine owners/users, you may be able to make something to complement the masks that others are making: Surgical Mask Tension Release Bands. I can use a sewing machine well enough, but like many of you out there my skills are better suited for 3D printers (I have two), and we can use them to make a “Surgical Mask Tension Release Band for Ear Comfort & Extended Use”. Here is the medically approved design and STL file from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013410

I have attached a pic of one of my 3D printers in the middle of a set of tension release bands, along with one from the Makerbot/Thinkgiverse page, showing how to use. There’s a link to the STL file (used by 3D printers) on the NIH page as well as on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4249113

I have also been doing research on making 3D printed face masks, with different kinds of filament material, but there are so many designs out there now, some of them complex, requiring specific filtering materials. So, still work to be done there, but in the meantime, anyone with a 3D printer can start making batches of the tension release bands, and you can probably send these along with the masks you or your friends are sewing?

Alice and Christopher are still working and have started to wear masks all day long–these easy to make bands help. They definitely keep the elastic bands from rubbing behind your ears!