Crochet Mask Helpers

Crochet mask helpers are a great way to save the ear pain that the elastic from wearing masks can cause the ears. I made my family some face masks a few weeks ago to wear when we were out and about, but because of the sudden lack of elastic in pretty much any store I could find, I had to dig through my sewing supplies. All I could find was this rather thick 1/4″ elastic. I thought it would work out okay, but it definitely wasn’t the most comfortable. Lucky for me, the creativity of crocheters everywhere came through with a super simple pattern that can be whipped up in no time – crochet mask helpers!

While there are many great patterns out there for crochet mask helpers, I was looking more for an oval than a straight line, so I found this pattern free on Ravlery for Mask Mates Ear Savers, along with an accompanying video tutorial. I must crochet much tighter than I know, because mine was a bit smaller than the finished length of 5″, so I added a sc border around the whole thing (with the ends making 2sc, 1sc, 2sc, 1sc, 2sc at either end). 

Most patterns for crochet mask helpers call for large buttons, usually at least an inch. They need to be big enough to hold the elastic in place without worrying about the button shifting and the mask falling off. I had some cheap plastic buttons laying around, and they ended up working great. I have my eye on some large size true red buttons, as it seems like everyone in my family at least, has been requesting the red ones. 

My mom tried the one I made for her on with her mask the other day (she wears her mask everywhere), and she instantly exclaimed how much better it felt having it on. 

I’m so glad that I was able to whip some of these up. It gave me a chance to get some crocheting done, which I haven’t had much time to do in a long time, and it’s kind of stirring the craftiness bug in me once again. I hope to have a lot more to share with you soon!

Stay safe and healthy!

~mellie