MASQUERADE
A professor of mine, the influential scholar of African art Sylvia Ardyn Boone, traveled to Sierra Leone in the 1970′s to study the aesthetics of Mende culture. She understood that the stunning, elaborately braided and sculpted hairstyles women wore were a measure of social prosperity. There were no beauty parlors, and the most fashionable styles demanded considerable skill and time. So only women well-positioned socially – with loving and supportive aunts, sisters, cousins and friends – had good hairstyles.
Maybe this is also true of homemade masks. During video chats several friends mentioned they were wearing scarves bankrobber-style to the grocery store because they didn’t know where to get cloth masks. So I decided to make some to share. I spent hours online, researching what would offer the best protection. A non-medical grade cloth mask offers only partial protection, but fabrics that are natural, soft, dense and breathable are most effective.
I chose a fitted design that cups the nose and the chin, used cotton poplin lined with cotton jersey, attached extra-long ties, and left the sides unfinished for additional layers to be slipped inside. The sewing had lots of starts and stops, weighed down by sadness.
Friends have received the masks, shared selfies, and been wearing them for walks to the drugstore and through the park, which pleases me. They offer some protection. They signal social distancing. And they show that the wearer is cherished.
Fu Face Mask Pattern from Free Sewing, to be distributed freely.