Alternate Ear Loops

 Hi!

Here's a small tutorial on changing the ear loops on the Musician's Slotted Masks.

Most of my musician's masks come with either elastics with beads or the stronger 1/4" elastics. Some people prefer the longer single-tie loops. I make my musician's masks with a channel for the ear loops so you can change them if you need to. If you wish to change out your elastics for your preferred loops, here are some tips!

1. You need to remove the ear loops that are already in your mask. Move the elastic through the channel until the knot is showing. Untie that knot. 

2. If you are replacing the elastics with something similar, you can tie the new loop end to the old one to pull it through the channel. If that is not possible, remove the old ear loop, secure a safety pin to the end of the new elastic, and use that to help you move the end of the elastic through the channel.

3. Tie the ends together at the appropriate length for your ears and work the knot until it is concealed in the channel. 

DONE! You've got your new elastics or ear loops ready to go. 

If you need to add an adjustment bead to your new elastic (or your bead accidently came off), there are several ways to help you. One way is to use a thin string (like embroidery thread). Some beads have a small hole on one side and a larger hole on the other. Thread the end through the small hole and back through the large hole, so you create a loop on the large hole side. Pull a small loop of the elastic through the loop of thread. Push the bead to the elastic, making the loop of thread catch the loop of elastic. Pull on the thread, pulling the elastic through the bead. Remove the thread and you've got yourself a new adjustment bead on your elastic! Adjustment beads come in several shapes and sizes, so you can pick the one that works for your elastic size and your ears! I usually use the flat circular ones seen in these pictures. These work for the small 1/8" elastics. 

Some people prefer the single-tie loop. This is a long single string or flat non-stretchy length that sits at the base of your neck and you can tie behind your head. I recommend at least 45 inches. Shoe strings work very well for this. 

Putting the mask face down, begin threading your string through the left channel from the top to the bottom (as shown below). 

Take that same thread and thread up through the bottom of the other channel (right side).

(Please ignore the elastics shown in the pictures! I was demonstrating this with an already made mask that had elastics.) 

Mr. Bunny will demonstrate how the tie method looks on a head!

Basically, you put your head through the lower loop (mask back facing you), settle the loop around the base of your neck, then tighten the mask to your face and tie the upper tie behind your head. This is an extremely secure way to hold a mask to your face. I find that the musician's masks need to be more flexible, so this particular way of looping is not ideal for everyone.

I hope this helps you make your mask work for you! Everyone is different and we need to make sure the mask is fitted to you for the most comfort and mitigation.