Sleep Mask Pattern Maker
A sleep mask is a contoured pad with a nose notch and an elastic strap. Size it from your head measurement or from a width and a height, then choose how the eyes are shaped, whether to add a blackout layer, and how the edge and the strap are finished.
Read the maker’s safety note on this page before you sew one.
Make this pattern in your size →Read before you sew
The maker prints this note with the pattern. It is guidance for choosing materials and using the finished item, not a guarantee.
- Not for babies or young children: a strap across the head is a strangulation and suffocation risk during sleep. Use soft, fairly loose elastic, and stop wearing the mask if it presses on the eyes or marks the skin.
What you can change
Size
- Mask width: 12–26 cm (4¾–10¼″). Used when the size is set by width and height: temple to temple.
- Mask height: 6–13 cm (2⅜–5⅛″). Used when the size is set by width and height.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Mask width 20 cm (7⅞″), Mask height 9.4 cm (3¾″).
Options
- Size from: head size or width and height
- Head size: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL or measured
- Eye shaping: padded recess, darts or flat
- Edge: turned and topstitched or bound
- Strap: fabric-covered elastic or plain elastic
- Switches: Blackout lining
- Measurements and counts: Head, Nose notch width, Nose notch depth, Dart width, Elastic width, Snugness
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Adult mask | 20 cm × 9.4 cm contoured mask · recessed eyes | 7⅞″ × ≈3¾″ contoured mask · recessed eyes |
| Darted mask | 20.3 cm × 9.5 cm contoured mask · darted eyes | 8″ × ≈3¾″ contoured mask · darted eyes |
| Small mask | 16 cm × 7.5 cm contoured mask | 6¼″ × 3″ contoured mask |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Mask width 20 cm (7⅞″), Mask height 9.4 cm (3¾″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask | Main fabric | 1 | up to 22 × 11.4 cm (up to ≈8⅝ × ≈4½″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Mask | Lining | 1 | up to 22 × 11.4 cm (up to ≈8⅝ × ≈4½″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Padding layer | thin cotton batting, fleece or felt | 1 | up to 20 × 9.4 cm (up to 7⅞ × ≈3¾″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Strap cover | Main fabric | 1 | 5.2 × 58 cm (≈2 × ≈22⅞″) | Strip: cut by measurement |
You will also need: Padding; Elastic; Thread. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.2 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.2 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Lay the padding on the wrong side of the front, its openings over the eyes, and baste round close to its edge, inside the seam allowance.
- Make the strap: fold the strap cover in half lengthwise, right sides together, and sew the long edge at 1 cm. Turn it right side out. Thread the 33 cm elastic through, gathering the fabric along it, and stitch across both ends 1 cm in.
- Pin the strap ends to the right side of the front at the side notches, raw ends level with the edge and the strap lying across the mask, untwisted. Baste them.
- Put the back on the front, right sides together, with the strap inside. Sew round at 1 cm (only 0.34 cm round the nose notch, where the cutting line is closer: follow the printed stitching line there), leaving the gap at the top open, and backstitch over the strap ends.
- Notch the curved allowance all round, close to the stitching, and snip into the curve of the nose notch.
- Turn right side out through the gap, roll the seam to the edge, press gently, and topstitch all round 0.4 cm from the edge, closing the gap.
- Try it on: if it is loose, take a tuck in the elastic at one end before the last stitching.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Silk, satin or sateen for the side that touches your face is kindest to skin and hair; cotton lawn or flannel work too.
Lining: For the outer side, a tightly woven cotton. For a blackout layer choose a dense, opaque fabric: hold a scrap up to a bright window, and if you can see light through it, add a second layer or choose another.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: A light padding layer (thin cotton batting, fleece or a soft felt) gives comfort and blocks more light.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: great choice. Soft cotton or silk is comfortable and turns neatly.
- Heavy or stiff: possible, with care. Too stiff against the face; use it only for the outer if it is soft.
- Stretchy knit: works well. A soft jersey is comfortable; the padding layer stabilises the edge.
- Slippery or fine: works well. Silk or satin against the face is lovely; baste the layers before sewing.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 2 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
What size can I make?
The sleep mask pattern takes mask width from 12–26 cm (4¾–10¼″); mask height from 6–13 cm (2⅜–5⅛″). It starts at Mask width 20 cm (7⅞″), Mask height 9.4 cm (3¾″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 3 starting points to begin from (Adult mask, Darted mask, Small mask). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the sleep mask pattern?
Silk, satin or sateen for the side that touches your face is kindest to skin and hair; cotton lawn or flannel work too. In the maker’s fabric advice, stable woven is a great choice; stretchy knit and slippery or fine work well; heavy or stiff is possible with care.