DIY Eye Mask

I am not one of those people who makes a big deal out of their birthday, partly because I am the absolute WORST when it comes to remembering other people's birthdays.  Seriously ask my friends and family.  Facebook has made me a better friend for the pure fact that it reminds me of people's birthdays.

So when my BFF's were planning a "girl's weekend away" it was just by chance that my birthday weekend was the one we could all fit into our schedule.  That means that tomorrow morning I will be on a plane to Nashville with my four dearest girlfriends (one even flew in from San Diego!) and we will be headed for a super fun weekend... which will just happen to include using my birthday as another reason to celebrate.

Well I always have trouble sleeping places other than my own bed so I have always used a sleeping mask to help.  That was until two years ago when my adorable puppy, Milo, was the devil and chewed it apart.  So for this awesome trip to "Nashvegas" I knew I would need to get some quality sleep in and decided it was time to make myself a new sleeping mask.

First cut 2 pieces of fabric so it is 4.5" tall and about 10" wide and place on top of one another with right sides together.  (These photos are from my first attempt which resulted in a smaller mask than I wanted so don't compare the sizes to the grid on the mat.) The fabric is totally up to you but I used one piece of cottom with a design and the other piece was a solid-colored silky fabric. 

Fold in half and draw the shape you want your mask to be.  It should take up most of the fold.  Cut along the lines and lay flat.  Personally I like folding my material when I cut so it is symmetrical. 

Take an elastic band and measure it from one of your temples, wrap around the back of your head and to the other temple.  Just think about how tight you want this thing on your head.  Place the elastic in between the two fabrics and have 1" stick out.  Pin down those two end to the mask like shown in the photo below.  Pin the 2 pieces of fabric together.

Sew around the border leaving a 1/4" allowance.  Make sure to sew back-and-forth over the elastic pieces to really secure them in.  Also leave a 1" opening.  Here is a (blurry) photo of the mask sewn with the 1" opening.

Simply turn the fabric inside out.  Use a crochet hook if you need help pushing it through.

Now here is another choice you have.  Personally I like there to be a little more pressure on my eyes so I filled my mask with pillow stuffing that I had left over from another project.  However the pilot requested (yes, he got one too) that his be left flat.  Do as you choose and just hand sew the opening shut.  If you want you can also top stitch it but I left it as is.

And here is the pilot taking in a nap with his flat mask :)

After my fun filled weekend I will show you another DIY project that I am using on my trip.  Stay tuned :)