How I made warm snoods that doubled as face coverings for the homeless

With the charity shops constantly being told to shut due to the pandemic, we have had a build-up of clothing waiting to be donated.  

I had a bundle of old, worn T-shirts which were past their best waiting to be donated but with the virus showing no signs of letting-up, I decided to cut them up and turn them into snoods that double as face coverings and donate to the homeless for winter.

How I made Snoods from T-Shirts

I roughly followed a guide from Sweet Red Poppy whose template I used to make our own snoods from fabric that I had bought a few months ago with no idea what to make out of it!

For the T-shirts, I created a cardboard template to save me keep measuring the fabric.  My board was 26cm wide by 30cm in length.  The length was more of a guide depending on the image on the T-shirt of choice.

I placed my board over the T-Shirt and cut both the back and front out.

I also cut a rectangle from the remnants of the T-Shirt to act as an inside pocket for the filter.

Trimming the T-Shirt to make a snood

I received an overlocker a couple of years ago when they were on special offer at Lidl.  I highly recommend one if you enjoy sewing, they can be quite expensive so keep an eye out for the bargains, especially at Lidl around Mother's Day.

I used mine to make clean edges for the snood and also to sew the sides of the t-shirt back together.

Hems

The bottom hem is very straightforward and just needs to be folded, ironed and sewn.

Before attempting the top hem add the filter pocket (if desired).  I placed the pocket where I wanted it to sit, then folded the bottom of it in on itself and pinned in place.  The thread does show through on the front of the snood once sewn but unavoidable unless you want to do a double layer snood.  As mentioned above you can find instructions for double layer snoods on Sweet Red Poppy's website.

Once the bottom filter pocket has been sewn in place, it can be folded up to meet the top hem.  This is when a nose piece (I bought aluminium nose strips from Amazon*) can be added to the inside of the filter before the top hem is sewn.

Once completed, bring the side edges together and sew.  The overlooker is ideal for this.

These are great for weather and with the coronavirus rampant at the moment, these are a great way to cover the face, saving the environment on wasted T-Shirts and trying to give a little back to those who need it.

*Affiliated Link