Little homemade tools for threading ear loops through mask casings. I had made one before and didn’t realize how handy it was until I lost it, so I made a couple more.
All it is is about a foot of wire folded in half and twisted, but it makes me smile so I decided to share. Quite literally, as I shall be mailing one off to my sister.
I used a fairly stiff nickel silver wire leftover from my jewelry making days, but you could use brass or copper, doesn’t really matter. I’m not sure what the gauge was as it wasn’t labeled, thinking maybe 18 as it feels a little thicker than a 20 ga. A softer wire might be easier to bend as I had to use pliers to squish the top loop narrow enough to slide through my casings and, of course, wire tends to gets harder and stiffer as you work it so my twists are not perfectly uniform. I’m not making them to sell so I didn’t bother to de-burr the ends before curling them in.
Another thing that tickles me was discovering an alternative use. My hands are old, got some arthritis going on, so tying overhand knots wasn’t always easy. Now I can just wrap the ear loop cords around a finger, slide the tool in, wiggle the loop over the ends and pull them through. Photos might help explain.
I have another handmade tool to help poke those cord ends through pony beads, but it’s a just a rather large old-fashioned tapestry needle held upside down in a pin vise.
Yeah… welcome to old age, where innovation is needed to continue doing the things you want to do. Thanks for reading!
NOTE: if you are here looking for masks, what I have sewn and photographed is on the “mask4sale” page. Prices are not carved in stone so talk to me if you want more than one or if our mutual friend is delivering.
Mice4Mars 