During the pandemic my partner Calum has needed to wear a mask all day whilst at work. His ears were getting quite painful as the mask was cutting in behind his ears after extended use. I had heard about these ear-savers from a fellow mask-wearing crocheter, so thought I'd try my hand at hooking up a solution. This is a nice simple crochet project, made up of only 2 rows. In the future when things are a little less covidy, I can still imagine that these ear savers would be useful when wearing dust masks during DIY projects.

For this Instructable I will be using US terms. A conversion table to UK terms can be found here.

Supplies

Cotton yarn

DK or worsted type yarn would work best. Cotton is the best fibre type for this application as you can throw them in the washing machine after a few uses. You don't need much yarn to make these Mask Mates, so this is a great scrap-busting project! I used some Paintbox Cotton Arran yarn I had leftover from another project.

Crochet hook

Whatever size works with your chosen yarn. I used a 3.5mm hook, but anything up to a size 5 should be fine.

2 buttons

They don't need to match, whatever you have is fine!

Embroidery needle

For attaching the buttons to your ear saver

Ruler or measuring tape

To measure the perfect fit before you start

Step 1: Decide What Size You Want Your Mask Mate to Be

It's best to get someone to help you with this stage, but I imagine it would be possible to do yourself with a bit of juggling! Put the mask on whoever the ear-saver is for. Stretch the ear elastics back to a comfortable position on the back of your head. Try to pick a position where the ear saver will sit naturally without slipping, e.g the nape of your neck or towards the top of your head. The mask should feel secure but not too tight on your nose, and the elastic should not be squidging your ears at all.

Once you have a comfortable position, get your helper to measure the distance between the two ear elastics at the back of your head. You will use this measurement to help decide the length of your chain.

Step 2: Chain On

Do a slip knot, leaving a long tail of thread (roughly 25cm should be enough). You will use this later to attach your buttons. Next, make a chain 2cm longer than the measurement you took in the previous step. This is because the chain will compress slightly as you weave it into the crochets. In this case, I measured 12cm between ear elastics when I pulled them comfortably taut behind Calum's head, so I kept adding to my chain until it measured 14cm.

Step 3: First Row

As everyone's ear-savers will be slightly different lengths, I will give the row instructions in a way which will work for any length.

Start off with 2 half double crochets (hdc) in the 2nd chain (ch) from the hook. This will begin a corner of your ear saver.

To crochet the straight, 1hdc in each remaining ch. When you get to the last ch, do 4 additional hdc to create your second corner. (5 in total).

Rotate, rather than flip your work so that you can crochet into the other side of the ch. Do 1hdc in each remaining ch.

When you get to the last ch, finish off that first corner you started with 3 hdc in the same chain.

Step 4: Final Row

To continue the curve, ch 1, then 2 single crochets (sc) in first stitch

To crochet the straight edge, 1 sc in each stitch until you reach the start of the next corner (we will count the corner as 3 stitches long).

To do the curve, put 2sc in the next 3 stitches

Back to the straight. 1sc along until you are 2 stitches away from your first sc. Then finish with 2 sc in the last 2 stitches and slip stitch into the first sc. Fasten off and weave in end.

Step 5: Attach the Buttons

You should attach the buttons at the centre of the arc at the ends of your ear-saver to make sure they are positioned roughly the same distance apart as your carefully measured chain.

Using an embroidery needle and your long tail, thread the needle up through one of holes on button and back down through other hole(s).

Once the button is secure, don't cut the thread as you will use this to attach your other button too. Instead, create a knot by inserting the needle through 2 threads, and leave a nice loose loop. Insert the needle through this loop from right to left and pull tail through (again, leave it loose). Repeat a second time, pulling tail right to left. Pull tail tight, creating a secure knot with the loops you just made.

Weave through the length of the ear-saver until you reach the far side, and thread the needle through the second button until it is tightly secured.

Fasten off however you like, and weave in the end.