I know that we’ve all been there and done that recently: we’ve searched and searched for a face mask that checks all of the boxes. It’s not easy to find just the right one, and for those who wear glasses, we have an additional box that needs checking: we need a mask with a nose wire to prevent our glasses from getting foggy.
Enter Disney’s reusable cloth face masks. You know, they’re the ones that caused quite a stir on shopDisney.com earlier this year. Walt Disney World guests can purchase some of the Disney face masks in select merchandise locations on WDW property for $6 each. They’re super cute and are made of two layers of breathable fabric. Surely they’re just perfect, right? Well, maybe not at first. But they will be (insert maniacal evil scientist cackle here), oh yes, they will be.
The Disney face masks do not come with a nose wire. At first, it seemed that the lack of a nose wire would be okay. Upon wearing the second one, however, I discovered that they did indeed cause my glasses to fog. Not cool. After complaining and grumbling to myself and my poor husband, I went into “fix it” mode. I’m a crafter from way back, so I started analyzing the mask and brainstorming of a way to add a nose wire. I wanted to wear the cute face masks with Mickey and Star Wars and Pixar characters on them; there just had to be a way to make them work.
As soon as I got home from wearing that second mask, I grabbed my crafting wire (20 gauge, I believe), my beading wire cutter/needle nose pliers, and scissors. In minutes flat, I had added a nose wire to that cute face mask, and had fog-free glasses. And, of course, I did a victorious “I DID IT!” happy dance. Just in case you’d like to give this a try and do your own happy dance, I thought I’d go over the steps. Ready? Here we go…
Grab your Disney face mask (I wear a large; a cast member told me that the medium masks are the right size for a 6 year old), a pair of small wire cutters/pliers, some crafting wire (available in any craft/arts store), and a pair of scissors.
The Mickey tie dye mask is one of the second wave of face masks that just recently hit the Walt Disney World shops. The bright, happy colors (and Mickey!) spoke to me.
Flip the mask over and find the center of the top hem. The trim is a stretchy knit material; something that will play in our favor when adding the wire.
Take your scissors and snip the smallest hole possible in the trim at the top center of the mask. When I say the smallest hole, I mean it. I promise that that’s all you’ll need.
Now it’s time to grab your crafting wire and a ruler/tape measure/anything you can use to measure the wire. Bonus points if it’s an AFC ruler circa 1993. #winning
You can make the wire any length you choose. Take a minute and hold it up to your face to determine your desired length. Because of my glasses, I like having enough wire to cross the bridge of my nose and extend halfway under my eyes, which amounts to just over 4 inches. When you figure out how long you’d like the wire to be, snip off that amount with your wire cutters.
Using your beading or needle nose pliers, curl the wire ends inward, creating a little spiral. This will keep the rough edge of the wire from poking through the knit trim. Safety first, you know.
Take your time getting the spirals formed on the ends of the wire, being sure to also flatten out the spirals with your pliers.
Next, slip your wire into the small hole that you made in the knit trim. Hold onto the end of the wire that’s inside of the trim, and pull the opposite end of the mask away from the center in order to slip the other end in.
You can move the nose wire inside the mask trim and bend it to the shape you’d like and voilà! You’re done!
Well, almost done. My next step is always to snip off the incredibly large tag that Disney sews into the inside of the mask. Wearing a mask can be challenging enough; we don’t need a super huge tag in the way. But that’s just me.
The end result is a soft, comfy, breathable mask that can be form-fit to your face, and can prevent your glasses from getting fogged up. On the occasion that my glasses get a little foggy, a quick readjustment of the wire is all it takes to set things right.
If you’d like to, you can remove the wire before washing your mask, and pop it back in once the mask is dry. That being said, I leave the wires in my masks during laundering, and have had no problems. I also haven’t had a problem with the knit trim fraying in the wash. If you’re concerned about that, a dab or two of a product like Fray Check would help.
One quick note about washing and drying the Disney face masks: they are a-okay in the washing machine, but be sure to hang them or lay them flat to dry. I made the mistake of missing one of my masks as I was moving clothes into the dryer one day, and it shrank a bit. Things got somewhat back to normal once I rewashed and hung that mask to dry.
I hope this helps! My philosophy is that wearing face masks is more fun when my favorite Disney characters are involved and I can see out of my glasses. It’s the little things, you know. 😉 What face mask hacks have you come up with? Let me know in the comments below.
If you’re looking for another face mask option, The DIS is selling masks via Magic Your Band that can be personalized and that also have a nose wire option. Click here to check out all of the options.
