---
title: "Florence face mask: Designer Notes"
---

When the COVID-pandemic swept the globe in early 2019, and a shortage of PPE
followed, it became obvious we were going to need a lot of face masks.

So I set out to design this pattern, and also ended up making a whole bunch of
them for the local university hospital. Because I was rather early to fill
this need, it was picked up by a variety of publications, such a Forbes, the
New York Times, and a bunch of others.

As a result, this simple design probably did more to let people know
FreeSewing exists than any other thing I've ever done. Which is something I 
try not to think about too much.

Obviously, these kind of home-made mask are no substitute for professional PPE,
but you knew that.

joost


