Sassy Sleep Mask - Free Sewing Pattern

Use my sassy sleep mask tutorial and free pattern to sew a sleep mask for your next trip!

Last weekend I took a few of my Girl Scouts on a campout. There were going to be a number of other troops also camping, and the last time we did a campout like this our nearest troop neighbors didn't quite understand what lights out meant, or that their tent was in no way sound- or lightproof (it was probably just as well that we weren't in a caravan, I dread to imagine what would have happened if they had also had access to caravan wifi). THREE HOURS after lights out, they were still shining flashlights and fussing over an air mattress that had sprung a leak. We still had a great time though. However, we didn't love the flashing lights throughout the night.

So this time I wanted to be prepared for stray lights in our eyes. I created a set of coordinating sleep masks for all the campers in our troop. I figured it would help us sleep and also make a fun souvenir of our weekend campout. There is nothing better than relaxing under the stars, the only thing that can compare, is after a long week of busy activity, relaxing in a bath with some blue bath bombs (sleep mask optional).

I made them from a solid quilting cotton on the front, and a flannel on the back to be soft against the skin. I used foldover elastic for the band because it's wider and has a softer stretch than standard elastic. Plus, it comes in lots of fun colors!

I couldn't leave them plain, though. I used heat transfer vinyl to add names and sassy sleep wishes to each one. The girls had fun seeing what everyone's masks said.

Don't wake Olivia, Anne snores, Alex hates camping, sweet dreams Kida, Pippa is snoozing.

Here's the soft flannel back.

I ended up making 5 sleep masks total. Don't be thinking I'm some overachieving mama! Once I had the pattern, it took just a couple of hours start to finish. That includes cutting the fabric, sewing them together, and also creating the vinyl designs, cutting them, and ironing them down.

As luck would have it, there were very few other troops where we pitched our tent. There were just three tents in the whole field! Our neighbors were thoughtful with lights out and flashlights. The sleep masks still came in handy, as the moon was quite bright and it lit up most of our tent. The sleep masks blocked out the light so we could sleep.

I've got a sleep mask tutorial and free pattern for you below. They'd make fun souvenirs for a girls weekend trip or a child's sleepover birthday party. You could also sew some up to give as inexpensive handmade Christmas gifts.

I didn't include cut files because the designs were kind of specific. I'm not sure how many other people out there would want a design that says, Anne Snores or Pippa is Snoozing. You can make your own designs easily in your cutting machine design software. Just use a chunky font and keep your designs to an area 2.5 tall x 5 wide.

Sassy Sleep Mask Tutorial

Quilting cotton

Flannel

Fusible fleece

14" of fold over elastic

Free pattern Sassy Sleep Mask

Fuse the fusible fleece to the back of the mask front and back.

Baste the ends of the elastic to the mask front (quilting cotton) at notches, right sides together with a 1/8 seam allowance. Gently fold and pin the elastic across the middle of the mask front to keep it out of the way.

Place the mask back on the mask front, right sides together, and sew around all sides with a seam allowance leaving a 2" gap to turn.

Clip curves. Make lots of clips in the tight curve at the nose so it will lay flat when you turn it right side out.

Turn right side out. Press.

Press the edges in at the turning hole to create a smooth line.

Topstitch around the mask close to the edge.

Optional: Apply a heat transfer design across the front of the mask.

If you're looking for something to do with your left over flannel and fold over elastic, this glasses case is quick to sew and great to keep your sunglasses scratch free!