Sleep Masks

     I am always interested in ideas to improve my sleep. I have no trouble falling asleep; my problem is staying asleep. I tend to wake up numerous times each night or else I wake up at 3:00 a.m. and can't go back to sleep. I have discovered that using a sleep mask improves the amount of sleep I get. We were meant to sleep in darkness, but in today's world we never have it. There are street lights outdoors that cast their light through our windows. Indoors we have alarm clocks and electronics throughout the house that give off light. So it is never truly dark. This project helps solve that problem, and is a great way to use up scraps.

     I cut rectangles and mask shapes out of scrap fabrics, sewed two layers, right sides together, left a small section unsewn for turning, turned right side out and top stitched all the way around to hold the layers together and close the opening. I used 1/4" elastic for the band, sewn into the seam. I have seen fancy versions done with matching fabric used to create a sleeve for the elastic. Cute, but that makes it too bulky and uncomfortable to wear. I used 2 layers of  100% cotton, dark colored fabric, with no batting in between. I want the mask to breathe. On the dark brown one I used a layer of super soft cotton flannel on the back side (the one with the teddy bear hugging a pillow)- the dark side blocks the light and the flannel side feels nice against the skin. I'm hoping to sleep like a baby tonight!