Homemade face coverings come in all shapes and sizes but some of the more endearing ones are uniquely tailored to the people wearing them with embroidered pictures and logos.
Ramona resident Michele Trabert has been busily fulfilling requests for these sorts of individualized masks as part of her and her husband’s business Wood ‘n Stitches. Frank is the woodworker and woodturner and Michele is the stitcher who together sell their wares from a space in Affordable Treasures at Seventh and Main streets. Their business has been pumping out handicrafts for the past eight years.
When COVID-19 health directives began recommending, and then mandating, facial coverings be worn in public Michele quickly realized there was a demand for the types of masks she could sew. She said she gathered together her own stash of fabric and elastic to make some 70 masks for friends and family scattered in distances as far away as Alaska and Boston. Masks were also made for neighbors close to home and as Michele became more adept at stitching them, the designs evolved and the styles changed.
“We made what I think is a better fitting mask, some that had nose wires in them and some that did not,” Michele said. “Then I felt bad for the high school seniors who missed out on so much this year.”
Michele’s solution was to provide high schoolers with masks designed with Ramona High School’s bulldog mascot. The bulldog picture is centered between RHS above and 2020 underneath. By that time, Michele had sewn through her own stash of supplies and started charging $10 apiece for the bulldog masks. In addition to covering the cost of fabric and thread, the fee compensates her for her labor and time spent standing in line to get into the Joann Fabrics and Crafts store in Poway, where limits have been placed on in-store customers.
It didn’t take long for Michele to start getting more requests for creative masks like a Varsity Song label with bulldog image mask for the high school’s dance team.
Michele brought Frank on board to help with the labor-intensive process. Frank cuts the patterns and elastic, and once Michele sews the pieces together, he turns the fabric inside out.
Michele estimates she’s made 200 of the masks that typically sell for $12 to $15 apiece at the Wood ‘n Stitches booth in Affordable Treasures.
Some of the unique designs tailored to Ramona: One has a horse image based on the Welcome to Ramona monument sign at state Route 67 and Highland Valley Road; another has a vintage car with the words “Cruise Ramona” and another has chickens.
Some are cute images of a patriotic heart flag, flowers and animals. Others are specific to professions such as a stethoscope and heart for nurses and other medical staff, a school bus with the names of drivers on them, and a company logo for financial advisers.
The masks incorporate three layers, with two layers of cotton on the inside and outside, and a non-woven fabric called Pellon that serves as a filter, although not to the extent of an N95 mask.
“It’s been fun,” Michele said. “I especially like it when someone says, ‘that’s perfect.’ I’m overly critical so I’ll rip out a seam and start over again.”
Michele has made her own mask with a large laughing mouth and one for Frank with a mustache.
“We all have to wear them so why not make them funny?” she said. “If I want to go in a grocery store and it requires me to wear a face covering, I’m putting a mask on and here I go.”
Some of the symbols not seen on other masks include images of Spider Man, an anchor labeled with U.S. Navy, and a bottle of nail polish written with the word “Nails” in polish.
Since Michele isn’t an artist she relies on recreating embroidery designs available from embroidery companies. Some are available free and others cost a fee, but many are found on the Internet. Michele’s machine can read the digitized language and she can input instructions such as the placement and direction of the stitches.
“I’m a self-taught novice digitizer,” she said. “If someone wants an elaborate image there are companies that can digitize it and send it to me.”
Michele says their projects keep them busy even while they’re retired. Frank was formerly a mechanical engineer and Michele used to work as a nuclear medicine technician in the radiology field.
Now their products, such as embroidered bags, clothes, towels and ballcaps as well as wooden bowls, wine stoppers and salt and pepper shakers, can be purchased through Affordable Treasures or from their home. Business cards are located in their store booth for information or special orders. Payment can be made in cash or arranged through the Venmo mobile payment service.
“It’s been a good project,” Michele said. “We don’t have time to go stir crazy because we’re too busy.”
