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Independent craft blog since 2007

7 DIY Plague Masks You Make At Home For Halloween

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Hands down this is going to be one of the most popular Halloween costumes for 2020 but what is going to make your Plague mask stand out from the rest? Sure you could buy a plague mask or you could DIY something amazing!

And do you want to know a little bit more about the mask before you make your own plague mask for your costume? I had to do some research as to be honest I didn’t really know the history of the plague mask before writing this Halloween post.

A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of the bubonic plague. In times of epidemics, these physicians were specifically hired by towns where the plague had taken hold. Since the city was paying their salary, they treated everyone, wealthy or poor. Wikipedia

So why the beaks? These doctors were all about the weird stuff, they believed herbs would cure them, so the beak was filled with herbs as if to “filter” the disease before reaching the mouth of the wearer. This mask is very popular in Venice and is worn at the yearly festivals. It’s not so fun now though is it.

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The costume is usually credited to Charles de Lorme, a physician who catered to the medical needs of many European royals during the 17th century, including King Louis XIII and Gaston d’Orléans, son of Marie de Médici.

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Samplers to Cross Stitch for the Fourth of July

I already shared some cross stitch patterns specific to America 250, but if you want to cross stitch something more general for the Fourth of July, these patriotic sampler style patterns are a great place to start. 

Stitch up some classic July 4th symbols, from the Statue of Liberty to hot dogs, with this sampler from Voluur. At 197 by 197 stitches, it comes out to 12.31 inches or 31.27 cm on 16 count fabric. It uses 38 colors and one blend, and has full and half cross stitches as well as back stitching. 

This sampler from Wombat Stitching is a little more traditional, but it does still have fireworks, something that looks like an ice cream, birds in hats and a stack of sheep for some reason. This one uses nine colors and is 193 by 103 stitches. That makes it 13.8 inches or 35 cm on 14 count fabric. 

This smaller sampler from Wonder Stitch US has a rocket, fireworks, flag, star and other elements. It is 86 by 86 stitches and uses 11 colors. On 16 count fabric it comes out to 5.5 inches, or 14 cm square. (I also love their Liberty design, with a house, woman holding a flag, a big flowers stitched like classic star motifs from quilting. There’s also a cat.)

Or try this one from Aliton Embroidery, which features a women in stars, stripes and a festive hat, an eagle, stars, fireworks and a flag, with a fun red, white and blue border. At 98 by 67 stitches, I think it uses five colors or thereabouts. It measures 7 by 4.8 inches, or 17.78 by 12.16 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric.

Get a totally classic sampler look with this patriotic design that’s not specific to the Fourth of July. Made by Happiness is Heart Made, it features a house, flowers, hearts, classic starts, an alphabet, bunting and more. It uses four colors and measures 129 by 213 stitches. On 14 count fabric it measures 9.21 by 15.21 inches, or 23.4 by 38.6 cm.