DIY Patchwork sleep mask

If you’ve already made a basic sleep mask and you’re ready for something a little more interesting to sew, this patchwork sleep mask tutorial is just the thing for you. I designed this mask to mimic a sunrise or sunset. It uses three main fabric pieces to make up a colour-blocked mask front and a fabric covered elastic for the strap. It’s a fantastic scrap buster as you only need those fabric remains you’ve been collecting.

So let’s get started sewing our patchwork sleep mask. The free PDF pattern is available in the tutorial below.

Ps:I also have a basic DIY sleep mask tutorial with a free pattern and a separate post on how to sew a sleep mask with an adjustable strap if you’d like to sew a different type of sleep mask.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what you will need

Fabric scraps
Batting — at least 30 × 15 cm (11¾ × 6 in)
Firm elastic — 45 cm (17¾ in) long, 1–2 cm (⅜–¾ in) wide
Matching thread
Safety pin or bodkin
Fabric marker or chalk

Download the Free Pattern

The Sunset Sleep Mask pattern is available as a free download below. You may NOT sell or distribute it in any way. Please refer people to this blog post if you want to share it.

Sunset patchwork sleep mask pattern (1 download )

Printing instructions

Select your paper size (A4 or US Letter) in your printer settings before printing.
Set the print scale to Actual Size or 100%. Do not select Fit to Page.
Print the first page only and check the test square: the larger box should measure 1 inch and the smaller box 2 cm.
If both measure correctly, print the remaining pages.

Cutting Your Fabric

Cut the following pieces and transfer all notches from the pattern.

Piece A — cut 1 in your first patchwork fabric
Piece B — cut 1 in your second patchwork fabric
Piece C — cut 1 in your third patchwork fabric
Sun detail — cut 2 in your chosen fabric
Batting — cut 1 using the backing pattern piece
Follow the graphic below for the elastic length and fabric for the casing

a graphic showing the steps to calculating elastic and fabric casing for a sleep mask

How to Sew the Patchwork Sleep Mask

Step 1: Sewing the elastic strap

Daisy print fabric strip folded lengthwise beside a length of beige elastic.

Fold the casing fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, and press. Sew along the long raw edge at 0.6 cm or ¼ in seam allowance, then trim the seam allowance down to 0.3 cm or ⅛ in.

Daisy print fabric strip sewn into a tube, wrong side out, sewing line visible along the edge.

Turn the casing right side out. Using a safety pin or a bodkin, feed the elastic through the casing. Once through, pin the elastic to the casing at both ends to hold it in place.

Daisy print fabric casing turned right side out, forming a long tube for the elastic strap.

Sew across both short ends of the casing to secure the elastic. Take care to actually catch the elastic. Pull both ends of the elastic so that the fabric of the casing gathers more or less evenly. Now set your strap aside.

Elastic fabric covered strap clipped at the ends.

Step 2: Sewing the patchwork front of the mask

Sewing the sun detail

Place the two sun pieces right sides together. Using a stitch length of 1.8-2 mm, sew around the curved edge at a 0.6 cm or ¼ in seam allowance and leave the straight bottom edge open.

Semi circle of yellow fabric with a line of stitching

Clip tiny wedges out of the seam allowance around the curve, then turn the piece right side out and press.

Semi circle of yellow fabric with a line of stitching and notches clipped in the seam allowance

Semi circle of yellow fabric on a white background

Place the sun detail on piece A between the notches provided and baste it to A close to the bottom edge.

A yellow sun applique sewn onto a piece of off-white fabric

Now topstitch the sun onto piece A by sewing around the curved edge of the sun, approximately 0.3 cm or ⅛ in from the edge.

A top-stitched yellow sun applique sewn onto a piece of off-white fabric

Join pieces A and B

Match the notches on pieces A and B and pin right sides together. Take your time to ease the fabric pieces as you pin since their edges are curved. Sew at a 0.6 cm or ¼ in seam allowance.

Off-white fabric pinned onto a blue floral fabric.

Make little snips int he seam allowance at the curves and press the seam allowance downwards.

Sun appliqué sewn onto a floral fabric and off-white fabric on top.

Join the A-B panel to piece C

With right sides together, match the notches of the A-B panel and piece C and pin. Sew at a 0.6 cm or ¼ in seam allowance, then press the seam allowance downwards.

A rectangle of blue fabric pinned onto an off-white rectangle

Step 3: Assembling the front mask sandwich

Place your batting on a surface and then lay the completed patchwork front right side up on top of the batting. Clip the corners of these layers.

A patchwork rectangle of fabric clipped at the four corners

Topstitch the seam allowances about 0.3 cm or ⅛ in from each of the two seams you have.

A patchwork rectangle of fabric clipped at the four corners. The applique is topstitched

Tracing the front mask piece

Paper mask pattern piece laid on top of the sunrise patchwork rectangle.

Place the eye mask pattern piece roughly in the middle of the patchwork mask layer. Trace around the mask outline with a fabric marker then cut the mask shape out.

Sunrise appliqué sleep mask front cut into an eye mask shape.

Attaching the strap

We now need to attach the strap. Line up the bottom long edge of the strap with the bottom of the middle layer of the mask and clip the strap ends to the mask.

A fabric covered elastic strap clipped onto sleep mask front.

Sew the strap ends onto the mask at the very edge to hold them in place.

A fabric covered elastic strap sewn onto sleep mask front.

Step 4: Final assembly

Place the front mask (with the attached strap) and back mask fabric piece right sides facing and pin all around, leaving a gap about 3-4 fingers wide at the top. Make sure the strap is enclosed between the two layers and stays out of the way so you can sew around the mask.

Sleep mask front and back pinned together with a gap left at the top

Sew round the mask using a 0.6 or ¼ in seam allowance. As you sew, leave an opening at the top of the mask to pull the strap through. Make sure to secure both ends of your stitch line with a backstitch.

Sleep mask sewn together with a small gap left unstitched at the top.

Make little snips into the seam allowance around the curve of the nose and clip notches around the other curves of the mask.

Sleep mask seam allowance clipped and notched around the curved edges, showing topstitching line.

Pull the strap out through the opening, then turn the entire mask right side out through the same opening. Use a blunt tool to push out the edges and neaten them.

Fold the raw edges of the opening inward and press. Topstitch all the way around the edge of the mask approximately ⅛ in (0.3 cm) from the edge or use an invisible stitch to close the gap shut.