DIY Sleep Masks, Nearly Free

 

Earlier this month, I lay down for a nap. The window I faced let in loads of sunshine. It dawned on me that a sleep mask would have been nice. Light bulb! How about a sock pair and two disks inside, held in place with an elastic band?

The idea of a how-to for sleep masks percolated. I started to look for additional plastic lid pairs and socks. I tested for light blocking to the eyes and light seep at mask edges.

I think of this DIY sleep mask as primarily for short-duration nappers and tranquil sleepers. I'm too frugal to spring to try ones I've seen online from Amazon or drug or department stores. Those prices range from $6 (infrequent) to $40.

Items recommended:

• Two eye-relief lids or caps that fit larger than the eye sockets, about 1/2" deep. (One item is a ski goggle remnant--trimmed lenses and face foam.)
• Dark crew socks, one inside another for the lids to fit for distributed cushioning
• Elastic band to keep the eye relief item(s) in place inside the sock unit while the band hugs the head

Note: View of sleep mask positioning is represented with a canister 20 1/2" around, nearly same circumference as my head. FWIW, my elastic band (~19" x 1") was from a discarded Harbor Freight headlight. Elastic is readily and cheaply available at craft stores and Amazon.

Soxy Info

"Sock Lengths Explained: 8 Common Types of Socks" includes topic headings as follows: No Show Socks, Ankle socks, Mini Crew Socks, Crew Socks, Knee-High Socks. No-show socks have no tubes above the heel, intended for sockless look. Ankle socks have a cuff-like extension above the heel for handy sock pull-up and removal.

Crew socks' tubes extend midway to the knees. (My blog topic sock info is mostly about using these tube-height socks.) Knee-high and tube socks have great tube lives and not optimal for DIY sleep masks, imho.

Totally Tubular--Ankle Warmers

In the distant past, I'd reclaimed and repurposed worn socks, specifically, sock tubes as ankle warmers (video | article). Worn sock parts tend to be toe areas, but sometimes heel parts are worm out or threadbare.

Looking back, the worn socks I converted could have been trimmed less and served as ski mask sock units. In any case, if you have worn socks you want to reclaim and repurpose, consider usage as am ankle warmer or sleep mask. BTW, with my projects, I've maxed out on the warmers and sleep masks to have.

Curious Meandering with Ski Mask Remnant

My very old ski goggles side panel pretty much disintegrated. Hoping to salvage the lens for amber visor, I took it apart. My curiosity led me to Google "named parts of ski goggles". Turns out my remnant has an inner and outer lens with a face foam shape outline. Why is this info noteworthy?

Numerous sleep masks' shapes are similar to ski goggles, just not as feature-loaded. View an exploded view with labels. For more details about lenses, visit Sierra Ski Goggles site.

There are two primary types of goggle lenses available on the market: cylindrical and spherical. Both have some pros and cons that are worth considering before you start shopping.