Tropical Escape Eye Mask

My first project using Pink Paradise by Henry Glass Fabrics is ready to share! I've been playing with AccuQuilt's new Eye Mask die for a couple of weeks. It is so much fun to play with! I didn't even realize I wanted an Eye Mask die until I started playing with it. Now I've made 6, and I imagine I will be making a bunch more. The dancing flamingos on my Tropical Escape eye mask are so much fun.

There isn't really much to say about making an eye mask. It's really easy and fast. The biggest decision to make is what kind of strap do you want on it. I prefer elastic cord inside of a matching tube. It looks nice and won't catch in my hair. I tried four different ties - covered elastic, t-shirt fabric, ribbon and fabric ties. You can download the patterns I wrote up for the different variations on the AccuQuilt blog.

I decided to make one using this killer border print from Pink Paradise. The flamingos are exactly the right size and look amazing on the finished mask. I believe I'll bring this one along on my next trip to Florida.

This one was made with the 2" Classic Alphabet die. It was harder than I expected coming up with four letter words to put on the mask. The print fabric is Lotus Leaf, and the appliqué is shot cotton, both from Kaffe Fasset Collective.

This one is my favorite - made from an old t-shirt. Why is it that my favorite ones always get the belly holes so quickly?

If you have any leftover test blocks, or blocks that didn't turn out the way you hoped, turn them into eye masks! This one was an Ohio Star block. Any block 10" or larger will work.

I'm thinking there might be a lot of eye masks in Christmas stockings in the Strauser house this year. They would make great easy little gifts. Plus, if I start making them now, I might actually have some finished by December.

Happy stitching!