Many people want to know… is a face shield alone enough to protect you? The answer is that it helps, but for virus protection it should not be used alone. Ideally, a face shield is paired with a homemade mask to cover the front of the face from below the chin and reaching side-to-side to the ears.
Do you have face shields for you and your family? If you want to know how to make DIY face shields, read on! (Also see our page for making cloth face masks.)
Basic Engineering Requirements
How to Make DIY Face Shields: No 3D Printer Needed
How to Make DIY Face Shields: Die Cut/Laser Die Cut
How to Make DIY Face Shields: 3D Printer Needed
Tight Budget? Make Face Shields From Soda Bottles
First, Clean Your Workspace
It’s hard and unsafe to work in a messy (or germy!) space. Seattle Makerspace founder Jeremy Hanson used to work at Environmental Health and Safety at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. He provides this video of instructions for preparing a safe space for fabrication of DIY Face Shields.
Web Info Life gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Basic Engineering Requirements
OSCMS (Open Source COVID19 Medical Supplies) lists these minimum engineering requirements:
- Shield made of clear plastic
- Must provide complete coverage of the entire face, including the length of the face to the chin, and the sides of the face.
- Must have material across top of forehead to prevent ingress of liquids/droplets down the face and provide comfort
- Must be able to be comfortably worn for long shifts (i.e. 12+ hours)
- Adjustable band that is firmly attached around the head and clings closely to the forehead
- Non-latex elastic (if using elastic)
How to Make DIY Face Shields: No 3D Printer Needed
We viewed many hospital and university sites, and watched all the “How to Make DIY Face Shields” videos we could find. These are the best of the best. If you want your face shield pattern or tutorial video, leave a description and URL in comment box at the bottom of the page. Below is a list of patterns and parts lists to make hand made and 3D-printed face shields. Also see our page on Making Masks
Seattle Makerspace founder Jeremy Hanson shows you how to make a mylar face shield
Zac at Gimme Builds has photo instructions for a beautifully simple DIY PPE Face Shield. This is much faster to make than using 3D printing.
Sailrite has a great video to show you how to make face shields in large batches and offers a set of printed instructions with photographs
University of Wisconsin Maker Space has a fantastic pattern and materials list and instructions on how to make face shields. The design is easy to make and requires just three pieces.
Provident Health System offers easy instructions on how to make face shields
How to Make DIY Face Shields: Die Cut/Laser Die Cut
UIC Engineering Makerspace offers a two-part video and instructions: Part 1 Part 2 – Materials and patterns
Kevin Patel at Team FITCH offers “5 Second Die Cut Face Shield” plans. View the video on how to make medical face shields 250 times faster than 3D printing & 20 times faster than lasers
How to Make DIY Face Shields: 3D Printer Needed
DesignThatMatters.org has a 3D printed face shield project defined here
HP has made 3D printing templates for face shields, hands-free door handles and field respirators . They are available for free to anyone with a 3D printer
Tight Budget? Make Face Shields From Soda Bottles
If you cannot afford to order face shields online, you can make them from 2 liter soda bottles! So simple that this would be a good craft to do with kids.
Tech Alms show us a brilliant use of a 2 liter soda bottle and a baseball cap into a face shield. This pattern is clever but cannot be used in medical settings (can’t sterilize the cap)
What The Crafts shares a smart video showing you how to turn a 2 liter bottle and one strip of elastic into a face shield. Elastic (contains latex) is not acceptable in clinical environments.
Hello Sewing shows you how to make a face shield in 15 minutes using materials found at home, including a plastic bucket handle.
Web Info Life gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Where to Donate Face Shields
Rather than list organizations one-by-one, we have provided several groups that have collated hundreds of locations seeking PPE. If your organization has compiled a list of donation locations, please tell us in the comment field below and we will add the info here.
Masks For Heros has an interactive map to easily locate hospitals and Medical facilities desperate for your donations. Not just masks, they need many things they list individually
UC Berkeley students have put together a massive list (43+ pages and growing) of locations seeking mask and face shield donations – by state.
Find The Masks has pulled together a comprehensive state-by-state list of over 1700+ locations where you can donate PPE. See the bottom half of this page for the map and directory
Thank You For Your Efforts!
Thank you to the hard working volunteers running these organizations. Gratitude goes out to everyone willing to make face shields and PPE. If you would like to see your organization on this list, leave a comment with the URL.
Be kind, be safe, and wash your hands.