No stretch but soft.

I have mentioned before that the straps on CPAP masks are rather uncomfortable, to the point that I made some covers for my ResMed straps a while back.

The straps have recently gotten so that they cut into the back of my neck, so I drew some sketches and made a set of straps from some material my wife had tucked away.

First homemade straps

That did better than the originals, in so far as there are no sharp edges to cut my neck. It still wasn’t optimal because the cloth was far stretchier than I thought it was.

You’d think you want cloth with some “give” when trying to hold a mask tight to your face, but it really doesn’t take much “give” at all. The mask, its cushions, and the flesh on the head and neck make up all the “give” it takes to get and maintain a good seal.

Besides the stretch, the new straps also went too far down the back of my neck. The “patch” in back holding all the straps together would wrinkle up and pinch the skin on the back of my neck. That itched and made the scratches from the original straps even worse.

For the second set of straps, I bought some cotton molton cloth. It doesn’t have much “give” at all, really. What it does have is softness. That is the softest cloth I’ve ever felt.

Straps, mark II

The second set of straps was much better than the pink ones, but still not quite there. I just sort of “eyeballed” the curve around the neck, and it was uneven. The straps are too narrow where they join the patch - again, because of the “eyeballed” curve. I managed to sew the upper straps to the inside of the patch when they should have been outside, like the lower ones.

Still, this second set was so much more comfortable that I wanted to get it right. It was so close, and still not quite right.

I made a third set of straps, and got them right.

That’s this set:

Straps, mark III

They’ve got everything I learned making the first two, and more besides.

Comfy, non-stretchy molton cloth.
Smoothly curved cutout for the back of my neck. No more pinching and itching.
Properly assembled - the straps are all sewn on the back of the patch.
Straps the same width over the whole length. That’s partially a design problem, and partially a sewing problem.
Slots in the straps and metal clips to adjust the fit.

Number 5 is important for regular use. For the other two sets of straps, I would just sew the straps shorter to adjust the fit. That makes it difficult to adjust things in the middle of the night. Even worse, when I got them too tight, I had to rip a sewn seam to lengthen them again.

The clips and the straps are made such that the clips can never touch my skin while wearing the mask. I wear my mask for 8 hours a night. I don’t need my sweaty skin rubbing on stainless steel thingies.

Should you happen to use a ResMed Quattro Air full face mask, here’s a link to an Inkscape SVG file that you can use as a pattern to make your own straps:

ResMed Quattro Air full face mask strap pattern.

Here’s how I went about making my first Mark III straps:

Make a pattern.

Print out the SVG file - print at 100% scaling on A4 paper.
Cut out the mask shape.
Put the mask shape on a large sheet of paper.
Extend the straps to 36 centimeters from the marked lines.
Cut out the full size pattern.

Make the pattern

Cut the cloth pieces

Trace the pattern onto the cloth using tailor’s chalk.
Cut the cloth on the inside of the traced lines, as close to the lines as possible.
Make two pieces.

Cut the cloth pieces

Assemble the straps

Lay the two cloth pieces together.
Align the pieces.
If your cloth has a pattern or a print, make sure that the face sides (with the print or pattern) are inside the pieces. The straps will be turned inside out later.
Pin the pieces together.
Sew only the seams marked in red in the last photo.
Most importantly: Do not sew the ends of the straps shut.
The seam goes the width of one “toe” of the presser foot from the outer edge. This leaves about 6 millimeters (1/4 inch) free when the seams are done.

Assemble the straps

Turn the straps right side out

Put a safety pin through one side of a strap.
Push the safety pin through through the strap, pushing and pulling the pin through the strap like an inch-worm.
Pull the pin through the open gap in the long straight seam.
Remove the pin, then repeat for all straps.
Iron the straps flat and straight.
Sew the open part of the long straight part shut.
Fold the edges to the inside before sewing so that there is a smooth seam on the outside.

Turn the mask right side out

Mark the length of the straps

This will take four hands - you will need a helper.
Put the straps through the loops in the mask.
Put the mask on, and adjust the straps to fit snuggly.
Pin the straps into loops with safety pins.
Take the mask off, remove the straps.
Fold the straps in half, then even out the loop lengths.

Mark the length of the straps

Sew the loops in the straps

Sew seams across the straps.
Space the seams one presser foot “toe width (about 6mm or 1/4 inch) apart.
The upper straps need only 50mm (2 inches) of slots.
Make slots on the lower straps all the way back to the head patch.
Mark the middle of the straps by folding the straps in half. Mark with tailor’s chalk.

Sew the loops in the straps

Sew the loose ends of the straps

Fold the lower straps over so that they meet at the marked middle point.
Cut the straps to be about 10mm (3/8 inch) longer than needed to meet at the middle point.
Tuck the ends of the lower straps into the straps so that the straps meet in the middle.
Sew the straps along the bottom edge of the large patch. Make this seam about 6mm from the edge.
Sew the other edge of the strap to the patch. Again, the seam goes about 6mm from the edge.
The upper straps will not meet in the middle.
Tuck the ends of the upper straps into the strap.
Sew the upper straps to the patch, starting at the point where the ear cut-out ends.
Sew the upper straps with two seams, each 6mm from the edge of the strap.
Trim all the thread ends from the straps.

Sew the loose ends of the straps

Make clips for the straps

Bend “N” shapes in the ends of lengths of 1.5mm diameter stainless steel wire.
The “N” shapes should be approximately 20mm from inside top of the N to the inside of the bottom of the N.
The “N” shapes should be about 10 mm wide.
Cut the clips from the wires with a hacksaw (stainless steel doesn’t cut well with wire cutters.)
File the ends of the clips round.
Polish the ends of the clips so that they won’t snag on the cloth.

Make clips for the straps

Install the clips in the straps

Slip a clip through a slot.
Rotate the clip so that the straigh middle segment is in the slot.
Put in all four clips.
Slide the straps through the slots in the mask.
Put on the mask, see where it needs to fit.
Remove and replace clips as needed to shorten (or lengthen) the straps.
Keep the upper straps even with one another.
Keep the lower straps even with one another.
Put the mask on, test it at pressure with your CPAP machine mask fit function.
Adjust the clips tighter (to fix leaks) or looser (for comfort.)

Install the clips in the straps

Once the straps are adjusted, you can take the mask off by pulling the loose ends of the lower straps away from you, then lifting them up.

With properly adjust straps, you only need to undo the lower straps to remove the mask.

To put the mask back on, loop one lower strap through the slot in the mask, then pull the loose end of the other strap away from your face and lower it into the slot on the mask. Let the strap pull back into the slot.

Be careful with the clips. They will sometimes turn sideways and slip out of the mask slots while putting the mask on. Once the mask is on, they can’t come out.

There you go. The world’s most comfortable CPAP mask straps.