Smaller masks, those made from flexible plastic, hung on walls for long-term display should normally be supported on both sides (e.g. by wall-hooks or thumbtacks where the ribbons or straps are attached); the slight strains created by a single, central hook can deform some designs over time.

The large masks with wigs, however, can be hung with a central hook and I’ve attached D-rings to those masks for hanging ease.  Should your mask begin to lose its shape for any reason, it can often be restored by allowing it to slowly dry and/or cool over a suitable, head-shaped, form.

If dust ends up collecting on your mask, a dry soft brush works great as a mini-duster.  Avoid using lots of water when cleaning most masks.

*Masks are more than just toys.  No mask should be worn where a full field of vision is required (e.g. whilst driving, pirate raiding, and playing soccer).

I figure this close to Halloween, what better last minute ideas to throw around than face painting!  These techniques are also super useful for decorating masks; makeup can be used on just about any kind of mask, as long as you paint a finishing coat over the whole thing.

With fiberglass, be especially careful using the materials.  The fiber mesh is actual shards of glass and can cause serious damage to your eyes, skin, and clothing.  Tough cotton overalls, long sleeved shirts, and other types of protective clothing are highly recommended.

You can use nylon stalkings, tee-shirt material, and more as a base for this kind of mask.  Also, experiment with mixing different colored powders into the thermoreactive paint and try using it for other types of masks.

Check upholstery shops, craft stores, or fabric stores for spray adhesives to use on vinyl, which is what he’s spraying on the fine detail pieces before sewing them.  Also, be aware that the adhesive might gum up your sewing needle and you might have to clean it periodically while sewing or coat it in something beforehand to prevent glue collecting on it.

Consult folks at a local sewing shop to make sure you use the correct machine needle, usually a leather needle works well for machine sewing vinyl.  When sewing corners, make sure the needle is embedded in the fabric before you pivot it.  Otherwise, you can accidentally sew crooked lines and the thread will be loosened at the corner.  Also, you generally want a 5/8ths” seam allowance (the distance from the edge of the fabric where you’re sewing).
The ribbon he’s sewing along the seam is probably some sort of seam binding to keep the vinyl from ripping (thin vinyl tears pretty easily when it’s be punctured).  Along with sewing, he appears to be gluing the seam binding on, and not just any adhesive works on vinyl; it requires special glues such as the Bond G17 being used in this video, or Loctite or other specially formulated glues.
In case it isn’t clear, at the very end he’s attaching velcro, probably at where it closes under the jaw.

It appears they used a thin vinyl, usually sold at most craft stores and fabric stores around Halloween season.  Also, upholstery shops can carry similar types of fabric.  Also, when trying to make symmetrical pieces, you can fold the fabric in half and cut through multiple layers like they did, or flip the pattern piece over and redraw/cut the mirror opposite.  Just be sure to use sharp tools to minimize necessary force, and
cut away from yourself; lessons I’ve learned after several severe scars.

This tutorial has quite a few videos that could very much use editing taking out long pauses when the mask maker is off camera working power tools.  For that reason, I’m going to post multiple videos per blog and encourage you to fast forward through them a little.

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