HOW TO – Identity-preserving ski mask

Craft & Design Wearables
HOW TO – Identity-preserving ski mask

andrewskimask1.jpg

andrewskimask2.jpg

Andrew Salomone figured out a way to make a ski mask that doesn’t hide who you are. He writes:

It’s pretty easy to wear warm clothes on just about every part of your body except for your face. As far as I can tell, the main reason that cold-weather facial attire is somewhat socially taboo is because it generally obscures the identity of the person wearing it. Despite all of the progress our society has made towards accepting and treating all people fairly, we are still yet to escape the notion that a person in a balaclava (or ski mask) is generally up to no good. The “Identity Preserving Balaclava” is my solution to the social stigma associated with the identity concealing effect of the average balaclava. Here is the method and pattern that I used to make my own “Identity Preserving Balaclava.” Hopefully other people will be able to use this to liberate their cold faces from social repression!

30 thoughts on “HOW TO – Identity-preserving ski mask

  1. Jack Dubious says:

    Now Im gonna have nightmares for weeks…:P

  2. dosher says:

    even creepier than a normal ski mask. if i saw a guy coming down the street towards me in oen of these, i wouldnt think he was going to rob me, i’d think he’s going to kill me and steal my face, hannibal lecter-style.

  3. Captain George says:

    Yes, “Creepy as hell… seems to suggest mental imbalance.” to quote my photography professor. It’s an interesting idea, but seriouslly, if these caught on, even if they didn’t, how long would it be before people performed crimes with other peoples faces? I know if i was a deviant this would be my approach.

  4. John Park says:

    Or else, it gets the hose again.

  5. screaminscott says:

    This is a perfect example of the “uncanny valley” theory

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley

  6. george says:

    Looks like something from the Ed Gein Sewing Circle

  7. eh says:

    very ed gein-esque!

  8. Garrett says:

    If you zoom way out, stand far away from your monitor, and kind of unfocus your eyes, you can almost stop screaming.

  9. The Oracle says:

    You should patent the idea. The next generation of horror films is going to use it.

  10. MrCrumley says:

    If I were a bank guard and someone walked in wearing this, I would shoot them immediately… no questions asked.

  11. Simon says:

    Yes, disturbing. To me it looks like a Halloween costume where someone is trying to be a character from a first person shooter.

  12. wonder-wheeler says:

    adding something like the little metal tabs that are on the inside of dust masks to the nose area of this mask would help better define the nose area and make it look more human.

    I wonder if people with some autism or asperger’s are less creeped out by this mask? Some of you folks seem to have pretty strong reactions to the mask and I find it interesting.

  13. MarbleMad says:

    “It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again”.

  14. crushthemall says:

    It kind of looks like a blow up doll.

  15. Steve Graff says:

    That is SO “Silence of the Lambs.”

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Becky Stern is a Content Creator at Autodesk/Instructables, and part time faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Products of Design grad program. Making and sharing are her two biggest passions, and she's created hundreds of free online DIY tutorials and videos, mostly about technology and its intersection with crafts. Find her @bekathwia on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram.

View more articles by Becky Stern

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