I saw where t-shirt ties could be used instead, so I tried it. Works great. Cut the tshirt or knit fabric vertically for a less stretchy tie..it still stretches but doesn't roll as badly as a horizontal cut. I cut mine 1 1/4" and folded in half. To attach to pleated mask, find the centers of mask and tie; fold each tie over the top and bottom of the mask, and stitch tie to mask with a straight stitch, back stitching at beginning and end. No need to stitch the whole tie edges as the knit won't ravel. hope this is clear.