I am home but in our large family 5 are working. I made masks and made some with ties. Poly cotton thread works just fine. As for the nose piece, it all depends on the nose. I made a very small dart for myself and some of the boys but I have one son and daughter that do better with nothing. They have a round flat nose. Hubby's nose sticks out and he prefers a home made piece of metal that he clips on to the mask. He also wears glasses so the condense is very annoying if he can not get it thight around his nose. Some patterns I made have a pouch for a filter, like coffee filter. We all prefer 2 layers of quilting fabric and no filter. I am concerned about furnace filters as many contain asbestos. Best to make pouches and people can add their own filter is they want one. My boys prefer a simple mask with quarter inch elastic around the ears and 2 layers quilting fabric accordian style for the mask.