Cloth Pads – First Attempt

Cloth pads may not be for everyone and I respect your decision if you don’t like them but they are something I have been wanting to try for a while. Last weekend I made my first batch. I knew that there were some people making and using them but I had no idea of that there was an entire community of online people making, selling and even doing swaps of them.

I joined a Facebook group which is focused on making them. It is really friendly group who are a super supportive of new comers and answer every queen you have imaginable. They have a file section which has heaps of useful patterns, links and general information. If you Google cloth pads you will also find heaps of websites and patterns.

Constructing a pad isn’t dissimilar to making a quilt in the fact you have 3 sections and each section has a function. I found this website very useful on what to use for each layer but to sum up a pad has a
Topper – This is the outer layer closet to the skin so you want soft comfortable fabric
Core – This is your absorbent layer and does all the work so you want absorbent fabric which you stack in layers
Backer – This layer faces out against your underwear so you want fabric that is water repellent if preferred fabric that won’t shift around

When I made these I had no idea if I would even like them or not. I didn’t want to go out and purchase special absorbent and waterproof fabric if I didn’t know if I would even like the feel of them so for my first ones I raided my linen closet and my fabric stash used what I had on hand to try them out. I used this free tutorial by Blue Dinosaur. For my outer layer I used some fabric that I had used before in other projects and just happened to be sitting my fabric basic. For my backing I used some scrap polar fleece fabric. I tested it to see if it was water repellant by doing water droplet test (if you pour water on it and the water beads on top it repels water)

For my cores I cut up some old face washers that had seen better days. Each pad has a core of 3 layers. On the smaller ones I got 3 layers from one face cloth per pad. For the longer ones I had to use separate face cloths.

I have tried these out this week and I’m really happy with them. I’ll admit to only using them at home as I was nervous as to how they would go. The smaller ones which I wasn’t sure would even fit were comfortable however I’m thinking I prefer longer. That’s the great thing about cloth pads is that you can make them to any length or shape you want depending on what you like and what size your body is. Sewing wise from all reports I hear the first ones you make always turn out the worse as you have no idea what you’re doing which is certainly the case with these. I know I haven’t sewn my core in correctly so there is a chance the core may fold inside them once I wash them but that’s ok they will still be usable. If you’re wanting to make these I urge you to have a go at them as they are pretty simple to make. Watch a few YouTube videos, view some tutorials, download a free pattern and grab some supplies you have around your house. To care for them they don’t take as much work as you would imagine – rinse them out, soak them for a few days then machine wash and line dry.

 

 

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