DIY Reusable Pad Sewing Tutorial~ Low Waste

DIY Reusable Cloth Pad Sewing Tutorial, Low Waste Period

MATERIALS/TOOLS:

-Fabric
Exterior Pieces:
1) Cotton flannel fabric
2) Cotton Fabric
Interior Pieces:
3) Cotton Terry cloth
*Go for Organic Cotton Fabric if possible- it will help you avoid pesticides that would otherwise be found in inorganic cotton fabrics*

You can also get creative and up-cycle some fabric you have around the house (Clean, lightly used fabric of course! Do not use up-cycled fabric that has been used for reasons that would be unsanitary and/or harmful to your body’s exposure.):
Old t-shirt (exterior fabric)
Old sheets (exterior fabric)
Old Towel- which are made of Terry cloth (interior fabric)

-Your favorite pad
-Paper
-Ruler
-Scissors
-Pinning needles
-Fabric marker/Pen/Pencil
-Sewing machine
-Thread
-Needle
-snap fastener’s or velcro closure

STEPS:

Pattern Piece: (this tutorial uses winged pad as a pattern piece)

Exterior Piece:
1) Stick your favorite pad onto a piece of paper. You can pin it onto the paper for extra security.
2) Trace the outline of the pad onto the paper.
3. Dot 1 cm around the entire perimeter of the pad outline. Connect the dots.
4. Trace 2 cm away from the wings, making a straight line. Create a diagonal line from the corner of the pad wing to the line you just drew. Repeat on the other side.
5. Cut out your exterior pattern piece.
Interior Piece:
1. Measure the length and width of your pad.
2. Draw a rectangle of those measurements.
3. Cut out your interior pattern piece.

*OR, you can skip the above steps by looking online for free cloth pad pattern pieces.*

1. Take your exterior pattern piece and trace over cotton flannel fabric (1 piece). Cut around.
2. Take your exterior pattern piece and trace over cotton fabric (1 piece). Cut around.
3. Take your interior pattern piece and trace over cotton Terry cloth (4 pieces). Cut around.

For a Guideline:
*use 3 layers of Terry cloth for a light to medium flow pad
*Use 4 layers of Terry cloth for a medium to heavy flow pad
*Use 5 layers for an extra heavy flow pad

Cutting: (this tutorial shows a medium to heavy flow pad)
Sewing:

1. Take both exterior fabric pieces and place wrong sides together. Pin around leaving an opening on the side of a wing.
2. Sew both pieces together, leaving that side of the wing open.
3. Turn this piece inside out, using a tool to poke the inside and create crisp corners.
4. Take your interior pieces and stack them on top of each other neatly.
5. Fold and insert the interior piece inside the exterior carefully, trying to keep all the pieces neatly stacked.
6. Pin the top and bottom of interior piece in place.
7. Sew around the perimeter of the interior piece.
8. Sew over the top and bottom of the interior piece with an “X” shape.
9. Fold the opening edge of the wing inward. Pin into place.
10. Sew around the perimeter of the pad, sealing the open edge as well.
11. Sew all around the perimeter of the pad gain with a zig zag stitch for extra durability.
12. With the flannel side of the pad facing you, sew the bottom part of the snap fastener on the left side of the wing. Once on the top of the wing, and another on the bottom.
13. Flip the pad to the cotton fabric side and sew the top part of the snap fastener on the left side of the wing. Once on the top of the wing, and another on the bottom.

Done! Reusable, zero waste, cloth pad’s! To clean, hand wash with warm water by first rinsing and squeezing all blood out. Then, scrub both sides of pad with soap, and rinse soap out thoroughly. I use Dr. Bronners liquid castille soap. Finally, squeeze all water out of pad and hang to dry on a clothing line or lay to dry on top of a towel and flip sides occasionally to even out drying of both sides. After your cloth pad has completely dried, (which typically takes a day) put it in the washing machine after use, with hot water to kill bacteria. Be sure to wash all fabric used for this project before using it as a pad (for hygienic and health reason’s). For this tutorial, I used some old sheets one side of the exterior of the pad, and an old towel for the interior of the pad. This project is awesome. For starters, feminine pad’s that once filled our landfills will be gone from your daily routine as you implement this innovative, sustainable product into your daily lives. Additionally, you won’t have to buy pad’s again after making a set (I created a set of 5) and will be saving money in the long run! Not to mention, you’ll be doing your body a favor by avoiding toxic chemicals such as chlorine bleach and pesticides Reusable cloth pad’s are an amazing alternative to pad’s on the market. Give this project a go-as you take closer steps down your zero waste, environmentally conscious journey. Thank you for watching. Please like, comment, ask question’s, and subscribe for more video’s like this on conscious creating. See you next time :)

[ConsciousCreating]

Hello everyone, I'm glad many have found this video helpful. Many folks have given constructive criticism and help about proper and more productive sewing methods. I am not a seamstress or an expert in sewing. I have created this pattern and process from scratch based on my beginner sewing experience to simply create a result and product that works/does the job and helps others do the same. This cloth pad worked for me well and had no issues such as spilling. Yet of course every pad design is unique and every person is unique--so not every tutorial will be a good match for everyones purposes. Take bits from this tutorial and tweak it in a way that works for you. Share your knowledge here! This is a community space and it's great people have given insight. I hope whoever watches this also scrolls through the comment section to take advantage of advice from many people with more sewing experience than me! Best of luck with creating your own sustainable products~ :)

[techgeek]

First of all thanks for uploading the detailed video. Feels like I can do it. Hi, I am a guy, dad of my daughter. She is very open with me than to her mom because I am a good listener. She became woman this week. I decided to stitch pads after she is extremely uncomfortable with the store bought mambo pads.I like the idea and appreciate the video. I like to have upholstery fabric at the bottom of the pad, that way the moisture will get into the panty when there is a heavy flow.

[HaruhiDancerEver]

I'm 40 seconds in and I already love you.

[michellerhodes]

Nice video, however, you don't want to stitch through all layers like that. It encourages the liquid to go all the way through the back, which defeats the purpose. Also, it's less fiddly to just sew the core layers to the wrong side of the topper. It adds a step but it's worth it in the long run. Great idea to repurpose fabrics to save money!

[MissMaloneTreasuredoll]

Nicely done🙌 I been making cloth pads for four years for myself and family members. they are so comfortable🤗 and pay for themselves within a couple of months and plus if you treat them well they last you for a lifetime.

[jacobscereal]

I HAVE DONE MAKING IT. I made it righr after I watch your video. All there's left to do is wait for the result🎈❤

[marylandj]

Thank you for making this step by step. It was very easy to follow a long. ☺️

[lilliroughton]

Just as information you can skip the hassle of the last step by first attaching the interior to the back of the top layer plus sewing over everything when it's done allows blood to leak out of the back layer.

Step on cut out top center and back

Step two turn top layer face down and pin interior to the back of the top layer

Step three sew all the way around the interior to secure (no x no shape no crazy stuff just a straight stitch all the way around )

Step four place the to pieces RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, meaning the nice side you want to see on the finished product place those sides facing each other and pin along the edge not through the center .

Step 5 sew all the way around the outside leaving a small gap to turn as she did.

And lastly close the gap by folding in the sides and top stitch all the way around the edge

[Lady_dromeda]

This saves so much money than buying cloth pads online

[notyourgrammascrafts]

Hi my name is Crystal and I'm reaching out to everybody on YouTube and Facebook that has made their own menstrual pads I am trying to get together several hundred women for each of us to maybe make 10 and I'd like to donate them to a school in Uganda these young ladies due to not having products usually end up having to quit school as soon as they start menstruation any small thing we can do will be a big thing in their eyes

[scumbag]

Can I use buttons instead of snaps? Or would buttons not be strong enough? I'm planning on spending no money for this because I have lots of fabric scraps I can use but I have no snaps. I got lots of buttons, but I feel like buttons would have a higher chance or coming undone

[LoveLightShine]

Do u keep the flannel part towards the underwear and cotton towards skin?

[capricorngirl]

You know you could have sewn the core to topper and that would have been way easier. Also by sewing across the pad like that it could leak.

[subramanirajam]

Hiii mam... really very nice...i have one dout...

[vijayapon]

I am going to make, wonderful video

[subramanirajam]

Leakage proof...wat material used this apd

[lovesrosegardens]

Where can I get help to get materials sent to me so I can try to make some

[glamslamchic]

Could you use a microfiber cloth as the absorbent part?

[sumiyakhansnigdha]

After using for one time ;then washing; can I reuse it for more times ?

[oliventowouo]

Are the pads not gonna leak since it has no plastic inside?