hop hop hop
...onto the cloth pad bandwagon.
I've been using the Divacup for a year now and I love love love it. I've always had problems with tampons [uncomfy] and regular pads [I'm somewhat allergic to most brands, or at least they give me what can be described as an itchy diaper rash *squick*], so I switched over. Lately however, my body's gone out of control and I need overflow backup almost every day. I've been using the divacup paired up with the light days version of the one disposable brand I can actually use, and last month I thought 'this is silly and wasteful'. So I bought a yard of flannel and a yard of thin ripstop nylon, both of which I ran through the washer and dryer, grabbed a threadbare towel that was on it's way out, and went to town. I traced one of my disposeable pads which I like the shape of, lengthened it a bit, added wings, and readjusted the whole pattern till I was satisfied. This month I took the new pads out for a test drive and I have to say, the cloth pads are awesome. So awesome that some days I gave the Divacup a rest and just went with the pads, which I hear is a healthy way to go anyway. For extra TMI bonus points - they don't smell, they're easy to store and clean, they don't look bulky, and they seem like they'll last a good while. I made one pouch to carry clean ones in, and one nylon-lined pouch to carry used ones in. I placed used pads in a bucket of cold water overnight, hung them up to dry the next day, and threw them in the wash on laundry day. They come out totally clean. Highly recommended craft project here.
Here's a closeup. I made 7 of these just like this. Next time I make more I will be making a pouch of the flannel and the nylon to put the towelling in, rather than making all layers of the pad part the same shape and just serging them together like I did here. It works just fine this way, but I think it'll just look nicer without the towel sticking out under the stitching like that ;) The base is made of 2 layers of flannel. The pad is made of a top layer of flannel, 2 layers of towel in the middle, and 1 layer of nylon underneath. I topstitched it together and sewed the pad right onto the base. The wings were held together by a safety pin. Now that I know I like them, I'll be adding a snap instead because I think velcro would be itchy and chafe-ey. You can also add 2 strips of cotton rickrack to hold extra pads onto the base as they do with Lunapads.
You can click here for my pattern if you want it. It is 300DPI and will print out on legal or tabloid sized paper at actual size. You need to add seam allowance. [but not to the towelling, only to the base and the pad]
This isn't my prettiest craft ever, in fact I think they look a little bit sloppy, but I love them anyway. Next I will make an overnight version that is longer with the slip-in towelling. Thank you to everyone who has posted their pads and links on this community and for encouraging me to make my own. I'm totally converted now!
I've been using the Divacup for a year now and I love love love it. I've always had problems with tampons [uncomfy] and regular pads [I'm somewhat allergic to most brands, or at least they give me what can be described as an itchy diaper rash *squick*], so I switched over. Lately however, my body's gone out of control and I need overflow backup almost every day. I've been using the divacup paired up with the light days version of the one disposable brand I can actually use, and last month I thought 'this is silly and wasteful'. So I bought a yard of flannel and a yard of thin ripstop nylon, both of which I ran through the washer and dryer, grabbed a threadbare towel that was on it's way out, and went to town. I traced one of my disposeable pads which I like the shape of, lengthened it a bit, added wings, and readjusted the whole pattern till I was satisfied. This month I took the new pads out for a test drive and I have to say, the cloth pads are awesome. So awesome that some days I gave the Divacup a rest and just went with the pads, which I hear is a healthy way to go anyway. For extra TMI bonus points - they don't smell, they're easy to store and clean, they don't look bulky, and they seem like they'll last a good while. I made one pouch to carry clean ones in, and one nylon-lined pouch to carry used ones in. I placed used pads in a bucket of cold water overnight, hung them up to dry the next day, and threw them in the wash on laundry day. They come out totally clean. Highly recommended craft project here.
Here's a closeup. I made 7 of these just like this. Next time I make more I will be making a pouch of the flannel and the nylon to put the towelling in, rather than making all layers of the pad part the same shape and just serging them together like I did here. It works just fine this way, but I think it'll just look nicer without the towel sticking out under the stitching like that ;) The base is made of 2 layers of flannel. The pad is made of a top layer of flannel, 2 layers of towel in the middle, and 1 layer of nylon underneath. I topstitched it together and sewed the pad right onto the base. The wings were held together by a safety pin. Now that I know I like them, I'll be adding a snap instead because I think velcro would be itchy and chafe-ey. You can also add 2 strips of cotton rickrack to hold extra pads onto the base as they do with Lunapads.
You can click here for my pattern if you want it. It is 300DPI and will print out on legal or tabloid sized paper at actual size. You need to add seam allowance. [but not to the towelling, only to the base and the pad]
This isn't my prettiest craft ever, in fact I think they look a little bit sloppy, but I love them anyway. Next I will make an overnight version that is longer with the slip-in towelling. Thank you to everyone who has posted their pads and links on this community and for encouraging me to make my own. I'm totally converted now!