I was a tampon girl since I first got the hang of it. I always hated pads, hated hated hated them. That bulky feeling and just knowing that everyone could see the outline through your pants was horrible and humiliating. It was also probably one of the big contributors to diving head first into the punk/goth scene and embracing JNCOs and other super baggy jeans.
After I had my first child I realized that pads were an evil with whom I had to come to terms. So I wore them, and I wound up with skin irritations because of the chemicals they contained. I wound up using some of my son's newborn cloth prefold diapers, specifically for that purpose, they were not mixed up with his, and it was a super bulky relief.
Once I regained my fertility I started searching for alternative options to tampons because while I had some cloth pads, I was not fond of the bulk or the laundry. It just wasn't a pleasant thing to empty out menstrual pads into my washer, even coming from the dirty hippie chick...it was just gross to me. I saw menstrual sponges but nixed them because I didn't feel they'd be clean enough and then I found a Diva Cup.
Back in those days, you know the ones, when online shopping wasn't a huge thing and the "green" living hadn't quite caught on...life was tough back then...I had to order my Diva Cup through a private seller, similar to Avon or the like. Today you can find them in any health food store, but back then I ordered mine from a woman online and it arrived in a lumpy, yet discreet, yellow manila envelope.
I squealed, got excited, and didn't menstruate for another nine months since I was pregnant.
Most women will tell you that the secret to getting pregnant is to order a menstrual cup.
So cue the cloth pads again and months of lactational amenorrhea and finally I got my period again. I wasn't fond of my Diva, it was just too rigid and uncomfortable. The suction sometimes felt like it was trying to suck out my uterus. So I hit the internet again and came across what I consider a training cup, Insteads. They were much more flexible and user friendly, but they leaked. This is where my handy dandy cloth panti liners came in. I'd ordered a ton of them years prior and used them, but they were put into full rotation. So I still had my cup and I was now putting those flannel panti liners to use.
A few years later I got an IUD placed and had to let the Insteads go since they can potentially dislodge an IUD.
Finally, I got my tubes tied and decided to purchase a Lunette cup since I no longer had any fears of hearing that metal *tink* into the toilet bowl. It was a total impulse buy, I just happened to see it in a natural parenting store while buying laundry detergent, but when I held it I was impressed with how flexible and contouring it was.
I fell in love with my Lunette. I rarely have issues with leaking or that sucking out my innards sensation and the stem is short, but not too short, so it isn't pokey, and I don't have to...well...fish to pull it out.
Some time ago I realized that all my flannel panti liners had gone by the wayside, I only had one old faithful left. Then, a month ago, a pagan friend of mine invited me to her twin daughter's womanhood ritual. They're officially women so they're going to celebrate with a ritual and bestowing gifts that women will need in their lives. I contacted her with the idea of sewing them some panti liners and she gave me the green light so off I went to the fabric store with coupons in hand and sat down to sew.
A quick picture tutorial on making cloth pads:
I turned the fabric to face itself (wrong side out), being sure to keep the corresponding sides together and then sewed all but the top edge with a basic straight stitch.
I then flipped them right side out (you can see the one that's been flipped and the rest are still waiting to be turned).
Time to sew the top closed. Simply fold it in to form a 1/4" seam and then topstitch it closed. Continue the topstitching all the way around the liner to give it more structure and a more finished look.
Place snaps either using a press or a hammer, I used hammer snaps. Hammer snaps are my preferred for this since my press tends to punch through, but do be careful lining them up properly, I ruined two with misfires and fixed a couple by separating and rebending the prongs to try again.
They're cute! They're soft! And they're totally reusable. The one I used for a guide is probably 12 years old, if I recall correctly, and still kicking strong. I'm looking forward to my new, cute cloth panti liners, and I hope the gift for the twins will be appreciated.
I'd say the cost for the materials was around $20 at my local big box fabric store (with coupons), and I made 24 (including the two screw ups). The snaps were the most expensive items and if I make more I'll be ordering online next time.
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