Vixen Cloth Pad
Sew Along With Us
Ever wanted to give cloth pads a try without having to fork out heaps of money for them? Well we've put together a simple tutorial (and a free pattern thanks to Daisy and Birds Patterns) so you can make your own at home!
So, What Are Cloth Pads?
Cloth pads work just like the disposable ones, but instead of tossing them out after one use, you can wash and reuse them. You just place them in your underwear to soak up menstrual flow, and they usually have snaps or Velcro to keep them in place. They come in all sorts of sizes and absorbencies to fit your needs.
What Are They Made From?
Cloth pads are made from several layers of fabric, each with its own job:
- Top Layer (Next to Your Skin): This should be soft and comfy. Think cotton, bamboo, or minky. Bamboo is especially nice because it's super soft and naturally antibacterial.
- Absorbent Core: This part does the heavy lifting. Materials like cotton fleece, bamboo fleece, or microfiber are great because they’re super absorbent.
- Waterproof Barrier: To keep leaks at bay, a waterproof layer like PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) is key. PUL is basically polyester with a thin waterproof layer.
- Backing Fabric: The bottom layer keeps the pad in place. Cotton or flannel works well here.
What You'll Need:
- Top layer fabric (cotton, bamboo, minky, cotton lycra)
- Absorbent core material (cotton fleece/terry, bamboo fleece/terry, microfiber)
- Backing fabric (cotton, flannel, or polar fleece)
- Thread
- Snaps or Velcro
- Sewing machine
- Scissors (and pinking if you have them - but they're not compulsory)
- Pad pattern (you can draw your own or find download our freebie here)
What I use for my cores:
I always have a piece of flannelette that I attach the main cores to so that it becomes a 'hidden' core and you don't have too much stitching on the side of the pad that goes against your skin.
So in addition to the flannelette I have the following combinations depending on what I want the final outcome of the pad to be:
Light / Liner - 250gsm
Medium - 500gsm
Heavy - 2x 500gsm
How to make them:
Time to get tracing and cutting! I find it so much easier if you ONLY cut around the line on the core pieces, and just trace the main template onto the fabric and cut with lots of excess around it. You will eventually sew along that line so make sure there is enough for seam allowance
With your cut out core, pin it onto your flannelette piece with the textured side down (fluffy side if its fleece or terry side if its terry). Then zig zag stitch all the way around the outside of the core. Making sure it all catches so you don't end up with bunched fabric after a wash.
Layer the fabrics in the following order:
Polar fleece: good side up Top fabric (the bit that's going to be against your skin) : Face down Core piece: full flannelette piece down
Sew all the way around the traced line BUT make sure you leave a gap for turning the pad the right way out soon.
Cut the excess fabric off, trying to go close to the stitch line but make sure you don't cut through it.
Use pinking shears if you have them, this will make it look nicer when its flipped the right way.
When you are cutting near the gap in the stitching, make sure you leave it a little longer than the rest so that you can make sure all of it gets caught when you do top stitching and you don't have any little gaps
Feed the pad through the gap so that it is the right way around, use a knitting needle or chopstick to poke the corners out without poking any holes in the fabrics.
Top stitch all the way around the pad, closing off the turning hole.
And finally using a KAM snap press or securing velcro, add your snaps. Make sure the male and female pieces are on the right sides so that it fastens nearly and won't be bunching while you're wearing it
Taking Care of Your Cloth Pads
Taking care of your cloth pads is easy peasy. Here are some tips:
- Rinse After Use: Rinse them in cold water right after you use them to prevent stains.
- Machine Wash: Toss them in the washing machine with a mild detergent. Skip the fabric softener—it can mess with the absorbency.
Disclaimer: I reached out to Lyndsey of Daisy and Bird Patterns about sharing this pattern with you all. She amazingly gave me permission to share it and asked that I share her link to her etsy page for anyone looking at purchasing any other cloth pad shape.