Cloth Pads, Take One

Whew... I worked for about three hours last night on my first sewing project.

I used the material suggestions from Feminine Essence  (quilting flannel top layer, terry cloth inner layers, and fleece for a semi-waterproof bottom layer) and the basic pattern and instructions from Askpauline.com.  I enlarged the pattern with my printer so that it was both longer and wider, cut my fabric, and got to work.

I encountered a lot of problems. First, there's the issue of threading the machine. Can you see how many doodads and whosits I have to put the thread through?

It's like playing a miniature game of cat's cradle every time you thread the needle.

And then when I was sewing, the thread kept coming out of the needle. I'd be happily sewing along and accomplishing exactly nothing. Or I'd forget to lower the presser foot and even more nothing would occur.

Next, this happened:

I don't even know how I did that. I pulled the whole tangled mess apart and tried again.


Why wouldn't it sew properly with the thread like that? LOL!


Finally I managed to sew my layers of terry cloth together and then sew them onto the flannel layer. You can see that I had some issues maintaining a 1/4" seam allowance when I sewed the flannel top layer to the fleece bottom layer. Look at that top wing! Mini Me lurched out of her bedroom and told me she was going to vomit when I was sewing that part. Thankfully she didn't, but it was a little distracting!

The end result was a pad that looked more like a baby-sized potholder or a strange puppet.

"Hi! My name is Flo..."

So I pulled it apart (again) and redid it.

Much better the second time through! Not perfect, but functional.

I still have to set the snaps, but I think this will be a useable product for light flow days. In general, I would like the pad to be longer, so I will have to enlarge the pattern for my subsequent efforts. I used two layers of terry cloth and I think I'll try and add a third so for an overnight-type pad.

I'll keep y'all  posted about the rest of my adventure. :)

Psyching Myself Up

I did a lot of research and finally gathered all the supplies I need to embark on my first sewing project. I even remembered to wash all the fabric ahead of time so that it wouldn't shrink after I sew it.


I printed off a pattern and enlarged it to the size I wanted to make. I've read through the instructions and the sewing machine manual so many times I've practically got them memorized.

I think I'm ready. So why am I feeling intimidated by a sewing machine?

Time for a self-affirmation:

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, this sewing machine will not get the best of me."

With a little luck, I'll get my little project done and have something to show you all later this week. Keep your fingers crossed!

I've got to read again how to wind that bobbin...

Sew... What?

Since Hubby Dear and I became parents eight years ago, our home has grown to resemble less a place where civilized people live and more a daycare center. Some of that is to be expected when you have more kids than adults in the family. It doesn't help, though, that our kids' grandparents lavish them with more toys, gewgaws, and plain ol' plastic junk than we know what to do with. Our once spacious-seeming house is becoming overloaded. A garage sale or giant donation to the Salvation Army definitely needs to be in the works.

So when my mom emailed and told me that she was giving The Thinker a sewing machine, my first reaction was less than pleased. The Thinker loves craft projects and has been learning how to sew with Grandma over the past few months, so it wasn't totally out of the blue, but still! Something else to take up MORE space!

When I related my frustration to Hubby Dear, he gave me a wicked grin and said, "Don't you want to learn how to sew? Won't that be good for when the SHTWXYZ?" (He loves to tease me with his own creative prepper acronyms.)

I stopped mid-complaint. He had a point. Perhaps this sewing machine wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe I should learn sewing basics along with The Thinker.

Now, if you knew my mom, you'd know that she's not going to just go off and buy some plastic piddly kid's sewing machine. Nor is she going to get a brand new adult sewing machine. My mom owns an antique store and estate sale service and spends untold hours at auctions. That is where she came across our family's newest preparedness tool. (Not that Mom knows I prep or even what prepping is. I'm still strictly on the down-low.)

My The Thinker's new sewing machine was made about 1951. Mom assured me that it works fabulously, even better than her own sewing machine (which is a young'un made in the late 60s).

She had a brand new electrical cord installed on it and it came complete with instruction manuals and with a bunch of gadgets that I can't identify. When we're not using it, the machine slips right inside and we can use it as a desk.

The only problem is that I don't have a clue how to use it. I can sew on a button and do some basic mending, but the sewing gene seems to have skipped me. The manuals that come with the machine are pretty easy to understand, though, so I think I can figure this out.

It didn't take me long to come up with a candidate for my first sewing project. This project is definitely something I would NOT have considered a year ago. You'll never believe that I am getting so excited about sewing....... (wait for it....) .......



my own menstrual pads.



(I can hear all of my male readers clicking their browsers in a panic and finding something else very manly to read. I know I have a few guys that read my blog. Sorry dudes. This topic had to come up sometime.)

Cloth pad from Instructables.com

You can try to store a lot of feminine hygiene products, but in a SHTF situation, they will run out sooner or later. My journey toward self-reliance has also made me more aware of how much I'm spending on plastic crud that will sit in a landfill forever. I have also read testimonies from many women that say their periods became lighter, shorter in duration, and they experienced fewer cramps when they started using cloth pads.
You can buy cloth pads in several different places -Amazon, Ebay, Etsy are a few of them - but they are expensive. That's what started the whole train of thought that led me here. Things are about to get interesting.

Now I need to:   

A) figure out how to use this sewing machine
B) find a pattern for cloth pads that is easy for a beginner like me with an ancient sewing machine and
C) get brave, buy the materials and get started.

Wish me luck!

Do you sew? Do you use cloth pads? Have you sewn your own cloth pads and have some tips for me? Have I lost my mind?