Sewing Sanitary Supplies!

I've been slowly making reusable, washable sanitary supplies for Craft Hope's most recent campaign, We are Kenya. It was hard for me to pick a tutorial to follow, mostly because very few sites have user feedback as to what works, and since there is a wide variety of different styles and materials I wasn't sure what would actually be the most practical.

So I decided to go with what I had plus mixing and matching of a few things that made the most sense to me. I followed this tutorial for basic construction, with a little splash of this one, and finally used the idea of a waterproof layer from here. Phew. Got that? It took a few different tries to figure out my preferred method (six, actually) but this is how I did it.

I designed my own template by cleverly drawing around an Always and adding a seam allowance, then cut two cotton outer fabric pieces (pre-washed, reclaimed cotton from here), and one from PUL (a waterproof fabric often used for sewing the outside of reusable baby diapers).

I then made inner cores from multiple layers of cotton flannel, either some really old yardage I've had for forever, or reclaimed from a thrifted and washed mens cotton flannel shirt, or from layers of scrap 100% cotton batting. These were cut to match the center shape of the liner but about 1/4" smaller. I zig-zag stitched around the edges to make a little panty liner thing as seen below:

Then stitched that down to one layer of the cotton on the wrong side.

Then there was a bit of trial and error in figuring out the order and layer of fabric (right vs wrong side and in which order), but I was aiming to have PUL on the bottom (right side out), then the cotton+flannel layer, and then the final cotton layer on top (right side out). I succeeded once. Ha.

I think it was PUL right side up, cotton wrong side up, and cotton+liner wrong side up. The easiest place I found to leave the turning hole was along the top edge, and when I turned everything right side out I made sure the have the PUL on bottom and the unstitched cotton on top. This means the final layer from top is: cotton, cotton, flannel, PUL. Make sense? My machine did NOT like sewing directly onto the PUL but had no problem forming stitches when the PUL was on the bobbin side, go figure.

On some the order ended up being different (cotton on both sides, PUL in the middle) making it difficult to know which side should be the top, so I added a small "handmade by" label on what should be the bottom. I also added a small row of stitches to some of the earlier iterations to hold the flannel core securely in place as I hadn't stitched those the the middle cotton layer. I also top stitched all the way round very close to the edge to close the turning hole. I didn't add any stitching down the middle as I was afraid it would lead to moisture wicking through the PUL layer.

So far I have made 6 pads, all very slightly different but hopefully functional. One is all cotton (no water proof fabric), one is backed with no-pill fleece. The rest are all iterations of what I showed above. I added contrasting plastic snaps to the wings in either yellow or red.

 My fellow Quilt Guild and sewing bee member, Margaret, also sent me 6 pads! I need to add snaps to these and then they are all done :)

I'm planning on making at least 6 more before the deadline (delivered by November 15th!) but I think I'm going to switch to using a different pattern (the second tutorial) using either fleece or PUL as the bottom layer. It's kind of fiddly to cut out all those layers in weird shapes but so satisfying to see the finished product!

Group making!

I've asked my Quilt Guild to help me support Craft Hope (an organization I have supported in the past by making soft toys, quilted bags and aprons) in their 25th project - We Are Kenya.

From the Craft Hope website:
"We Are Kenya is an organization who believes that one way to change a society is to change the future of it's youth. They are a nonprofit dedicated to feeding and educating sweet children in the slums of Soweto, Kenya. Soweto is the second largest slum in Kenya and home to We Are Kenya. Soweto is a large slum whose people daily struggle with sickness, crime, hunger, and hopelessness that results from severe poverty. In a slum where many children have one or no parent, the daily quest for food supersedes any hope for education."

Craft Hope is asking for many different kinds of items for the children and young people they support, including soft toys, knitted/crochets hats and scarves, and the project closest to my heart - reusable cloth sanitary napkins. As someone who has had the privilege of an extended education well into my adult years, it breaks my heart to think that others eager to learn might be stopped by something as simple and natural as their monthly cycle.

So, I put together a few links below with free tutorials describing multiple different methods of making cloth pads, the basic ingredients of which are usually 100% cotton fabric plus some 100% cotton absorbent fabric such as flannel, terry cloth or cotton batting, with the potential to add in a waterproof/resistant fabric such as PUL or micro fleece. Many patterns include some form of wings with a snap fastener, and I've purchased snap pliers and about 200 snaps so I can install them for anybody who doesn't have this doo-dad.

TUTORIALS:
http://mabewithlove.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/cloth-pad-tutorial-exposed-core-overcast-edge/
http://www.millennium-ark.net/News_Files/INFO_Files/menstrual.html
https://sites.google.com/site/shewhorunsintheforest/0011
http://www.daysforgirls.org/#!days-for-girls-patterns-and-instructions/cz7w
http://www.kamsnaps.com/How-to-Make-a-Mama-Cloth-Menstrual-Pad-63.html

 I asked and Craft Hope/We are Kenya would also like waterproof bags for carrying the napkins if anyone feels so inclined :)

 This picture of me waving around the two pads I've made is courtesy of Nellie, and comes via the NYC Mod Quilt Guild website. In my right hand I'm holding an all cotton pad, and on the left one that has been backed with anti-pill fleece to be water resistant.