my prettiest pad yet...

and of my own design! This one found me in front of the mirror in my undies with a tape measure, a piece of paper, and a pencil. Why do I admit these things on a public blog???

Here's what I came up with:


laid out flat in the first picture, then snapped front and snapped back

trying to stay awake on New Year's Eve

long enough to attend a party at Phil and Cynthia's found me in the mood to do some sewing. I decided to make some mama pad liners for Cynthia since I would be seeing her shortly and she's my one Sugar Land friend to embrace using mama cloth (haha Cynthia--aren't you glad I outed you? Now I'm not the only weird one!). I know these don't appeal to many of you, my loyal blog readers, but I'm proud of my craftsmanship just the same, and for those of you who may be curious but unsure about cloth pads, I recommend this article on Wikipedia. It's really pretty good reading. And, of course, I welcome any questions on the subject, as well!

another first

Wow, you can tell it's my first time to attempt this, but I'm pleased with the results nonetheless. My friend Elizabeth is a brand new mommy and mentioned wanting some nursing pads. I told her I'd try to whip up a pair. Imagine getting breast pads from a lady who has never nursed a child! Ha! I had good fabric and Google and the 'pin for advice, though, so here's what I came up with...



They are made of 2 layers of hemp fleece for absorbency and one layer of windpro fleece for water resistant-ness. I tried to make them contoured for a better fit and succeeded more on one than on the other. I learned a lot though, and I'm grateful that Liz is the kind of friend that I can send my first attempts to!

Superwoman pads!

Today I tried my hand at making mama pads! I know I'm not a mama yet, but it IS a commonly used name for cloth menstrual pads in crunchy circles on-line, and well, it just sounds nicer. Some of you may be thinking, "Gross! Re-usable pads?" but I'm telling you, they're great. I have quite a nice stash of them that I've purchased from various talented women who make and sell them on-line, but I thought today I'd try my hand at making my own. I used this pattern and made three 8 inch liners. I'm calling these Superwoman pads because I feel like a superhero in red and blue and stars. The two with stars are flannel with hemp inners and navy fleece backs. The red one is velour, also with hemp and fleece. All they need is snaps on their wings and they're ready to fly!

In case re-usable menstrual products interest you, here are a few links to my favorites...
The Diva Cup--worn internally in lieu of tampons
Homemade Mama's pads are some of my favorites.
I love Danielle's Fancy Pads
Robin's Go With the Flow Pads are my newest favorites. The pattern I used is very similar to her construction, which is what drew me to it!