Cloth Pad Styles

[Ruthla]

As I'm newly into cloth pads, I've found that I'm happy with "flats"- aka just using dyed rectangles of cotton and folding them into the exact size I need as I need them. My rectangles are all slightly different sizes, and I can make them longer and thinner (or longer and doubled up for overnight) or folded up smaller depending on my exact needs at the time. I can even re-fold it with the damp spot in the middle of the pad to get more use out of the same pad on low-flow days.

However, I've also been talking about cloth pads with some of my women friends, and I realized that my technique won't work for everybody. I'd like to learn more about the different styles available so I can help other women make the switch.

I know that pads with "wings" and snaps or velcro are a popular style- but I have a friend who prefers wearing bike shorts type underwear so her thighs don't rub together. The "wings with snaps" style isn't going to stay put with those, but disposable pads with adhesives work just fine. Is there some way to make cloth pads work with this kind of underwear?

[partymoo]

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[Ruthla]

So your pads have another layer of cotton over the layer of PUL? Or you pin in the very front above the PUL layer?

None of mine have any waterproof layer at all so I'm kind of clueless about how this works.

[partymoo]

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[~Demeter~]

I've pinned through the PUL before.. it hasn't effected the absorbency at all nor has it caused any leaks. I have varying styles.. some have wings, some don't.. some have small wings that don't wrap around my panties but just sort of hang out and catch the heavy overflow (wow TMI for breakfast ). The ones that don't have fasteners are put in to place with a safety pin or two at the top, sometimes at the back as well. I've made all of mine myself and much prefer them to disposables. I haven't really had any issues with leaks (like i would all the time with disposables), I'd say the only time I had issue was the first cycle I used them and I realized I needed to make a bit longer of a pad for overnight use. I think I'm going to try out your rectangles of cotton and see how that works for me.. I didn't even think about using anything like that.

[thixle]

I like rectangles of cotton with wings sewn on-- folded into thirds, snaps, not velcro.

With that kind of undies, you could sew one side of a snap to the undies in front and back, and the other side to the pad, front and back...
I've never used a PUL layer in pads, but nylon (like umbrella, jogging shorts, or tent fabric) works well.

[partymoo]

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[Taradactyl3]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

"flats"- aka just using dyed rectangles of cotton and folding them into the exact size I need as I need them.

Maybe this is what I need to do. Did you just pick up a bunch of cotton fabric at the store or what? I really want to stop with the 'sposie pads asap.

T

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by Taradactyl3

Maybe this is what I need to do. Did you just pick up a bunch of cotton fabric at the store or what? I really want to stop with the 'sposie pads asap.

T

I'd purchased WAY more fabric than I needed years ago when DS was in cloth diapers; I just took some from that stash. If I was buying new, I'd get it in dark colors and/or prints rather than plain white (which I ended up dying myself.)

If my daughters ever agree to try cloth pads, I'll probably dye theirs different colors- not that I mind sharing pads but they do. If, say, mine are purple, DD1's are blue and DD2's are red, we'll know whose are whose even if they get washed together.

[thixle]

Originally Posted by partymoo

Sedrasmom's pattern!
Your tut over at Craftster was what made me a woman of the cloth A Google search for even more patterns was how I found MDC. I hereby declare that Miss Thixle has made her mark on the world. Let us all rejoice.:

: aw shucks...
Thank you! Every once in a while, I feel like a celebrity

[Buddhamom]

Does anyone have a good pattern for one with wings and what type of fabric did you use (i.e. flannel,fleece, etc.)?

Namaste,
Tracey

[EnviroBecca]

If your friend's bike shorts are pretty close-fitting, a wingless pad with a fuzzy backing may not need to be pinned. I have one pad that I tacked onto an order of diapers from somewhere that is a bunch of layers of natural hemp sewn to one layer of fuzzy polyfleece, and it has curvy sides so my legs help hold it in place. I've never had it shift as I move around. I do have to be careful when taking off my panties not to turn them inside-out enough to dislodge the pad.