My first introduction to mama pads was many years ago in a Wellspring Grocery. I wasn't sure about using cloth pads at first since I have pretty heavy cycles. I also had many anxiety inducing incidents when I was teenager and became pretty attached to the super duper disposable pads. However, I tried out the cloth pads many years ago and they worked really well. Not only are they really absorbent; they are also super comfortable. Over the years I have used them along with disposables. I am in the process of making more and switching to cloth only. I have been planning to do this for a while, but I need to make enough to cover my entire cycle.
I recently purchased a pair of snap pliers from KAM Snaps and the plastic snaps work wonderfully on the pads. One of the problems I had with making the pads previously was finding a secure closure. I made a few pads using metal snaps which didn't turn out so well. I wound up smashing the prongs and wasting tons of snaps. I am pretty happy I found the pliers and now I want to attach snaps to everything. They also work really great for making diapers and covers which was the reason why I bought the pliers. It is a bonus that I can now treat myself and make nice pads.
The pattern was drafted from an old mama pad that I have had many years. I had to tweak the pattern quite a bit since the original pad is not close to symmetrical. It is pretty far off actually and this may be due to repeated washings, but I am guessing it was probably not symmetrical in the first place.
Pretty Mama Pads
Materials: Flannel and hemp organic cotton fleece. Plastic snaps including a male and female socket with caps. Snap pliers for attaching snaps. Mama pad pattern.
1. Print and cut out the pattern. Cut out the pattern pieces using absorbent fabric. I used recycled flannel from a pair of pajama pants and hemp fleece. I cut out one main body of flannel and hemp fleece. I then cut out two backs each out of flannel. For the inserts I cut out two pieces of flannel and one piece of hemp fleece.
2. Layer the main body flannel and hemp fleece together with the hemp fleece facing up. Layer the flannel and hemp fleece backs together. Sew and zig zag the pieces together along the straight edge. Overlap the backs over the main body and pin the layers together.
3. Sew and zig zag around the entire edge. The main part of the pad is done minus the snaps.
4. Sandwich the insert layers together with flannel on the outside and the hemp fleece inside. Sew and zig zag the the inserts together. The inserts fit in the back opening of the main body.
5. Mark the placement and add the female snap socket using the pliers.
6. Add the male snap socket using the pliers making sure you put the closure the right way to attach the pad. All done.
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