DIY Cloth Pad - Part 2 (Fastening Methods)

I meant to sew some cloth pads for my sister in-law... finally I did it last night.

I gave her a couple cloth pads I bought for her to try and she likes them very much.   She was surprised that the cloth pads are more absorbent than the disposable ones.  She used to have to change pad every 1 or 2 hours and still felt the pads were wet but when she used the cloth pads, she felt that they were drier and she didn’t have to change so frequently…  strange but true…

(New to cloth pads?  Please see previous post.)

I sewed one last night..  sewing more.  This is a normal flow pad.  She thinks red is the most appropriate colour.  This is the only red flannel I have... 

I am still learning how to use my new Brother sewing machine.  I picked a stitch style to try on and found that it was too slow to sew as it made many curves.. aiyah..  and with a new stitch style, I don’t know how to make the corners nicely, hope my sister in law is still happy with it though the sewing is not perfect….

For this pad, I used 2 layers of flannel, 1 layer of same size terry and 2 smaller pieces of terry for the middle.   I have also added water proof at the back.   Though not every lady needs this, but I think better not to let a new cloth pad user worry about leaking, don't want her to give up on cloth pads before falling in love with them.. :)

A few methods for cloth pads fastening:

1)  Normal buttons

I have in the past used button as that is what I have and easy to buy. 

2) Snap buttons

Traditional sew-on snap we could easily find here.  It works though not elegant:

For this cloth pad I just sewed, I tried the snap tool & buttons I bought recently and found them not suitable for cloth pads.   I thought snap button is easier to unfasten compared to normal button. But these metal snaps buttons are just too tight and could tear the cloth if you don’t open the snap with your finger pressing the bottom piece (rather than pulling the cloth itself).    So won’t be using them for cloth pads unless I find a suitable type.

The Resin/Kam snaps we see are nice.   Where do you get them?

1) Tiny Tapir carry Snap Press (RM215) and Snap Pliers (RM39.9).

Alternatively we could buy snaps from them and apply them at their Taman Melawati HQ (if you are in KL) - they don't charge for using the snap press.  They are very helpful...

2) I also heard that Maybel in diapersasia can apply snaps for us for a fee:

http://diapersasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1603

3) Rozi's needlework has a snap press from Tiny Tapir and she has offered to provide snaps service.  She is in Putrajaya.

4) Lynn of Ummi Pads too have a snap press from Tiny Tapir and she provides snaps service.   She is in Gopeng.

5) Notion Supply Yahoo group sells Snap Press & Snap Pliers, at the time I checked USD20 per Pliers including shipping:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/notionsupply/?yguid=436307540

Another suggestion is to use snap prong buttons:

1) Snap prong tutorial -  http://www.neezaneedles.com/search/label/Tutorial

2) Snap prong buttons are available from Daiso at the Curve or IOI Mall for the price RM5 per packet of 6 buttons (or could be 12 buttons, if you have the answer please let me know.)

(Thanks to Geerms for sharing the information.)

3) Fabric only fastening

I would like to try this one day…

See here: http://www.amysragbag.com/node/7239

And last but not least, a very useful guide to methods of cloth pads fastening:

http://www.squidoo.com/fasteningsguide#module93239321