Have you always wondered how you could transform your everyday panties into menstrual panties by yourself?
We know that menstruation in zero waste mode is really economical, ecological and a thousand times more comfortable. But these are points that have already been discussed here .
Now, I explain to you for free how to make your diy menstrual panties.
What materials do you need to pimp your period panties?
The material depends on what you have on hand. If you don't have anything, know that most of the equipment can be found second hand in thrift stores or directly on my website right here .
The best thing is always to reuse what you already have. Simply because it's more environmentally friendly.
Here's what you need:
- Normal panties that you like.
- A piece of waterproof fabric.
- A piece of absorbent cloth.
- Thread the color of your panties if you want to go unnoticed :)
- A needle for sewing by hand or a sewing machine.
- A disposable (or washable!) sanitary napkin that you love.
- A sheet, or thin cardboard (like a cereal box).
- Wonderclips
Now I dissect you all the necessary items so that you can find something to reuse at home:
What is the best panty to use to turn into period panties?
It's simple: EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED!
For my part, I prefer to take panties that I already like in order to like them even more! Because if you don't like your underwear before you even start the project, chances are you don't like the end result either.
But, maybe for "the first" panties you will make, it would be better to choose a less pretty one because it will probably be less successful than the following ones :)
What fabrics to use for period panties?
The waterproof layer is what will protect your pants. So it is better to use one of which you are sure and certain of the effectiveness. The most common plastic is called PUL. It's laminated polyester. So you could use an old washable diaper whose elastics are tired. Otherwise you can use waterproof nylon, procare, softshell etc. Here are other examples:
- bib
- tablecloth
- raincoat
- snowsuit
- washable diaper
- plastic bag (but you might get a little hot in here!)
For the absorbent, it must be remembered that what absorbs is made of natural fibers, that is to say, cotton, bamboo, hemp ... what does not absorb is polyester, elastane, it ie synthetic materials.
Here are some ideas for finding an absorbent fabric at home:
- Your cotton swabs (check the composition on the label. You mostly need cotton)
- Children's pajamas in cotton flannel
- Bath towels
- T-shirt (but it will take a lot of layers!)
In any case, the trick is to check the composition on the label :) If in doubt, you can always buy more suitable material right here.
What yarn to use?
The best is to use a quality polyester thread such as that of the Guterman brand.
Poor quality yarn will make your period panties less durable over time. The thread may break at any time during the confection or even after the confection. It's at your own risk :)
What are wonderclips?
Wonderclips are small transparent clips used to hold fabrics together. Chez Marie fil have used them A LOT! They really are everywhere.
We prefer them to traditional pins because they prevent holes in our waterproof fabric. When the raincoat is pierced by the pins, the danger is that it creates a leak when using our panties.
Here are some other similar items you could use at home:
- clothespins
- Leaf clips
- paperclips
So are you ready to start?
Steps to successful transformation
You'll see, it's super simple
1. Make your napkin pattern.
Place your disposable napkin on your cardboard, taking care not to take off the wings (keeping them on top of the napkin!) and trace your napkin on the cardboard.
Then cut out the cardboard.
2. Superimpose your cardboard on your underpants to confirm that the cardboard "fits" well in your underpants.
The underwear I used is quite wide in the crotch. So it fit perfectly (beautiful coincidence!)
If your cardboard is wider than the crotch of the underpants, you will have to cut this excess on the cardboard. Like here for example:
The cardboard will serve as a pattern to cut the towel that you want to have in the underpants.
3. Let's cut the fabrics
Let's use the pattern made in step 2 to cut our fabric.
Put the cardboard on the absorbent. Trace the shape with a shapie style pencil. And then cut the fabric. Repeat the same action with the raincoat.
The more layers of absorbent fabric you put on, the more the panties will be absorbent. See the absorption equivalence table below.
To start, I advise you to go with light or regular absorption panties because it's a little easier to do. In this tutorial, I used two layers of fabric to make the absorbent.
4. Get your needles!
First, we will sew together all the layers of our napkin.
To do this, the different layers are positioned on top of each other. Put the back of the raincoat on the absorbent layers. Put a million clamps on the lathe to hold everything in place!
We will sew all the layers together with a zigzag stitch. The zigzag stitch should be wide and short. Its purpose is to prevent fraying of the fabrics. It is also possible to sew by hand. You have to take your time. Often, the layers of fabric tend to move a little.
Here is my result! As you can see, the absorbent has exceeded the waterproof a little. So I cut a little the excess (next to the seam).
Bravo, you have passed through the most difficult stage!
Now, we must position the towel inside the panties. It's up to you where to put it depending on what you like.
The trick is to position the towel in the panties and pin it with wonderclips. Then it's time to try it on! The fitting will allow you to validate if the absorbent is positioned in the right place for you.
If everything suits you, go to step 5. Otherwise, redo the positioning until you achieve the desired result.
5. To your underpants!
We breathe, it's the most pleasant moment :)
If you use a sewing machine, use the "zig zag" stitch and sew all around the napkin without ever going through the center of the napkin. A slightly longer zigzag stitch can be used here.
For hand sewing, manually stitch all around the towel to sew it to the underpants (all layers at the same time).
SO!
It's over!
Don't forget to share your result with us on the facebook group:The Ecological Factory
And above all, good periods!
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Tips and tricks:
#1 if you want to put your panties in the dryer afterwards, it is better to pre-wash each of the fabrics by putting them in the washer+dryer before cutting and sewing them. This will cause the fibers to shrink. :)