Upcycling - the Undergarment Series, Part 2

I used up my last box of pantyliners several weeks ago. Before I started upcycling, I would have simply purchased another box. However, the environmental impact of disposable menstrual products is enormous. According to National Geographic, Americans purchased nearly 6 billion tampons in 2018.  That is a lot of plastic and other materials

My mother told me that when she was growing up in India, she used rags to catch menstrual bleeding because that is what she had. Living in the developed world, I knew I could do a little better than that, but still be sustainable. The co-op that I typically shop at carries well-designed washable menstrual products and that is a good option for people who don't sew. But I sew and I am swimming in materials waiting to be repurposed. 

This tutorial from the It's Not Easy To Be Green blog provided helpful direction. The tutorial recommends three layers of fabric to make a lightweight pantyliner, including one that is water-resistant such as fleece

You already know that I upcycled a couple umbrellas into shoe bags and I have been collecting umbrella fabric. I decided to use that. The fabric I used for this project came from a  broken umbrella I found on the street. My stash contained plenty of options for the other two layers of fabric. 

I used a disposable pad to create my first pattern template. I traced the pad on a used paper bag and cut it out - that became the pattern piece of what was to become the middle layer I made a second pattern piece from the first one,  adding on 5/8" seam allowance and wings that were approximately 2" long and 3" wide.

 

I then cut out one middle layer piece and one winged pattern piece from the water-resistant fabric and one from a semi-absorbent fabric I planned to use for the top layer. 

I used two rows of stitching to secure the middle layer to the wrong side of the top layer.  My middle layer was knit fabric so I used a zig-zag stitch. I find that sometimes when you sew together knits and wovens, there is slipping, but I wasn't making a ball gown so this did not need to be perfect. I then stitched together the water-resistant layer and the top layer with right sides facing. 

I left the end of one wing open so I could turn it right side out. I clipped notches in the corners and curved parts of the liner. 

After turning with the aid of my handy chopstick to get the little corners, I pressed the liner with an iron, topstitched the open seam together and then top stitched all around the liner.  I used a sew-on snap from my jumble stash so the wings would snap together.

I made my first liner and did a test drive and decided it was a little shorter than I wanted. I added at each end of the pattern to make it longer.  I made four more liners using a red fabric for the top. I had two more sew-on snaps so I used those as closures. I also found a few random pieces of velcro including two pieces from the glider makeover and one from an umbrella and used those as closures for the other pads. And now I won't have to buy another box of disposable liners.