Reusable cloth panty liners

After a brief discussion of reusable cloth feminine hygiene pads at our last knit nite, I have been thinking about this concept. I had thought briefly about it years ago but being that I don't like to use pads, I gave up on it without further investigation. I do, however, use panty liners daily, and while their cost is still very inexpensive, I have been trying to re-use and repurpose more around the house, when I can. After some Googling, I came across this site, complete with pattern. Very easy and they're cute as Hell. There are several people on Etsy who are selling some from this very pattern as well as some variations of it. I actually bought one from someone on Etsy before I found Adahy's pattern. I still can't wait to get it. I sat down at my machine today after dreaming of them all night and whipped out seven of them. I have been wearing one all day and I must say they're very comfortable. Here are five of the ones I made today. In case you're wondering, I made the panty liner of the sunflower one out of an old, very soft sheet and the wing portion is 100% cotton. The fire truck print and pink animal print are both cotton flannel. The liner has two layers of fabric, one layer of cotton batting, and one waterproof vinyl layer. The ones I've seen for sale online and on Etsy use PUL (polyurethane laminate) as their water-resistant liner, but since I didn't have any of that, I had to improvise. Oh, and no, I can't feel that button! I figured that I can get 8 of these panty liners out of one yard of fabric. I'll have to look for some PUL here in town. I still won't switch to pads but these panty liners are pretty cool and I'll try using them for awhile.





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Here are some further links for you to check out:
http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~obsidian/clothpads/padindex.html
http://mypads.wordpress.com/
http://www.goddesspads.com/
http://www.vajpads.com/aboutcloth.php

Update 4/6/08: I was able to find the PUL on eBay and there has been no looking back! I've been experimenting with new styles and methods every day. They're addicting! I must have made about 30 different pads since I started. Mostly great but there have been a couple of lemons. I have found that since I'm on the "fluffy" side, that I prefer an 11" pad rather than the usual 8" liner, which I have adapted for every day use.

I've come across some strong opposition to the whole idea. Basically, 9 out of 10 people are grossed out or repulsed by the idea. See what our society has done to us women? I don't know about them, but I want something soft and breathable next to my coochie. According to many posts I've read, cloth pads cut down on the "eau de poisson" (fishy smell to the non-initiated) and that alone is a great reason to use them. I wish more women knew they walk around smelling like a poissonerie and get with the program. A clean kitty is a happy kitty.

It's been a long time

Have you ever been busy but didn't have much to show for it? That's what's going on in my life. I feel like I've been spinning my wheels for awhile. I've been selling a few things on my Etsy shop. I just added some pens my husband made. I want him to start selling the signs and plaques that he makes but I've first asked him to make a sample one for the shop with our name on it, regardless of whether we sell any or not, we'll have a new sign for the outside of our house. Here are a couple of signs he made for the DIL of some friends who is starting her own scrapbooking business:





Aren't they awesome? I know...I'm biased! I really love the second one and want my sign to look like that. I think he should also make one with our younger son's name on it: C H R I S for his room. He'll like that.

I've also been testing out different ways to make scones. I have been using one easily adaptable recipe, just using different add-ins. So far, everyone loves the maple with maple icing and the lemon with lemon icing. Every time I make a batch, I send a scone to school with the young son for his teacher. She called me one morning to tell me she just finished devouring the white chocolate and cranberry one and thought it was delicious. I told her that I hope she didn't think I was trying to bribe a good grade out of her, haha. I found a basic recipe on AllRecipes.com but you know I can't leave well enough alone. So here's my scone recipe:

Simple Scone Recipe

INGREDIENTS
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup butter, very cold
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup half & half (plus a small splash more if dough is too dry)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut butter into ½ inch pieces. In food processor combine 1 cup flour and ¼ cup butter. Process to cut in. Repeat 2 more times with remaining flour and butter OR cut in by hand.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and butter mixture, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Mix the egg, cream and vanilla in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.
3. Once dough comes together to form a ball, pat dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet. What I do is gently press enough dough to fill either a 1/3 or 1/4 cup measuring cup, remove dough, place on baking sheet, and pat down to 1/2 inch thick. I've even used a small ice cream scoop, which makes 3-bite sized scones. You'll need to adjust baking time for these little ones, though.

**Be careful not to overwork dough or scones will be tough; handle as little as possible. You want them light and delicate, not hard like hockey pucks.**

4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Test center with a toothpick for doneness. Should come out clean.

Variation #1: Add ½ cup white chocolate chips and ½ cup dried cranberries. Soak cranberries in hot water for 5 minutes to soften and drain before adding to scone mix.

Variation #2: Add ½ cup maple syrup & ½ tsp maple flavoring to the mix OR 1 tsp maple flavoring instead of vanilla extract

Maple icing: 1 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons half-and-half (you may need a drop more)
1 teaspoon maple flavoring

Mix in a quart sized freezer bag. Cut small tip of a corner off and drizzle on fully cooled scones.

Variation #3: Add the zest of one lemon to the dough and for the icing, use the juice of that lemon and enough powdered sugar (start with one cup) until you get your desired consistency.

Enjoy!