I realized somewhat recently that I am using (and subsequently tossing) a lot of cotton pads. That’s a lot of very frivolous waste. So, I got to thinking—if you can make re-useable diapers, cotton pads can’t be too far away.
I took a trip to my basement to find some fabric that would make good reusable pads. It had to be both soft and durable enough to withstand multiple washings. I found some stretchy, fuzzy flannel in a conveniently white colour.
I elected to make the pads about 2.5×2.5″, and four layers of flannel thick. Three would have worked as well. I used a piece of flannel folded to 30×15″, so it was 60×30″, folded in half and then folded in half again.
Using a ruler and some pencil crayons I marked out a 2.5″ grid, 12 high and 6 across. Then I started sewing. Start by sewing around the edges, and then work your way along the grid. You’ll need to double stitch every line, about 5mm apart, so you can cut out the individual pads between the two rows of stitches. For the top layer of stitching, you’ll also need to back stitch over the perpendicular stitching so it doesn’t undo when the individual pads are cut out.
It’ll take some stitching (I emptied an entire bobbin) and some cutting, but then you’ll have 72 re-useable not-cotton pads for the indefinite future. Wash them as needed, and off you go!
How are you going to attach them? Safety pins, or an old school napkin belt?
No! These are not THAT kind of cotton pad, Talia 😛 They’re cosmetic pads, for taking off make-up and applying toner. With their small size and relatively limited absorbency, they would not work well for that other purpose 😉
AH! Sorry wished I thought to search your site for these before my comment on your makeup remover post 🙂 <3
Glad you found them, Coleen! I love having homemade ones, it makes me feel a lot better about using several a day 🙂
I like the thriftiness of this since my dogs can go through several cotton pads when I clean their ears.
Dog ear cleaner can be made with ACV, water and tea tree oil by the way but it has to be well diluted.
I simply found an old flannel nightgown and cut it into squares of the right size with pinking shears. No sewing, pinning or real measuring required. If I need more thickness, I simply fold. The pinked edges don’t fray when I wash them.
I love your fast & easy alternative, Polly—all the sewing here was definitely a bit of a pain, though at least the pads are thick enough to last for ages. If I had regular dog cleaning or baby bum wiping to do, though, I would definitely be using your method!
i like your all products
Thanks!
How many flannel did you sew together to make one pad? Two or three sheets?
I folded the sheet over on itself to give me four stacked layers of flannel 🙂
These turned out perfectly! I’m trying to reduce my waste too and found reusable pads for sale on Etsy but thought, hey, I could probably make these.. which led me here! Thanks for the great tutorial 🙂
Awesome! I’m thrilled I was able to help 🙂 Enjoy your smaller footprint!
I absolutely LOVE these! I made approx. 50 of them and they work wonderfully. My daughter uses them too. My only question is how you wash yours. I tried washing mine last night and the mascara doesn’t seem to want to wash out. Thanks for any/all advice!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them 🙂 I usually soak mine in a mild bleach solution before washing them in a delicates bag. Mascara doesn’t always come out, but they’re clean enough to be used again.
I found this by accident…soak them in a salt solution with a squirt of dish soap. It really works!
Thanks so much for the tip, Kathleen! I’ll have to give it a go 🙂
Love the idea of sewing all at once and then cutting afterwards! Genius!
Thanks, Heather! 😀
GÉ-NI-AL :D!!! (genius) 😉
Thanks! 😀
Hey Marie!
This is such a timely coincidence….I’ve been getting ready to make some cotton pads, and spent a few hours chopping up 3 1/2 inch squares of flannel and cotton. I wanted to find out how other people do it, so I came here and, Voila! Here they are! A couple of questions…is your flannel extra thick and stretchy? (Love that stuff!) Also, I was wondering how long you soak the used pads in diluted bleach? I was considering Oxi Clean, but now I wonder if that would kill the bacteria as well as bleach. Any thoughts on this? Thanks for the awesome post!
Hey Lisa! These days I would just use Oxi Clean as well (I hadn’t discovered it way back when I made these). Hot water + detergent will get things plenty clean, the bleach is/was only about aesthetics 🙂