I made my very first homemade pad today. I used the pattern available at Hillbilly Housewife.

For this tutorial, you will need:

• A sewing machine with a zigzag stitch.
• Flannel. I used some flannel that was given to me by a friend
• Terry Cloth. I used 1 from a package of 18 I bought at Walmart for under $5
  
• Thread
• Snaps or Safety Pins
• Scissors

Begin by printing both of the patterns and cutting them out. The Inner Pad is a large oval. The Outer Pad is actually 2 patterns in 1. With the long straight side extended, it is the topside. You will need to cut 2 of these. With the long straight side folded in, it is the bottom side. Place the straight edge on a fold of fabric and cut 1 of these. Look at the pictures for examples. I cut 3 inner pads out of terry cloth, 2 inner pads out of flannel and the outer pad parts out of flannel.


This is how I stacked the inner pad for sewing. Place on bottom 1 flannel piece (print side down.), then place 3 layers of terry cloth and top with the 2nd piece of flannel (print side facing you).


Zig zag around the edge of all layers of the inner pad. I actually went around the inner pad twice using the zig zag stitch.


This is the finished inner pad


On the long straight side of the 2 outer pads pieces, make a 1/2 inch hem, press.



Sew hem on both pieces using a zig zag stitch or straight stitch.


All sewn


Pin the 2 long sided outer pad parts to the solid out pad part, wrong sides together


Zig zag stitch all the way around the outside of the outer pad. I actually went around the pad twice with a zig zag stitch.


This is the outer pad completely sewn.


Using a straight stitch, stitch down the wing area where they will fold. This will make folding easier and help the inner pad stay in place better.


This is the inner pad stuffed into the outer pad.


The finished pad already to use. For now, I'm going to use a safety pin to fasten it, but once I give them a try and figure out placement, I'll add a snap or 2.

This was a really easy pattern and it took no time to put together. For that reason, I can HIGHLY recommend this pattern. The only thing I didn't like was that it called for the outer pad to be zig zagged all the way around. I'm going to try to make the next one using regular seams and then turn right side out. This won't affect the way the pad works, it will just make it look more neat and finished. Stay tuned, I'll let ya'll know how it worked out (I'll post a picture of course and maybe an updated tutorial). That will be my next project and then I'm also going to be making a night-time/postpartum pad (I'll post a tutorial on it too).