Take the type of pad you like and make your own pattern from normal paper. Add 1/2 inch seam. If you are heavy flow you might need tad more, or just 1/2 inch if you can change whenever you want (like those at home can).
Pick a fabric you like. I find flannel to be the longest lasting softness.
The inside can be old tshirts. I've found they work really, really well. Us ladies here are normal flow to light. So I make two types. All of them long. Super long according to store names. We do don't do wings here and we trim ours slimmer, we don't like the wide pads as they tend to bunch up uneven. Really hate that, creates lumps and leaks.
The inside tshirts are trimmed to size and we use 4 for normal flow and 2 for light. These fit inside the flannel cover (front and back flannel covers).
You can cut the insides to fit the flannel or do them shorter (minus hem) and add a stich down the center once all compiled. (yes, I'm an x-programmer).
Make what your body needs, don't bother with those standard patterns. Unless you need standard.
I flowed so hard that I finally was reduced to a super tampon and a super pad changed hourly the first three days and then a super pad changed every 1 -3 hrs the next 3 days. Long heavy flow and never anemic. The cramps started hitting me bad in my 40s and I remembered women saying they cramped less on granny rags. I cut some super absorbent "camping" towels into slightly larger than super overnight size, some flannel the same size, and bought a batch of cheap washcloths. Made a burrito of the sandwich and stuffed with flannel and camp towel according to how heavy I was flowing. Someimes that would just be about 4 inches of stuffing. I only wore them at home, not at work, but at home the cramping ceased immediately and the cramping at work, wearing standard hygiene was much less. At first I put a towel down on the bed but I never overflowed my loosely stuffed burritos. But I did continue to occasionally overflow at work wearing standard hygiene. So if you don't /can't sew don't worry, you can fake it till you can make it.
Is this truly a question that should be asked here? Have you not heard of Google? What does this have to do with Homesteading?
A lot of this forum content is aimed at self-sufficiency and doing more for yourself- it is a valid question for a woman to ask if they are aiming at reducing the storebought stuff.
And google is only so helpful if you only 1/2 know what you are looking for- here is good for seeking advice from real people.
Is this truly a question that should be asked here? Have you not heard of Google? What does this have to do with Homesteading?
its a great question and has been talked about here on forum several times.
men should be included...its just about life happenings.more men might understand better if things like this were talked about more.
as a crew boss in the usfs i had mostly women crew.so i dealt with it regularly.i shocked them when i went and bought tampons for them so they could pack to go out on a firefighting detail.they were pressed for time to depart so i stepped up....men should IMHO.just one instance of many.
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i went to the woods because i wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life,.......,and not,when i came to die,discover that i had not lived...Henry David Thoreau
geesh, this is just part of life, even on a homestead. and reducing boughten products that can't be disposed of very well is a super idea on a homestead!
i went even easier--etsy. can get any manner of style you might like. i got a few from 2 different vendors and like them each for different days. i thought the cost was more than fair, and i like using them. the store ones rub. i don't use them for super heavy days, as the ones i got aren't for that, but i'd like to find some that would work.
heres a video from a very modest Hebrew Israelite woman talking about her bug out bag.but she talks about different options for women menstruation.i thought some might find it interesting.hope this helps.
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i went to the woods because i wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life,.......,and not,when i came to die,discover that i had not lived...Henry David Thoreau
Honestly I've been hoping that the S doesn't HTF until I'm postmenopausal! Which I'm hoping is in just a few years. But I really need to prep beyond stocking tampons.
For those of you who use menstrual cups, how messy are they to change?
Is this truly a question that should be asked here? Have you not heard of Google? What does this have to do with Homesteading?
I feel it is valid question and certainly warrants friendly and helpful advice. If you don't have friendly or helpful advice, you can certainly just ignore this thread and move on to one of the many others available.
And I second the cup question. I've seen then advertised but honestly wasn't sure how they worked or how well, or how messy etc.
I think it is absolutely a homesteading/prepping question. Women don't stop having a period when they stop having access to regular stores. If you don't want to use disposable products, then having the alternative is a good thing. Knowing that OTHER women also feel the same and use re-usable products makes women feel more justified in what is a basically good sustainable practice.
I wondered for quite a while if using a cloth pad was better just like cloth diapers vs pampers. Sorry to be icky about it, but with Florida heat and humidity, irritation is often an issue. I think it's a major reason for tampons being preferred over pads.
Honestly I've been hoping that the S doesn't HTF until I'm postmenopausal! Which I'm hoping is in just a few years. But I really need to prep beyond stocking tampons.
For those of you who use menstrual cups, how messy are they to change?
They aren't really messy at all once you get the hang of insertion and removal. It really helps if your sink is close to the toilet so you can rinse and put it back in if you need to, but it's not a big deal usually.
I have used the cup for over 10 years, and I love it!
I have a moon cup that I have used about 13 years. It's not really that messy. I empty it in the a.m. And then on a heavy day in the afternoon and evening right before bed. On a lighter day, just later in the day and before bed. If you can feel it, it's not in correctly. The tip will need to be trimmed as well. Honestly, other than cramps (if you have them) it'l like you're not even on your period. No blood until you empty it, it will leak if full. There is a slight learning curve. Then easy once you get the hang of it.
If you can feel it, it's not in correctly. The tip will need to be trimmed as well. Honestly, other than cramps (if you have them) it'l like you're not even on your period.
I stopped having cramps when I switched to the cup. It significantly shortened my cycle also. I had been bleeding for 7-8 days heavily. When I switched, it changed to 3-4 days of much lighter flow. I would imagine that I was allergic or very sensitive to the bleaches and junk in the regular pads/tampons.
289Likes
Okay, I've heard about something called Granny Rags to deal with Aunt Flo, but I don't have a clue how to make them. 
Help?
