Broken Needle and Broken Pride

So my first attempt to make a pantyliner I used this pattern from www.ecomenses.com:

http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~obsidian/clothpads/DIYpads/Patterns.html pad shape #1

Materials: 

Top: scraps of cotton fat quarters

Bottom:1 layer brown polar fleece

Inner: 1 layer of Zorb as these will be back up for menstrual cup (review to come later) and spotting. 

Thread: upper; light blue 100% polyester, bobbin thread; brown 100% polyester

Machine: Brother CE8080PRW

This is just a review of the pattern not my actual pad as I am having some issues and have not had a cycle to test it out yet.

So, when I made the first one I tried to use a joining stitch(16 on my machine) with a twin needle for the edges to avoid turn and top stitching. It did not work, not only did I screw it up horribly and it looks terrible (refer to last picture below) right before the last side I broke my twin needle. I finished it off with a single zigzag but I am sure it will not hold up to too many washes. I was very upset that this way did not work I really wanted it to and thought I could pull it off. I did not do well and i should of stopped and ripped it out but I was being a little stubborn. When my needle broke you would of thought a very important heirloom or something broke. Nope just my pride.

My second pantyliner with this pattern came out much better with turn and top stitching. I don't know why I always want to avoid this way because it really does have a nice finish. I think it might be because I am still working on my seams and well, when they aren't straight you really notice them but also I hate to iron. There is a lot more ironing with this way. I think I need to invest in a better iron later on in my sewing journey because my current one isn't the best. Also, lesson I learned don't iron polar fleece my pantyliner now has a nice iron print on it (oops) but not too bad so hoping it still works. The pattern itself is pretty self explanatory and it was super easy to cut out and sew. If you remember not to stitch all your edges and have to rip out an end to turn it right side out ;). I am not a fan of how the pattern does not have seam allowance so before cutting I drew my own 1/4 in. around the pattern. The extra space you see on the outside of the pattern above in the first picture is my own doing. I still think that it isn't wide enough for my panties but i am a voluptuous woman and have bigger undies :).

I also don't like that I had to cut out my own inner pattern but I am pretty sure they want you to cut out all your fabrics the with the same shape and have no difference in layers. I don't like all the bulkiness that creates but will have to try it on a later date with a different inner material. It took me quite some time to get the sizing down with the Zorb layer.

The first pieces that I sewed were the inner material to the top layer. I like to sew a zigzag type stitch right down the middle and join those two pieces together to help with flow direction and fabric staying in place. In my haste (as usual) I forget to reinforce the top part so it might not hold through washes.

Next step I lined up the wrong side of top fabric and the polar fleece and sewed them together, this is where I forgot and kept on going so I had to rip out and end. Then I turned it right side out and folded down the last side (an end) and pinned it. Yes, yes I ironed with all of these steps.

I added Babyville Boutique snaps to the wings for closure. The whole pad took all together about 2 hours. With a toddler and a full-time job it took me a few days haha. I don't think the finished project is all that bad and I think it will do the job to protect from leaking or spotting. 

This is a picture comparison of the 2 pads made with this pattern please ignore the grossness of the first attempt :)

The site I got this from has some great resources. Check it out. It has links on the side of the page to help with picking out fabrics to use and how to lay out the pattern to optimize fabric use. Good tips and tricks. Also, lots of different patterns to choose from. Check them out. Either Google ecomenses.com or click either link at the top of my post. Good luck :).




I found this site completely on my own while searching for free patterns and in no way has my opinion been influenced.

Patience through sewing

When I was a little girl I loved to pretend I was crafty. I loved to sit at my mother’s old sewing machine and make things that were either not functional or some what functional but not all that pretty. My mother would occasionally use her machine to make a dress for a dance or costumes for school plays and I never really thought “hey maybe I should help her and learn something in the process.” Not once did I ask if she would show me how to do it myself and I deeply regret that now.

Over the years I have dabbled in some basic sewing. Every once in awhile I would get an itch to create something. I made a pretty neat purse once by up-cycling an old jean skirt when I was a teenager. It functioned pretty well but did not hold up very long. A few years ago my husband helped me pick out and purchase my first machine and I tried to make curtains for my living room and got in way over my head, they were just too big. So I quit for awhile after that thinking I was just no good and what a waste of all that money it was. Then after four years of infertility I finally was pregnant and to make a long story short I get extremely addicted to cloth diapers, extremely. So the itch started again.

I am spending tons of money on diapers, tons. Lets just not share the numbers okay? I started to look at all the mamas out there that are making their own and I thought, “I want to do that!” This time though I really wanted to learn how to sew. Making diapers is not easy and not something one can just start with, so...I ventured into the world of teaching myself to sew.

I googled and pinterested classes and easy tutorials, basics and easy projects to get me started. I made a few things here and there, an elastic bookmark I don’t really like, a fancy burp cloth (my daughter has grown out of needing them). I got a little impatient and tried to jump right into making a diaper cover after only a few lessons on basic stitching. Well, lets say, it’s functional. It’s wonky and the elastic for the legs are not even and the snaps are in the wrong place and I’m pretty sure not one inch of the seams are straight but it doesn’t leak.

After that, I realized I can’t be impatient with this process. Sewing takes time and lots of practice. Something I am not very good at. I also realized I needed to practice with things that I am going to actually need and use because, well, I will want them to come out better if I care about them. So, back to Pinterest and Google I went.

So far I have made a play purse for my daughter that I don’t think looks half bad, a bandanna for my doxie pup, Dexter, and curtains for my bathroom (which turned out pretty dang good if I do say so myself). Something that has dawned on me through these projects is that sewing teaches you a lot of life lessons. I now understand why it such a great thing to teach little girls (or boys, hey these life lessons are handy for any gender). One thing that sewing is teaching me is patience. 

I learned through this process you can not skimp or cut corners if you want a quality product. Each step takes time and should be done in a certain sequence. Yes you must pause in between each step and double check your work. When turning and top-stitching, you really need to iron, my least favorite part of a project. The foot pedal is not a gas pedal in a car, it does not help you to go faster. The slower you start the better. Do not forget to reinforce your straight stitches in your haste. Take the time to trim down your seams. I could go on but my point is that patience is a virtue and I wish someone had made me learn that as a child. As the baby in my family I am spoiled. I thought that four years of infertility had cured me of this inability to wait for the good things. It did not. Patience is something that I am still working on in myself every day, especially with a toddler running my life now.

I wish that I had asked my mom to teach me to sew, maybe, just maybe I would have learned this lesson early in life. Good things come out of hard work and patience. I will be teaching my daughter how to sew, whether she likes it or not. Not just because I think I missed out. It’s a good skill to know, even just the basics, but it will also be good for her. I will be sitting her down at my machine and teaching her some great life lessons. I will be teaching her to slow down, to take each step at a time. To work carefully. To work hard. To watch her hard work make something beautiful. To watch her hard work make something useful. I will also teach my son to sew, if God so chooses to bless us another time and it turns out out be a boy, so that he also can learn these beautiful life lessons. It’s not easy to teach a child patience in a world that is filled with immediate gratification. I want my children to know what it is to work hard at something and watch something beautiful come from it. Hopefully they find it as rewarding as I do. I really just love my new curtains.