Reusable Period Products

How to make your own reusable, free, environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic period or incontinence products.

Visit daysforgirls.org to learn more about what they do.

You will need:

Soft fabric for the liners

Sturdy, non-stretchy fabric for the shields and transport bag

Waterproof fabric for the shields and transport bag

To cut the fabric you need sharp scissors, a ruler, and a pen or marker

If you have a sewing machine you will need thread, scissors, and clips

If you don't have a sewing machine then you will need a needle, thread, scissors, and clips

Guide on how much fabric to use:

Wash and dry all fabric the same way you will wash and dry your kit

before you cut and sew it!

Liners

Use soft, absorbent fabric. Cotton flannel is best.

To make 10 liners you will cut out 10 9 in by 9 in (22.5cm by 22.5cm) squares

and 10 9 in by 6 in (22.5cm by 15cm) rectangles

10(9in by 9in) + 10(9in by 6in)_______________10(22.5cm by 22.5cm) + 10(22.5cm by 15cm)

5 fat quarters (18in by 18in squares of fabric)___5 squares of fabric that are 45cm by 45cm

1 ¼ yards of fabric cut from a 1 yard bolt_______1.25 meters by 1 meter

Shields

Use sturdy, thin fabric that doesn’t stretch. Quilt cotton is best.

Use waterproof fabric for the barrier layer (you can get it from an umbrella, raincoat, tent, shower curtain, etc)

To make 3 shields you will cut out 6 shield patterns and 6 pockets from the quilt cotton,

and 3 shield patterns from the waterproof fabric. 

For hand sewing the shield patterns are 9 ¼ in by 7 ¾ in (23.7cm by 19.5cm)

For hand sewing the pockets are 3 ½ in by 4 ½ in (9cm by 12cm)

For machine sewing the shield patterns are 10 ¼ in by 8 ⅜ in (25.8cm by 21.3cm)

For machine sewing the pockets are 4 ¼ in by 5 in (11cm by 13cm)

Cut 6 shield patterns and 6 pockets from the quilt cotton fabric.

Cut 3 shield patterns from the waterproof fabric.

Quilt cotton fabric

2 fat quarters (squares of 18 in by 18 in)___________2 squares of fabric that are 45cm by 45cm

½ yd of fabric cut from a 1 yd bolt________________1/2 meter by 1 meter

Waterproof fabric

1 fat quarter (square of 18 in by 18 in)___________1 square of fabric that is 45cm by 45cm

¼ yd of fabric cut from a 1 yd bolt_______________1/4 meter by 1 meter

(You also need a button, velcro, or snaps to finish the shields.)

Transport bag

To make 1 transport bag you need 1 rectangle (9 in by 16 in) (22.5cm by 40cm) of quilt fabric,

And 1 rectangle (9 in by 15 in) (22.5cm by 37.5cm) of waterproof fabric.

You can also see my guide on how much fabric to use here: https://makingreusableperiodproducts.blogspot.com/2023/07/choosing-your-fabrics-and-how-much-to.html

You can download and print the shield patterns from here. Including the white background the image should take up an entire page (8 by 11 inch, or 20 by 27.5 cm) to be the right size.

The smaller shield pattern is for hand sewing. It needs to be 9 3/8 inch long and 7 3/4 inch wide (24cm long and 19.5cm wide).

The bigger shield pattern is for machine sewing. It needs to be 10 inches long and 8 1/4 inches wide (25.5cm long and 21cm wide).

You can also download and print the shield patterns from here: https://makingreusableperiodproducts.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-to-measure-and-cut-your-fabric.html

One video is for machine sewing and the other is for hand sewing.

Here is a link to a better video on how to hand sew the blanket stitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9zegUYdPmg

One video is for machine sewing the liners, another is for hand sewing the liners, and the last one is for sewing the liners with a serger and a sewing machine.

Here is a video on doing the blanket stitch by hand if you need a refresher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9zegUYdPmg

One video is for machine sewing the transport bag and the other is for hand sewing the transport bag.

Here is a better video on doing the running stitch by hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1-B01FB56s

Here is a video on doing the blanket stitch by hand if you need a refresher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9zegUYdPmg

I'm looking for people to help translate my videos into other languages so that more people can enjoy them. If you would like to translate please write about it in the comments on YouTube.

Days for Girls created the patterns I use in my videos. (I forgot to mention that in the videos.)

Please visit them at daysforgirls.org

They are also on Facebook.