Booby Pads

With baby due any minute now, the big sisters are spending the week with Papa and Grama (or longer if KO isn't here by the end of the week).  So I decided that left time for me to get a few things done.
First, me and my husband completely rearranged the living room (he did all the heavy lifting/moving) and we got rid of a lot of the junk that had acquired unnecessarily in there.
Second, I blew through my pile of clothing repairs. It had been a while since I sat down at the sewing machine- long enough that I actually had it put away- so I had 5-6 items that needed mending. The only thing I haven't finished is a skirt sewn with elastic thread but I need to find a way to make it not fall off my daughter without butchering it (which is always a fear when you're not a professional seamstress and are just a hobbyist).

Lastly, I made these:

I went strolling on Pinterest for a pattern but wasn't super impressed with what I found.
I've used disposables before but they are either itchy or incredibly noticeable, I've not really found a brand that I liked. I took the features I did like from them into consideration: the ones that are more contoured seem to be less noticeable.
I found a contoured pattern but it was very bulky looking and I found a pattern that was flat but thinner and included a water-proof layer.  So I combined the two methods.

A few notes:
1. These come together super quick! From pulling the fabric out of the dryer to finish was less than 2 hours for a dozen pads. This also included having to move around a few times due to discomfort (remember 9 months pregnant) and refilling the bobbin and a few machine hiccups.
2. As much as I think the contouring will help with discretion, it was a bit of a pain. It pulled unevenly and caused a few problems. I'll have to see if it's worth it when they actually get use.

Here's how they came together:
First, here's my template.

I started with a 4x4 piece of paper and folded it in half from corner to corner, making an X. I then placed it over my boob with the center over my nipple and one fold down the center line of the underside; then I folded it around and folded over the excess so I knew how wide to make the notch. I then used a compass to draw a 4 inch circle around it, feel free to make it a little smaller if you think that would be too big you can see I tried smaller first and wasn't feeling too comfortable about how small it looked so I changed it. **I hope that makes sense to someone other than me.

Next I traced and cut out all the pieces. I cut 12 out of a PUL lined fabric, 12 out of a soft flannel, and 24 out of a diaper material I found online from JoAnn. My plan was to use one layer but when it arrived it seemed a little thinner than I was expecting so I added a second layer just to be safe.

Next I sewed the notch together, since I'm working with PUL I used a polyester thread. Super easy, just fold right sides together and sew down that line. I used as thin a seam as possible, about an 1/8th inch. Since the diaper fabric would be used 2 for each pad I went ahead and sewed them together at this step so I didn't have to stitch so many seams.

Then I layered them together. The PUL and the fleece will be your outsides.
I layered PUL wrong side up, then the diaper fabric, and finally the fleece right side up.
I made sure the notch seams weren't lined up to help prevent to much bulk.

 Finally I used a zigzag stitch all the way around to hold them all together. If I had a serger I'm sure this step would've been easier, but I made due.

The last step was to throw them all in the dryer to help seal the PUL around the needle holes, following the directions on the PUL packaging.

That's it- that's how easy it is. Like I mentioned earlier, unfortunately I have to wait to see how well they work, but I'm hopeful if that counts for anything.


That's all for now,
Jo!