Make your own period pants - Pattern prep, sizing and materials. Class 1 of 3

1. Intro Video Class 1 PPP class Skill Share: Hello, and welcome to this class. I am Elena and I am a lingerie making expert. I have taught hundreds of Siros how to create their own lingerie from their very own home. Because actually, when you know how to make your own lingerie, you can make better than the shops lingerie. Okay, so let's get into this class, and I'm super, super excited to bring this to you. Have you ever struggled with uncomfortable menstrual products? Have you ever struggled with leaking menstrual products? Are you worried about the toxic chemicals in menstrual products? If you have experienced any of those before, then I am totally because I have, as well. And personally, I want something that works. I want something better. I want something comfortable. And I want something that I'm not going to have to worry about Whether it's putting toxins into my body. That is why I've created this class. A few years ago now, I created the moon tied period pants pattern. It is a pattern that is specifically pattern cut and designed for period pants. That is because I am so passionate about this product that I wanted every sir to be able to make their own. This is the moon tide period pants pattern made up, obviously. And here you may see you might think, What is this? Well, this is my own special design, which I developed through testing and experience of using them. So with the moon tide period pants, there are six different flow options. And within the different flow options, you have four without wings. And two with wings. The wings help to massively reduce leakage around the sides of the gusto. So if you're sleeping or if you have a heavy flow, the immuntyp period pants with wings is the perfect option for you. Have split this class up into three parts, so it's digestible. The first one, which is this one, will be going through all of the pattern information and the sizing, choosing your sizing, and the materials that you'll need to make your own period pants. For me, these period pants have been absolutely life changing, and I am not just saying that. There are many other people that have dried the pattern, and they say that as well. There's nothing more that I would wish to do is to share that knowledge with you so you can have your own comfy period pants. I would love you to join these classes, and I can't wait to see how you get on with your moontide period pants. 2. Tools and Equipment Skill Share: So in this video, I'm going to show you the tools that you'll need to make your moon tied period pants. So to prepare your pattern, you'll need some paper scissors here. Make sure you don't use your dressmaking scissors when you're cutting out paper because you'll blunt them. We've got some paper scissors here, and then we've got some brown masking tape. You can't use sellotape or anything like that, but I prefer to use brown mask and tape. Sticks quite well as well. So that's putting your pattern together. And then because we need to know the size for your pattern, you'll need to measure your body. If you've got a good tape measure, you can measure in inches or centimeters because the pan goes in both. Then you'll also need a notcher you don't have to have a notcher. This is just something that punches, like a hole in the pattern where the notch is, but you can just use scissors as well. The notches, when we go through, I'll explain, but the notches direct you on what places of the pattern to sew together. They are quite important. Then we'll go on to cutting out your fabrics. For most of the fabrics that we use, I use a rotary cutter to cut out the fabrics. If you haven't used a rotary cutter before for ingro sewing, then I definitely would advise it because they just work so much better. They're so much quicker than using scissors and pins. Of course, you can. You're welcome to use scissors and pins. But I just find pattern weights, a cutting board, and a rotary cutter is just perfect for cutting out laundro patterns because they're small and usually fit them on a two cutting board like this. You've also got your 45 mill here and your 28 mill here. The 28 mill is probably better for lingro patterns, but you can also get away with using the 45 mill as well because I used to use that all the time before I used the 28 mill. You don't need to worry if you've just got the 45 and then I'll see some blades because rotary cuts do get blunt quite quickly unfortunately and that does make quite a big difference when you're cutting out because you'll find you'll have to press really hard on the cutting mat if you have a blunt blade. If you've got some spares around, then they're always good to have on hand. So if you are using the scissors and pin method, then I do advise glass head pins. I always advise glass head pins actually because they are sharper. So when you're using lingre fabrics, it's much easier to use for delicate fabrics as well with the period pants. We won't be using very delicate fabrics, but obviously we will be using jerseys. I just find it's so much easier to use these glass headed pins because they rarely catch on the fabric. Um, like a lot of other pins do. So if you're using the scissors and pin method, get yourself some glass headed pins and some good dressmaking scissors or shares. Again, don't get them too big because you are cutting out lingerie fabrics, lingerie patterns, and there will be tight curves and things like that. Don't get too big. This is an ideal size really. This one's also got I think this goes at about 3.5 ". This would be an ideal size. So next on to the sewing. Firstly, you'll need a sewing machine. You'll need a sewing machine that has a straight and a zigzag stitch. So if you haven't got one, then maybe you could borrow one or use a family members. But yeah, you will need one for the moon type period pants. As well as your standard foot, it's really handy to also have a teflon foot. When we get to that stage, I'll talk a lot more about it. But a teflon foot is basically made out of plastic and it stops shiny fabrics or slidy fabrics slipping, which is really useful for one of the fabrics that we are going to use when we make the period pants. If you can get yourself a teflon foot, Then next is the sewing thread. I always use polyester with linger sewing because it's the strongest for the elastic and things like that because the seams are under more tension than they are with outwear. Then again, you will need the glass headed pins whilst you're pinning your fabric pieces together and everything. These ones again. And then for marking your notches on your fabric, you will need something to mark on either these dressmaking pencils or you can use one of these pens where the ink. Raises after a certain time or some of them, I think you have to wash them. But I would do a sample if you're going to be using one of these because sometimes they don't come out of certain fabrics. But the dressmaking pencil definitely does comes out in the wash. Then your trusty unpicka because you know. You never know when you're going to need an unpicker. Then again, you can use the scissors to cut away your threads or if you have any little snips as well, they are useful for cutting threads away. One of the variations that we're going to be creating, you'll need these jersey fasteners or these prim fasteners. I'm using a tamel here and that's advised for the pattern as well. These are for the winged variation. Again, I'll talk about that when we look at the pattern. You don't necessarily need these if you're not making the winged ones, and then I have a a device here that attaches them just makes it a bit easier than using the one you get in the pack, but you can use the one in the pack. And then when it comes to the pattern manipulation, if you have a ruler, this is a pattern master ruler. It's got this curve on one side and a straight side here. You don't have to have a pattern master. You can just have a ruler, but it is useful because you do have the curve, but you can also get a French curve as well, which I do have that I use for pattern cutting. But yeah, something that you can measure and draw straight and curve lines on would be perfect. So that's it for the tools. 3. Materials for Period Pants Skill share: Okay. So in this video, I'm going to go through the fabrics that you need to make functioning moontd period pants. There are some technical fabrics and then there are also other fabrics which you probably have already seen. Firstly, we'll go to the outer fabric, which creates the front back and the gusset outer of the Nicker. This is a cotton jersey with stretch. I 95% it's actually organic cotton and then it has 5% elastin. So the Elastine helps with the stretch retention. The stretch retention is basically how well it bounces back after you've stretched it out. That really helps with keeping it close to the body. With period pants for them to be able to function as well and keep you secure, we want to make sure that the kickers fit quite snugly on the body so that the gusset isn't prone to moving around and that you're less likely to get any leakages. I always advise a cotton jersey I have done a lot of testing on different fabrics because when I created the moontide period pants, pattern. I did a year and a half of testing. I've tested other fabrics as well, such as bamboo jersey and bamboo and cotton jersey and I just found I didn't feel secure enough. This is why I advise the cotton jersey with Alastin for the main tried period pants. This is a lovely deep red here, which I think is perfect for period pants. But obviously, you can choose your own color choices. Don't think that just because they're period pants, they have to be bore because they don't. This is the outer fabric so it can be patterned, it can be white if you really want. It can be any color or any pattern you want. You can have some really fun period pants. For period pants, you'll need a fabric that is going to absorb the blood. This is a Zorb fabric. A Zorb is a trademark fabric. You can get different types. This is an organic cotton Zorb which I think just works so well. You can get different variations. Some won't absorb quite as much and some will absorb more. But considering myself I have a heavy flow, I've never needed more than one layer of this, it really does show how well it works. Now there are other alternatives as well, so I want to talk about them. The other alternatives would be a terry toweling. Terry toweling absorbs moisture. You can use several layers of terry toweling if you don't want to use absorb and then that will absorb the blood as well. But because you're going to have to use several layers to get a decent amount of absorption, then it might just feel a bit more thicker when you're wearing the period pants. So next on to the other fabrics that we've got on tables. The other fabric, if you've got a medium to heavy flow, then I would advise using a waterproof fabric in between the layers. This makes a waterproof barrier so that it simply doesn't leak on the underside. If you've got a light flow, you probably won't need this. This is called a PUL fabric. So it stands for poly urethane laminate. I think I've got that right. And it has a plasticy shiny side to one side of it, and then a fabric side to the other side. It doesn't feel great, I'll admit, but it does work really well and it is very fine. As you can see, it's really thin, so you're not putting much extra bulk in the neck either. So that's the waterproof fabric. Then the other fabric is the gusset liner. The gusset liner needs to take the period blood through, but keep it as well as it can dry on the fabric. It needs to take it through under to the absorbent layer and then as much as it can do, keep the fabric dry here, so there's not that wet feeling. When I did the testing for the moontidPeriod of punts pattern, I tested a lot of different fabrics for the gusset liner. The first fabric I tested was a synthetic fabric. It's a polyester fabric and it was called pro cool. That's a trademark fabric. It's one of those fabrics that they use for sportswear, so I don't know if you've ever seen a running vest. They're made out of these fine synthetic fabrics that wick away the moisture and they work very well for that application. But I found that type of fabric just wasn't sensitive enough for this part of the body. I quickly didn't use that anymore. But I will say it did work and it didn't feel wet. I just didn't feel particularly comfortable either. And then the next fabric I tried it was actually a mix between. It was a cotton and bamboo, which worked so much better. It felt much more comfortable. Yeah, that over the procol fabric any day. But I found that although it works fine, there is an even better fabric to use, and that is bamboo jersey. I tried the bamboo jersey without the cotton and it's super soft. I don't know if you've ever felt bamboo jersey, but it's super soft. We've got that covered. But it also wick away the moisture. From the body as well, whereas cotton actually absorbs moisture. Although it's better to use the bamboo and cotton mix fabric than just the cotton by itself, say, even better is just to use the cotton jersey. I just find it works so well for this application. So this is a lovely slinky bamboo jersey and this is what I use. Then last but not least is the foldoverelastic. When you're making period pants, because of the bulk going in the gusset, you can't really easily use the elastic where you would sew on and then turn it under. It's better to use foldoelastic because you can simply fold it around the bulk. Like that. But because you're folding it around the bulk, it needs to be a wide fold over elastic. It needs to be at least 19, 20 mill wide. A lot of them are usually about 15 mills. If you are getting the fold over elastic, then check that that's not too thin because there just won't be enough width to get around the bulk for the gusset. Another thing with this particular fold over elastic is that it's quite sturdy foldoelastic. I find a lot of fold over elastics that you can get they are often made into headbands aren't really suitable for period pants. You might get away with them for just the regular knickers. But for period pants, you want something a bit more sturdy. There's a few reasons for that. One, a sturdy elastic will just wear better. Have foldover elastic specifically for linger purposes, then it's just going to last longer. The other thing which is actually really important. That goes back to when I spoke about the cotton jersey fabric. Again, you want the knickers to feel snug. You don't want them to feel loose. If you get an elastic that isn't sturdy enough, then they're going to feel loose on the body and you're not going to feel secure. A sturdier foldover elastic would be perfect for these period pants. Now, the good thing is at this moment in time of recording, I'm currently selling these period pan kits where you get all of these fabrics and you get this particular elastic, and you can also get a discount as you've joined the course as well. You can get everything you need to make the MintedPeriod pants. I'll leave the links under the video and then you can check them out and then you can use your coupon code as well. I will also suggest other suppliers that might be closer to you around the world as well. 4. How to print the Moontide Skill Share: So in this video tutorial, I'm going to show you how to print of your MontidePeriod pants pattern. After you have downloaded the files on your computer, you should have four files. You've got the main pattern here, which is US letter and a four, print size, then you've also got the instructions manual on here as well. So you've also got that for reference. Um, so if we go down to actually before I show you that, the other files are an e zero size. So if you don't have a printer, then you can get these printed off at a print shop or link some under this video. So if you need to, then you can print them off there. You've got the light and the regular, the heavy that's just zoomed in, and then the very heavy on there. If we go back to the A four and US letter size, when you print your patterns, you don't need to print every single page. So if you go to your contents, which is on page four, um, if you go down to moon tide period prints variations, then you can choose which variation you want to print off. If you only want to make the regular flow, say, you need to only print off pages 20 and 22 and then 22 35. Then that saves you printing off the whole document, which would use a lot of paper. If you want to try a few different types, then you can print off, say, the light flow and then the heavy flow as well. Um so if you remember those numbers, so I'm going to print off the very heavy flow with wings. So that's page 47 to 64. So if I go down. This is page 47 here. The actual pages of the documents should line up with the pages of the contents as well. Then if we go to print, need to make sure that you're printing off actual size and at 100%. So we've got actual size on there and then we've got 100% there because if you shrink the pages for the margins or anything like that, then it's going to also shrink the pattern and then it won't be to size. You might also have to put in your page size as well if it's not already automated to your printer, and then just choose your pages. So then if you go to select page because you don't want to print off all of the pages, you want to go on Select Page, and I need to print off pages 47 to 64. And then if you come off that, then the preview should change. So that's 18 pages on that. You can just flick through to make sure that you're printing off the right one. So yeah, that looks good to me. Then what you have to do is then press print after that. And then I need to plug my printer in. So that's how you print your pattern off. 5. Size guide Skill Share: So when you come to choose the size for your mon type period pants, the most important measurement is the full hip or low hip measurement, which is number two here. As you can see, it goes across her pubic bone area and across the fullest part of her bum. A lot of people think that your hip is where your hip bone, which is slightly higher here. But that is not the measurement we want. So the fullest part around here. So with the moon tide period pants, there are nine sizes, it goes from a 34 inch low hip to 850 inch hip. The other things you have here are how much fabric that you need to make one pair of knickers. And then this will be different for different sizes as well. 6. Putting your pattern together Skill Share: So after you have printed off your pattern, first thing is to make sure that you printed it off in the right scale because if you haven't the pattern won't be the right size and the right scale, we need to make sure that it is. On the top of each printed page, you'll see there's centimeters and inches. All we have to do is simply use a ruler or a measuring tape and just measure whether that adds up. So wherever the centimeters are the same. Online, that's fine. Then if you're using inches, wherever the inches are the same. If there is a discrepancy so that they don't measure up the same, then you'll have to check your printing options and see what's gone wrong because it needs to be in the correct scale. Next thing is to put the pages together. If I just put a few out, so you will see there is a triangle in each corner. We need to match the triangles up in the corners, and then the bottom corner in the top corner, and then we need to cut the margin off around here and then tape this together and then tape on the backside here with the brown tape. If you look in the module, I've actually put a print preview of how your paper should be laid out so that you can get that correct. These three match up. Then the other thing is that each of the pieces of paper on your pattern have the page numbers on at the bottom as well, so they should follow along. You've got page 47, 48, and 49. And then page 50 and you can check the preview out so you can see what the pattern actually looks like in its full form. Once you've got one row, you'll then say go on to the next row, which I think is like that. And you can see that more clearly in the print preview as well. That's how it needs to go together. Obviously, if you're only using, for example, say, this part of the pattern and this part of the pattern here, then I don't bother putting all of the pages together. I just put that section together, stick, stick that on the back and then cut this out because it's just a waste otherwise and it's just time consuming. That's how I do it. So firstly, stick your pages together and then cut out your size, and then after that, go through and put your notches. Indent your notches here. This is what the notch looks like on my pattern pieces. You've got another one here. We just want to put a slight indent. I'm going to use my notcher to do that, or you can just use scissors. After you have put your pattern pieces together and coal your size, you should have your front piece and your back piece. Your outer get gusset lining and gusset PL, which is the waterproof fabric, and then the absorbent layer as well in your correct size. Just check the size in as well on that because there is a one to six and seven to nine on that one. You have your four pattern pieces, cut out and then make sure to do your notches as well. There we go. Now you are ready to cut out your fabrics. 7. Choosing your flow type Skill Share 2: I have developed this pattern so it is suitable for any flow type. You have six different flow types for the pattern, so we're just going to go over them so that you know which one to choose to make. The first one you have is a light flow. That's the smallest size gusset for the absorbent area that there is in the pattern. But it has also been made so that it is perhaps slightly longer than your usual kickers that don't have the arm period pants, just to make it a bit more secure. With the light flow, you probably wouldn't need to use the waterproof fabric because it's a light flow. I have several light flows myself and I don't put the waterproof fabric in and also just makes it a bit more breathable as well. If you don't need that protection, then you just don't need the PL fabric, the waterproof fabric. Then it can be a lot more breathable. I thought it would be good to show you what the different flows look like in person. Here we have a light flow here. I'll just turn it inside out so you can see the actual gust area. As you can see, it is basically normal gusset length, a tiny bit longer, perhaps a little bit wider, nothing too different to your usual NCA. But with this one, if you have got light flow, you probably don't need to put the PUL lay it in as well. You can choose this one doesn't have it in and I've made this one without it as well, but I do have another one that I put it in. That's the light flow as well. The next one we have is the regular flow. That is slightly longer in the front and back of the gusset than the light flow. It's hard to see on this diagram here, but when you look at the pattern pieces, you will see you could use the waterproof fabric for this one. Again, you don't have to use it, but I would say for a light flow, it would be used. Then we have the heavy flow. Again, that's longer at the front and the back of the gusset. The front this time has a curve seam. If there's more blood flow and if it's more likely to go to the front of the nica, it then captures that with the curved seam. This is the heavy flow. As you can see, it's higher at the front and you've got a curve at the front. And then there's a lot more coverage on the back as well. You've got a curve there. That is the whole gusset length. You can see it's wider and longer than the light and the regular flow. The next one we have is heavy flow of wings. The heavy flow of wings is the exact same as the heavy flow, but it just has the adjustment for the wing part. It's slightly wider and then it has the winged part of the pattern on as well. The winged part works really well for stopping leaks at the sides. I really love this adaption. Whilst I was developing the pattern, I thought of this idea to add the wings on for at nighttime, for example, when I was sleeping on my side and I noticed that I would leak on the side. I thought about the sanitary pads that I'd used in the past and I always used the winged ones because the ones that didn't have the wings would always leak on the side. I used that same concept to add to the period pants, and they work really well. If you have a heavy flow and then if you wear the period pants at night, these would be perfect for you. I haven't yet leaked with the winged version of the untidPeriod pants, whereas I have leaked without the wings and I have also leaked with other products as well, the regular sanitary pads even with wings. I really do highly recommend this style if you do have a heavy flow. And then with the heavy flow and heavy very heavy flow with wings. This is a heavy flow with wings, exactly the same as the heavy, but it just has the wings. You can see how much wider that is at the gusset and how you can Imagine that there would be less leakage at the side. Then if we go to the very heavy, the very heavy is even longer in the front and back and the back, you will notice is a lot longer. You have that extra curve at the back. If you've got a heavy flow, then it's likely to go further in the Nia either to the front or the back, and then you also get the very heavy flow with the wings as well, and these are just my favorite. These are the ones I wear at night, especially on day one and day two of my period when it's the heaviest. Again, I just haven't leaked with wear and these where I have other products. So these are my most favorite, most secure you might think it might be a little bit bulky. Do you have the wings under when you're walking? There is a slight bit of bulk, I won't say there isn't it's not something that really bothers me because the fabric is so soft, the materials that we use are so soft and comfortable, it's not something that irritates me or any of my other customers that have said. So if you're worrying about that, then I would just go ahead and try them. This is the very heavy flow with wings. It's longer, as you can see that gusset goes turn it inside out. You can see that gusset is quite a long length, so that's the longest length. Again, you've got a nice white gusset because you've got the wings. That really helps. When we get onto the sp, I'll show you how to put the fasteners on the wings. I do suggest fasteners and not a permanent fixing because you want them to be able to dry quickly Os if they are permanently fixed and they're not going to dry that quickly because of the absorbent fabric anyway in all the different layers of fabric within the gusset area, they do take longer to dry because it is best to line dry them or hang them up, as opposed to putting them in the tumble dryer so that they last longer. I do advise the fastener that we're going to use as well. Or you can use Velcro. That's another thing that you could use because that's again, temporary, it's not a permanent fastening. So what I like to do is make a few different types up for different stages of my period. So for example, like I said, for the first and second day of my period, I like to have the very secure type, the very heavy flow of wings. If maybe I go out and I'm doing a lot of walking, I might not want the winged part, so I then wear the very heavy flow. And then as my flow decreases, I'll then wear the heavy flow and the regular flow. Um, and then I usually wear the light flow on days four and five of my period. You can also use the light flow for if you think you might start your period, but you don't know yet, but you just want that extra protection. That's a really handy one because with the light flow, you just don't really know that you're wearing period pants, whereas you probably don't want to wear, the heavy flow, for instance, as just a precaution. So have a think about that. See which ones that you think you would prefer to make first. You can always try one and then you can make more afterwards. If you really feel like you would like better protection at certain times, for instance, at night when it's really heavy, then make the very heavy flow with wings first. 8. Pattern Annotations Skill Share: So some of you may not be too familiar with seeing zone patterns, so I'm just going to go over the information and tell you all about what's on the pattern pieces. Here we have the brand Soso projects. Then we have what pattern is. It's the moontyPeriod of pants, and then we have the variations. This one's very heavy flow with wings and just make sure that they all match up as well. You've got the correct pattern pieces. Then it tells you to cut one in the absorbent layer. Then it says what size it is. It will also say it has seam allowances on. Whereas this one doesn't have seam allowances on so it says no, seam allowances. Then we have the number of the pattern piece. This is four or four. This is really useful especially for lingerie patterns because they are quite small. If you are missing one, then you know that you are missing one. Then we just got a few directions on this particular pattern piece. We got the front gusset here and the back gusset here. Then I have already taken the notches out, so they are just black lines, and then I have cut those out with the notcher in the previous video. Then the other thing we have here is the direction of greatest stretch. The main stretch is going across the gusset. This isn't an important one on this type of fabric because it doesn't stretch anyway. Then if we look at another one, we have slight difference where we've got six more seam allowance on the front and back gusset seam. That is here and here, but we don't have any seam allowance on the leg holes, which is these two. It also says what it is and that you need to cut one gusset outa, one gusset lining, and one gusset PL, or the waterproof fabric that we've been speaking about in the previous videos. Then the other ones are much the same. The only difference is it will say that it's the back piece, and then the same on here and it just says the front. It's very simple to read the pattern pieces, and we are now going to cut out the outer fabric, our cotton jersey, which is here, I'm going to show you how to cut that out with the stretch going in the correct direction. This pattern piece isn't needed, so I'm going to put that to the side.