DIY culotte menstruelle

How can you make your own menstrual undies?

Looking for a DIY guide to making your own menstrual undies? Today, your friends at Mme L’Ovary are going to show you how to get the job done! From sewing tips to must-have materials, our comprehensive and accessible tutorial is just what you need.

Not ready to dive in with the ol’ thread and needle? No worries! Our collection of eco-friendly period undies is always there for you.

DIY period panties

Materials you’re going to need for this tutorial

Don’t worry about a super-sophisticated sewing kit. You won’t need one to make your undies. To get started, you just need:

  • Scissors
  • Thread
  • A pair of standard undies
  • Paper
  • A pencil
  • An absorbent towel or terry cloth for the middle layer
  • Old clothes made of soft material (this is for the layer that touches your skin, so you want something made of cotton)
  • A waterproof material for the outside layer (something like a scrap of a raincoat would work)

And that’s all! For this tutorial, you don’t need a bunch of expensive materials or equipment, just a few basics. And it should only take you between 1 and 3 hours to get the undies of your dreams, doesn’t matter if your flow is light or heavy.

The 3 main steps to creating your own undies

All right, let’s get started. Check out the rest of the article and accompanying video!

Step 1: Draw a pattern

Spread your undies out so you can press the crotch flat against a piece of paper. You want to make sure you can trace the whole crotch. And you do that with your trusty pencil. You’ll have two lines there, and you just need to connect them to get a pad shape. This’ll be your sewing pattern.

Cut out your pattern and put it in the crotch of your undies. It has to be perfectly contained within the elastic borders. If it isn’t, no worries. Just try again!

On another sheet, draw and cut out a second pattern of the same width but shorter.

Step 2: Cut the fabric

Next, we’re going to be cutting the soft and waterproof fabrics. Remember those clothes you’re sacrificing? Pin your large pattern to a T-shirt and cut out the shape. Use the smaller pattern on the towel or whatever you’ve chosen for your absorbent fabric.

Step 3: Sewing

Time to break out your needle and thread! Sew the absorbent fabric to the soft one, stitching the inside and then the outside. If you’ve got a heavy flow, you can sew several layers of absorbent fabric together.

Then sew the outer fabric to the soft fabric. Now you’ve got your absorbent fabric right in the middle!

The final step is to sew your new pad to your undies.

Why choose period undies?

There are thousands of good reasons to step into a pair of menstrual undies. The first of them is comfort! And you won’t have to worry about buying disposable protection every month. Your undies will always be at hand, made of a fabric respectful to your skin so you can enjoy gentle and serene menstruation.

The second hugely compelling reason is that they help protect the environment. With their washable pads made of organic cotton, our menstrual undies are part of a zero waste lifestyle. They’ll help you reduce your waste and protect the planet!

See? There are only great reasons to get into period undies and to give our DIY tutorial a shot. You can also check out all our day and night styles in our online store.