Figuring out Fabrics
Top Fabrics
The layer that goes against your skin, and the fabric you'll most often see. This is really up to personal preference and is often a trade off between fun prints or nicer feeling fabrics like velour. Some women choose natural fabrics for a cooler feel, or organics for less chemicals, and some choose synthetics for their stain resistance and wicking ability.
Some popular fabric choices for pad topping
- Jersey - This is a thin T-Shirt type fabric. Available in several Options, may be 100% or a blend with something like spandex, Polyester or cotton. It is a common fabric - printed cotton jersey can be purchased through fabric stores fairly inexpensively. Other jerseys are normally purchased online or through speciality stores. It wears better than a flannelette and may be more absorbent than a plain/flat cotton.
- Hemp Jersey - A little more "coarse" than other jerseys. Usually 50% hemp, 45% cotton. Generally available unbleached or plain dyed.
- Cotton Jersey - A little softer and flatter than Hemp jersey, but less absorbent. Often available commercially dyed or printed.
- Organic Cotton Jersey - Like the cotton jersey, but this is grown organically. Usually left natural to further its standing as an eco-friendly fabric, but can come in low impact printed and even in colour-grown pastel colours, or knit into patterns using the different colour-grown cottons.
- Bamboo Jersey - A Softer and smoother (almost silky) fabric than the Cotton jersey. Can come in different blends or be 100% bamboo. Generally natural, white or plain dyed.
- Velour - This is a velvet like fabric, slightly stretchy with a high pile (cut, not loopy). Feels very soft and nice against the skin. Generally commercially available in plain colours, occasionally printed. Available in natural (bamboo, cotton, hemp) or synthetic. The natural versions generally have a synthetic component - where the backing is polyester to give strength and durability (the pile being natural). The natural velours are harder to find (usually only available online), but has the advantages that natural fibres give. Synthetic velour has the advantages of synthetics as well as being cheaper and easier to find. Velours can feel drier than flatter fabrics (such as flannel or jersey) because of the "pile" of the fibres allows more airflow and space between the skin and the wetness. It also can help quickly grab the flow and allow it to absorb into the pad to avoid leaking.
- Hemp velour - Not commonly used, but this is normally an undyed fabric, the least soft of the velours I find.
- Cotton velour - A little softer than Hemp velour, often 20% polyester, though 100% velours can be purchased. These are often dyed plain colours.
- Organic Cotton velour - This would be 100% cotton, perhaps a little less soft than the regular cotton velour (at least in my experience). Normally in unbleached natural, may be dyed with plain colours
- Bamboo velour - Lush! Usually a longer pile than the others (which can leave it looking a bit messy/wavy), but there is also a shorter pile bamboo velour that looks almost identical to cotton velour. This is super soft and slightly shiny. Usually blended with poly in 20% or down to as little as 5%, to add stability to the base fabric. A very popular fabric!
- Synthetic velour - This would be 100% synthetic, so combines the nice feel of the velour with the stay-dry and stain-resistance of a synthetic fabric.
- Velveteen - Like velvet/velour, this fabric has a fluffy pile, which feels soft. Slightly shorter pile than Velour, and generally not stretch, and is more dense than velour. A cotton Velveteen will be absorbent. The pile seems to make the top feel dryer than a flatter no-pile fabric. Not commonly used, though it is more readily available in fabric stores than a natural velour so is a good choice for DIY pads if velour cannot be found.
- Synthetics - These are 100% synthetics used for stay-dry and stain resistant properties, However being synthetic they can feel hot and sweaty over time. The stay dry effect is more effective for heavy flow, as spotting can be too light to pass through as well, and can lead to feeling damp from sweatiness.
- Fleece - (Polar or Micro) They are very common fabrics, so easy to find in fabric stores. Soft and fluffy fabrics.
- Suedecloth - A synthetic suede like fabric. Short pile, so flatter than fleece (and flatter than velour). Feels soft.
- Chamois - A similar fabric to the suedecloth.
- Flannelette/Flannel - A common choice because of the variety of prints available. A good all rounder, and probably the most popular choice in pad toppings. This is a natural 100% cotton fabric. Slightly fluffy at first, though it looses some of this with prolonged use, and after it is washed can take on a slightly "pilled" and messy appearance. It is softer than plain cottons because of the fluffiness. "Flannel" in the US is the same as "Flannelette" in Aus and UK. (In Aus and UK "Flannel" technically refers to a wool product, not a cotton one). Has a small amount of absorbency itself.
- Sherpa - Sherpa is a soft fabric that feels a bit like polarfleece, but has a "bally" type appearance, a little bit like a sheepskin. It is generally a Cotton or cotton blend (20%poly) fabric. It has the advantage of being soft and absorbent. It is also somewhat thick, so it adds absorbency. Generally available in plain colours, and can be hard to find.
- "Flat" Cotton/ "Quilting" cotton - The "normal" cottons you can get for dress making or quilting. It is often used as a top fabric, however the softer fabrics are usually more popular. These cottons come in a huge variety of prints and have the advantage over flannelette that they don't look worn/faded as quickly as flannelette can. As a top layer they let you enjoy the prints more while you are wearing the pad. Some women prefer this over flannelette for the feeling, with some saying they feel more dry as a pantyliner than a fluffier fabric that can feel hotter. When wearing it, you may not be able to tell much difference between the feeling of the cotton or flannelette, but it does not trap the flow as successfully as the fluffier pad toppings, so may feel "wetter".
- Other options include:
(well anything really), silk, terry (towelling), denim, velvet.....
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