How to make reusable cotton rounds | Zero waste tutorial

Meowrning! 😀 One of the first zero waste projects I tried was making reusable cotton rounds.

Cotton pads and rounds are as indispensable as toilet paper when it comes to applying facial products like toner, removing makeup and sunscreen and the like. Here at Green Neko’s nest, we use cotton rounds when we’re giving our cat his eye drops.

So, I decided to make these reusable cotton rounds out of an old, torn pair of flannel pyjama pants. The cute cat print was a bonus!

You can use any soft, absorbent material. Other than flannel, old cotton and linen clothing can also be repurposed into cotton rounds.

I’ve found that a thicker material like flannel works best for absorbent tasks like cleaning the cat’s eyes, but if you are applying product to your skin with your rounds, a thinner material might work better so you don’t lose too much of the product.

Most of my cotton rounds were made with the help of a borrowed sewing machine, but if you have a bit of time at home, a set of hand-sewn rounds is very doable. Hand-stitching is really not that hard–the first things I ever sewed were my mesh produce bags and these very cotton pads. I’m generally terrible at crafts. If I can do it, so can you.

Note: Always wash your reusable cotton pads in a zippered laundry bag for delicates. DO NOT just chuck them in, as they can get lodged in the crevices of the washing machine.

(If you’re really not up to making your own reusable cotton rounds, you can buy them read-made at zero waste stores or online—Etsy is a good resource if you want to support local craftspeople.)

How are reusable cotton rounds good for the environment?

While 100% pure cotton pads are technically compostable, cotton cultivation requires huge amounts of water and also pollutes the environment with the use of fertilisers and pesticides.

Using reusable cotton rounds also reduces the amount of waste you produce, which means less trash being transported and handled, and less trash going to landfills and incineration plants.

Zero waste reusable cotton rounds tutorial

Materials:

• Fabric
• Drinking glass or cup
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing needle
• Thread
• Marker
• Sewing pin

Step 1

Fold the fabric in half so you have two layers one on top of the other.

Step 2

Place the glass upside down on your fabric.

Step 3

Use the marker to trace around the rim of your glass.

Step 4

Using the sewing pin, attach the two layers of fabric to each other.

Step 5

Cut out the circle you have drawn according to what you have drawn using the marker. You should be cutting both layers of fabric at the same time.

Step 6

Pass the thread through the eye of the needle and tie a knot a few inches near the end of the thread.

Step 7

Pull the thread through the edge of the circle. The knot should stop the thread from going any further. For ease of reference, we will call the side where you can see the knot the “front” of the fabric, and the other side the “back”.

Step 8

With the knot at the front of the fabric and the rest of the thread behind, poke the needle through the front of the fabric (so, the needle should be going from the front to the back of the cloth) about half a centimetre to the right of the knot you made previously. The thread should form a loop above the edge of the fabric.

Step 9

Pull the thread all the way through to tighten the loop around the edge of the two pieces of fabric.

Step 10

Make sure you are still holding the cloth so that you have the knot in front of the fabric and the rest of the thread behind. Slip the needle through the loop of thread at the front of the fabric from right to left and tighten by pulling the thread all the way through.

Step 11

To make your first stitch, put the needle behind the fabric and poke it through the fabric (so the needle is going from the back to the front of the cloth) about half a centimetre to the right of the previous hole you made.

Step 12

Pull the thread through the fabric. As you do so, you will see that you are making a loop above the edge of the fabric. Pass the thread through the loop from right to left, then tighten your stitch around the fabric. Congratulations! You have sewn your first stitch! Not so hard, is it?

Step 13

To make subsequent stitches, you simply repeat the process-poke the needle from the back of the fabric to the front, about half a centimetre to the right of the previous hole you made. Pull the thread through the hole, then pass the needle from right to left through the loop forming above the fabric before tightening it. Then, you repeat the process.

Step 14

When you’re done stitching simply tie a knot at the end of the thread. This part is actually a bit tricky as you want your knot to be as close to the fabric as possible, otherwise all the sewing you’ve done might loosen.

Step 15 Once you’ve tied the knot, cut off any excess thread.

Quick 3-step recap on how to stitch

Poke the needle through the fabric from the back to the front.

Pass the needle from left to right through the loop you just made.

Tighten.

Have fun using your cotton rounds! And uh, I know I’ve said this already, but in case you missed it, remember to wash them in a zippered laundry bag! Don’t throw them loose into the washing machine or they might damage it!

Did you make it all the way to the end? Let me know if you had any trouble following the tutorial!