Saturday, July 14, 2012

DIY Felt "cotton" Rounds





As of late, I have been obsessed with CrunchyBetty! It has changed my life and skin care routine. Seriously, my skin has never looked so good!! I'm in love. Right now, I'm removing my eye make-up with olive oil, washing my face with honey, and using a mix of apple cider vinegar and water as a toner (you can read all about this method here).  But, to properly use a toner, cotton rounds work best. I didn't have cotton rounds . . .

I'm also a poor student and that isn't going to change anytime soon. So poor, I don't feel like forking over $2 for cotton rounds! So, being the thifty gal I am, I thought about how I might be able to sew/make some cotton rounds.

My first thought was cotton. Specifically, Bamboo cotton flannel, which I've seen used as the fabric used for washable pads. Has to be pretty absorbent if it's used for that! However, that stuff isn't cheap either. So, I pondered again and thought of felt! Felt is cheap, it will absorb right away, and  . . . um . . .  it's cheap. Thus, my felt rounds idea was born.

At first, I thought I would just buy that good felt you find by the yard. I'd never used it before, nor even looked at it. Well, as it turns out, that stuff isn't cheap! At 18.99/yard, I was disheartened. I opted for the those cheap, craft staple felt rectangles. With thirftyness comes compromise . . . I knew there would be 2 major problems with using the cheap felt:

1. The rounds would be pretty rough

2. I didn't know how will they would wash

But, at $1.10 for 5 squares, I figured I could risk it.

First, I used the bottom of an ibprofen bottle as a "pattern", traced as many as I could on a felt rectangle, then cut them out. Then, I doubled them up and zig zag stitched them together. It took a few attempts to get it right and figure out how to make them look at least some what cute. Here are the "best" I whipped up:


These are a bit rough, but if you choose the smoother side, it isn't so bad. Still, the more expensive felt would be the best option. Also, after I use them, I just wash them by hand and they are dry the next day! They look just fine after I wash them too! They will also work perfectly for removing nail polish, but I haven't used them for that yet. Also not sure how well nail polish will wash out either. Yet to be determined!

So, felt rounds = success. They are cheap and crunchy! I hope Crunchy Betty approves! 

Here are some of my failures. Still useable, just not attractive: