What are cotton rounds & how are they made?

Cotton Rounds are small pads made from fabric which can be used as part of a daily skin care routine. They can be used for gently removing make up, cleansing & exfoliating and applying skin creams & serums. 

Due to the bleaching and manufacturing processes single use cotton pads don't biodegrade. Using reusable cotton rounds not only helps reduce single use plastic waste but by using the right ones it can also be better for your skin.

SewnUpByJen's cotton rounds use an unbleached, undyed organic cotton on the skin side. Containing no nasties they are super soft and suitable for even the most sensitive of skin. Sometimes when using standard cotton rounds it can be hard to get into all the areas around the eye - the finger pocket in my cotton rounds allow for much greater control and precision in those harder to reach areas.

There are a number of steps involved in making the Cotton rounds - here is a quick run down of the process.

Firstly everything has to be measured, marked and cut out. Each pad has 4 pieces of fabric - 2 layers of soft brushed cotton and 2 pieces of colorful printed cotton fabric. To save time I use a fabric guillotine to cut the small squares in batches.   

Once cut out the 2 printed pieces have to be folded over and ironed - these go on to create the handy finger pocket you will find on all the pads. I then use a template to mark a circle on the colorful top side and stack the 4 fabrics together.

Next comes the fun part, using the overlocker. This is a machine which is designed to cut fabric and create a finished edge at the same time, Carefully following the marked out circle I cut and stitch around the edge with an appropriately coloured fabric. 

At the end of overlocking there is a tail of chained thread left, there are a couple of different ways to finish this but my preferred method is to tuck this into the inner layers of the cotton round using a large needle. 

And that's it. - one cotton round made. This process is then repeated. I like to do each of the steps in batches. It saves time and helps me get into a rhythm.

If you would like to have a look at the collection just click here