DIY Flannel Tissue (with bonus reusable cotton pads)

About a year ago Adam and I both got sick at the same time.  It was one of those runny nose, coughing, sneezing yucks that just hangs on forever.  We must have gone through at least a half-dozen boxes of tissues. And I had a raw red nose no matter how soft the tissues were.  (I avoid the ones with lotion added as they cause me to break out and there is nothing worse than a zit right at the edge of your nose!)  I knew there just had to be a better way. So while trying to problem solve, I remembered my Dad always carries a handkerchief in his pocket – my entire life, I never remember him without one.  So I started thinking – can I make my own fabric tissues?

What my DIY tissues needed to be

I wanted to address a few issues: first I wanted something super soft but also really strong and sturdy to handle the yuckiest of colds.  Second, I wanted to cut down on the waste of using so many tissues and then just throwing them away adding to landfill waste (not to mention the non-recyclable plastic on the boxes).  Third, they needed to be easy to put together – I don’t have a serger and I wanted these to be a really simple project – I’m just going to blow my nose on it – I wanted function over form on these!

This flannel pillowcase was only $.99 at my local thrift store – it didn’t have any matching sheets, but was perfect for a new life as tissues!

The handkerchiefs my Dad has always used seemed too thin to address item number one.  After lots of looking on Pinterest and thinking of the softest yet sturdiest fabrics I could think of, I decided I wanted to go for a cotton flannel.  It would be easy to care for – machine wash and dry, super soft, and nice and strong. To address my second concern, I did not want to go to the fabric store and pick up brand new flannel – while in the long run this would be less wasteful than traditional tissues, I knew I could do better.  I headed right to the linens section of my local thrift store and found a great flannel pillowcase to use for my tissues. This is thrifty too – the pillowcase I picked up to make this tutorial was less than a dollar! 

Right – but do they last

These tissues have a long life – the floral tissue has been in use for about a year with plenty of washes – the red plaid is brand new.

The original tissues I made have been in constant use for about a year now and are looking great!  The first few times they went through the wash there was some fraying around the edges, but I just cut off the dangling strings, and I haven’t had any issues with additional shedding for a long time.  I keep a stack of these flannel tissues in the linen closet and grab one out whenever I need a tissue. They get thrown in the wash with the rest of my laundry – no extra care needed.  

As a bonus, I also was able to make reusable cotton pads from the flannel pillowcase.  These are a great zero waste alternative to the disposable cotton pads which I was using every night to apply my micellar water cleanser.  Given the size, I put these in a lingerie bag to wash and dry so they don’t get lost in the machine – otherwise, they also require no special care.

Ready to make your own flannel tissues

Pillowcase hem and then pinned and cut into cotton pad squares.

I wanted my tissues to be a decent size – able to catch a big sneeze or handle the yuckiest of colds.  Because you will lose a little fabric to fraying in the first few washes, I suggest you plan on something around the 8”x8” size – your actual size will be based on the dimensions of your pillowcase.  

First, cut the bottom hem off the pillowcase as close to the seam as possible.  To help fight fraying, I suggest doing all of your cutting with pinking shears.  Put the hem to the side – this will become your reusable cotton pads.

Top is the pillowcase pinned and marked (you can see the pencil marks lightly on the pillowcase). Bottom is after cutting with pinking shears.

With all other seams intact, measure the dimensions of your pillowcase.  The tissues will be double thickness, to make life easy, you will be cutting both layers of fabric together.  Again, we are going for easy assembly and function, so I don’t worry about pattern matching or slightly skewed seams on the pillowcase.  Based on the dimensions of your pillowcase, calculate what size you need to cut your tissues to use the entire pillowcase without waste, using 8”x8” as your starting measurement.

Here is how I calculated the dimensions for the red plaid pillowcase: 

After removing the hem, the pillowcase was 19”x33½”, first divide each dimension by 8 and calculate the leftover 

• 19÷8 = 2 (with 3” leftover)
• 33.5÷8 = 4 (with 1.5” leftovers)

We won’t be turning the flannel tissues, so there is no need to calculate seam allowances.  Since I can’t get even 8” pieces out of each dimension, I needed to add distribute the extra evenly.  To avoid wasted fabric, you would split the extra three inches between the two pieces along the shorter edge – resulting in a measurement of 9½”.  With only 1½” to spread over four pieces along the long edge, it is easiest to just add ½” to three and leave the last at 8”. Therefore, you would have six flannel tissues measuring 9½”x8½”, and two measuring 9½”x8”.

Mark, pin and cut your fabric using pinking shears.  Put to the side while you prepare your cotton pads as well.

After cutting everything out, these are the only leftovers – a few scraps from the hem!

Picking up the hem of the pillowcase, you want to make these roughly square.  Again, you want to avoid waste, so repeat the process used for the tissues. Most hems I have seen are between 2-3” tall, so you will only need to calculate the dimensions of the cuts along the long edge.  In this case, I was in luck – the plaid pattern on the pillowcases meant I could just cut along the black lines and end up with 3” squares. If you don’t have a pattern to follow, you would again mark your fabric.

After marking, pin and cut your fabric using pinking shears and bring your cotton pads together with your flannel tissues to the sewing machine.  Your pick if you use a contrasting or matching thread – this is where you get to play. I used a relatively short straight stitch (10-12 stitches per inch), but for extra fray fighting ability, you can also use a zigzag stitch.  Sew around all four edges (even if you have edges which are closed with the pillowcase seam, it will provide extra security and look tidier to have all edges stitched). I like to tie off my ends and then thread them through the two fabrics before cutting off, while this takes more time, I can do it in front of the tv in the evening and this is one step where I pick appearance.  I prefer the tidy look to the spiky thread ends if you simply backstitch and cut. This is an extra step though, so it is your choice based on preference.

Tissues and cotton pads sewn, but ends still to be knotted and trimmed.

Once you have all tissues and cotton pads sewn up, you are good to go!  (I suggest washing your pillowcase before starting so you don’t have any surprises once you have done all your sewing.)  You may want to keep a pair of scissors near where you fold your laundry the first few times these go through the wash to cut off any hanging threads.

Other options

As I was cleaning off the cutting table in the craft room to prepare this tutorial, I went to move a pair of flannel pj pants which had ripped (again). 

Yup – that is another big hole in the bottom of the pj pants, but they also have a new life as a stack of reusable flannel tissues!

I realized instead of trying to patch them up for another wear or two, they were much better turned into tissues! If you can’t find a flannel pillowcase at your local thrift shop but you have flannel pj pants which are a little worse for the wear, this is a great alternative.  The tissues don’t come out as neat, and require a little more careful cutting and potential waste, however, this is a great way to upcycle pj pants which are no longer serving their purpose.

We now have a nice stack of flannel tissues which will hopefully see us through any colds we get as our immune systems adjust to the changing seasons now that we are back in a part of the country that features four distinct seasons.

Hopefully these tissues will make your cold season just a little less miserable!