the bicyclist’s friend root here,
you all know of any successful, comfortable and breathing alternatives to harvest/grow?
thx
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' ' 'i recall hearing about usnea lichen being used traditionally (depending on your locality of course), though i can’t verify that. it does have antiseptic and powerful healing qualities as well, so i imagine that could only be a plus as far as the whole absorption thing goes. i’d volunteer for experimenting but alas i do not have a vagina.
I hear good things about cattail fluff as a pad stuffing.
I know this is an old thread, but oh well.
This topic seems to be one of the most avoided topics throughout history, aha. But what I’ve heard in various books, blogs, and traditions is that cattail fluff (as previously mentioned) was a popular choice, as well as rabbit furs, and grasses. And often, some kind of knit made of various natural materials.
But again, it almost seems a bit of a taboo for people to discuss this, so I’m not fully sure about who-did-what or where. There are still many uncivilized people, and even those who have been contacted and studied, seldom ever is there any gathered information about the hygiene routines of the women. Or at least from what I can tell…maybe I’m just ignorant though.
Also, I think, sometimes Eat The Weeds (and other things too) blog had other traditional uses of types of plants and materials, so MAYBE you can find something there.
(i know this topic has sat for a while, but, as mentioned above, menstruation is under-discussed. so here’s my few cents)
here’s a post i wrote about dealing with my moon times in the alaskan interior: feralforest.com post about rustic menstruation. there’s a photo in there of a tri-fold pad i made (back when i had a treadle sewing machine, though they’re easily doable by hand) out of an old flannel bedsheet. i made a few of them, and they’re sewn so that i can stuff them with absorbent material to thicken them up. they’re already made with two layers of flannel, though, and then folded over into three layers, so they do a pretty good job already. i just use a safety pin to affix them to my underwear (which i only wear during moon time).
i don’t have any brilliant suggestions about things to actually insert, though. i only use a menstrual cup, since i got toxic shock syndrome about a decade ago from leaving a tampon in too long. will never use them again. i don’t like the mess of pads, but they’re the only thing i’ve got if i get rid of the mass-produced menstrual cup.
if you live near the ocean, maybe you can actually harvest sea sponges? i have no idea what that process is like, but i do know they were popular for menstrual use for a while there.
i wouldn’t expect usnea lichen to be very absorbent, based on how it feels to me personally, but spaghnum moss would be a different story, and it’s also anti-microbial, etc. though i’d maybe tuck it into some kind of cinch-able mesh pouch, so i wasn’t worrying about getting bits of moss out of my vagina. good luck, friend. speak boldly about your crotch, and eventually others will follow 
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Great Idea, Joan, to sew a pad like that. You go on to say:
Although I’ve heard it said that fluffy seeds might come in useful, I’d think that those might give a bit of a mess, too. Also, just imagine that with your moontime approaching everybody knows because cattail fluff sticks to your each and every garment. 
This last Summer on one occasion I harvested some blanket weed from our pond and hung it out to dry as a thin layer, which went really well - easily about pizza plate size and stronger than I expected. I could just imagine myself using this for a kind of very fine sieve or maybe a mini winnow for small amounts of fine seeds. I didn’t get to trying and wonder if it would work to keep such a sieve sufficiently dry when stored for longer periods of time.
Considering its absorbent qualities, perhaps it might work well by itself or as a wrap for more loose moss before inserting it into one of your pads?
I also twined some very thick “string” from the blanket weed, which I hung between some poles to dry (outdoors). I then left it to see how long it would take to wear off/through by itself and that took a few weeks, which goes to show that the fibers don’t fall apart that quickly.
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