Webbcrafts

When I was young

My grandma, Rebecca Haynes, taught me so much, and yet she died when I was very young.

My memories are vague but powerful, and some are tangible in that I have beautifully worked dressing table mats, their stitches fragile, but the crochet pattern still intact and hiding in tissue paper against the light. When I hold them I am touching her and all that she taught me.

The Great Depression

Rebecca lived through the great depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then the war years when it wasn’t easy to be a woman, and through it all she wielded her crochet hook.

It didn’t mean anything to her that:

• Modern tampons have been around since the 1930s.

she had to find another way.

Nothing special used during Menstruation

It is generally believed that working class women from 1700 – 1900 didn’t bother with any menstrual protection, merely bleeding into their clothes, in which case my grandmother had learned to be different. Her lifestyle would, however, have been called ‘working class’ as she was married to a milkman.

• The average woman uses 11,000-17,000 tampons in a lifetime. (Think of the monetary value!)
  

Grandma didn’t know what a tampon was, and had she known she would have been very suspicious of their use. She crocheted her way through menstruation, and when she didn’t need protection for herself she taught others. Sadly my own mother never learned to crochet.

Available materials

Belts were made from a soft silky material (rayon, silk?), although she may have used linen in earlier years, from which to attach a pad with loops. The pads were filled with whatever material was available, it was believed that she used crushed sphagnum moss, but not sawdust. Perhaps it wasn’t available to her, I will never know.

What a waste of time!

It is now considered a waste of time to make menstrual protection as there are so many different kinds available, they all however contain the many chemicals that would be better not to introduce into such a delicate part of the body. (Some Facts)

A Disposable Life

A whole industry has been built around producing tampons and pads which can be thrown away, but what if, like in my Grandma’s day these products became scarce or unaffordable?

The mother of invention

I too have no need of menstrual protection since many years past, however I was asked to devise a way to apply medication to this very area, without contributing to chemical overload. I thought of tampons and researched some that were made with unbleached cotton which cost £5.00 each. Probably a reasonable cost for something imported, but making them for yourself would be so much more cost effective.

A simple pattern

Other crafters have worked on this problem and produced functional tampons and pads, but there is always room for improvement, (and cost) and in this case simplification. Grandma would be proud!

These are basically a chain with single crochet rows which can be rolled to form the filling. The tail is secured within a tiny eye which holds the bulk of the tampon beneath a small hood.

They are made using an unbleached cotton yarn which proved easier to insert than a softer bamboo yarn.

After use they can be opened out, rinsed in cold water and soaked in a solution of water and white vinegar or sodium bicarb. or tea tree oil, or even colloidal silver. Any bacteria removing agent that doesn’t contain chlorine bleach.

One thing leads to another

The same arguments apply to incontinence pads, and the need for an older person to be secure in the face of a very nasty cough. This is my pattern for those occasions :

The pad itself is unbleached cotton, but for the inserts I used soft bamboo yarn. Very absorbent and gentle on delicate parts. The pad can have as many inserts as needed  i.e. one on top of another. I tested this on myself and it is very comfortable.

I secured the triangle wings with a button, but you could use a pop stud, which means that it doesn’t move around in snug pants.

If you don’t crochet

If you don’t crochet but want to try something different that is made just for you, then I can customise your menstrual protection if you get in touch with your needs. (my email address)

Difficult times

Even in difficult times women are able to retain pride in their unique bodily functions by becoming self sufficient. It is true that we, as half of the human race, have been taught to believe that our biological functions should never be openly discussed, and mass production is better left to men.

We women know better!

The shock of wobbly teeth

It can be a trying time for five or six year olds when they suddenly find that they have wobbling teeth. It happens just when they are experiencing the change from playing in nursery to being serious about learning, or perhaps even leaving their nursery and joining the big school.

Softening the blow

How can that blow be softened just a little? With stories of course, and there isn’t a  better story at this time than the Tooth Fairy whose promise is a coin or a gift.

Searching for the elusive tooth

Finding a milk tooth from underneath a pillow can be very difficult, especially if your child is lying right on it, and so a tooth saver is a pretty way of making life easier for yourself.

Crochet, beads and needle felting

I crocheted this one, and then stiffened it with beads and added a needle felted fairy as a handle. You do however, have to be ready with a story, especially if this is the first lost tooth.

Searching for stories

After searching the information on the origins of the Tooth Fairy myth, and finding that no-one is really sure how it came about, and knowing that I would surely need to explain to a very inquisitive little lady why she would benefit from putting  her tooth into the little nest for collection, I wrote this story:

The Best Tooth Fairy in the World

Serafina is the world’s best tooth fairy, which means that she is allowed to collect the teeth from her favourite children. You Freya are honoured to be chosen by Serafina because you are a kind little girl who loves animals and flowers, especially toadstools, which as you know are where fairies make their homes.

Keeping the world safe

By giving Seraphina your tooth you are helping her to keep all the beautiful flowers safe from harm, and so make the world a wonderful place for all the children who are not quite as old as you. Children like younger sisters and brothers, who don’t yet understand how important it is that Seraphina is allowed to do her job properly, but they will when it’s their turn.

You see, your lost tooth holds magic.

It is the magic that holds everything together, it’s like a special kind of glue, that only little children can make. It is that special smile that lights up a dull world, it is your infectious laugh that makes all the old ones laugh too, it is your big hugs that bring such pleasure to everyone who cares for you, and it is your dreams that hold your future in your hands, and Seraphina collects it all from your tooth.

Making Seraphina happy

We all owe her our gratitude, and if we can hold her in our thoughts once in a while she will be happy too, because even fairies get old, and Seraphina is at least two hundred and ten. Now I know that this is hard to believe, but it is true, and she gets a little tired from flying such great distances every night.

A gift for every girl and boy

Because children never stop losing their teeth, and we are all so pleased with them for doing it that Seraphina leaves a little gift for each boy or girl that believes in her and leaves a tooth. Her gift also holds magic, and you can use the magic straight away.

Keeping your magic

You can take your coin and choose something from a shop that would please you, or put your present in your treasure box to keep and remember your first lost tooth, and know that you were especially chosen by the best tooth fairy, and send her your love.

Remembering why

As you lose more teeth you can put them in your pink tooth nest and wait for their collection, happy to know that all the effort of pulling your tooth that last little bit, which sometimes stings, will be all worthwhile.