DIY Reusable Cotton Rounds with Bias Binding Tutorial

If you’re looking to replace disposable cotton pads, this sewing tutorial is for you. These DIY reusable cotton rounds are sewn from two layers of fabric and finished with bias tape. They work as makeup remover pads, for applying toner etc.

I’ve included a free PDF pattern in three sizes (small, medium and large) as well as the bias tape strip pattern pieces. I’ll also show you how to make your own bias tape by joining several fabric strips. If you’re making a batch of these DIY cotton rounds, it’s easier to have a long length of bias tape on hand.

Let’s begin.

What You’ll Need

I’m using two layers of cotton flannel because they mimic the layers you find in store bought. You could also use towelling fabric, however, in my opinion, it wastes liquid. If using thicker fabrics like towelling fabric, don’t double up the layers, just use one layer.
Scraps of light-weight woven fabric for the bias tape like cotton and linen. It’s very important for this to be a light fabric. Otherwise, the finished reusable pads will be be too taut at the edge

Download the Free Pattern

The reusable cotton rounds pattern is available as a free download below. Please don’t sell this pattern.

DIY reusable cotton rounds sewing pattern (0 downloads
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Printing instructions

Printable sewing pattern template sheet for cotton rounds in small, medium, and large sizes, including bias tape strips and a test square

Select your paper size (A4 or US Letter) in your printer settings before printing.
Set the print scale to Actual Size or 100%. Do not select Fit to Page.
Check the test square after printing.

Cutting Your Fabric

Cut out the cotton round pattern piece in the size you’d like to make. For each round you will cut:

Flannel: cut 2 rounds
Towelling fabric: cut 1 round

Round of white flannel fabric cut out on a dark wood table

The bias tape is cut separately, so let’s make that next.

How to make bias tape for your cotton rounds

You can use the pattern pieces to cut just one length of bias tape for one cotton round but if you are making several of these, it is best to make yourself a sufficient length of bias tape instead of cutting tiny fabric strips for each round. Use the width of the pattern pieces I provided earlier for the next steps

Step 1: Cut the bias strips

Take a piece of light cotton fabric and fold it on the bias. That means folding it diagonally so the fold sits at a 45 degree angle to the selvedge or cross grain.

Blue and purple floral fabric folded diagonally on the bias

Use the width of the pattern piece to cut fabric strips along the bias on the fold (this is 3.6 cm for large & medium and 2.5 cm for small). Repeat until you have a handful of strips. You can discard the shorter ones or save them for something else.

Floral fabric cut into bias strips laid out on a cutting mat

Step 2: Join the strips

Trim off the diagonal edges of the fabric strips. Place two strips right sides together at the corners so that they form a right angle, and pin or clip them. Sew diagonally (top left to bottom right, important!) across the corner where the two strips overlap.

Two floral fabric strips pinned right sides together at a right angle with a stitched diagonal line

Trim the seam allowance down to about0 0.6 cm or ¼ in and press the seam open.

Flannel round with floral bias tape ends overlapped and trimmed scraps beside it

Two floral fabric strips joined at a right angle with a diagonal seam

Now add the next strip in exactly the same way and keep going until you have one long strip that is enough for however many cotton rounds you want to make.

Step 3: Fold your strip into bias tape

If you have a bias tape maker: feed the end of your fabric strip through the bias tape maker (18 mm bias tape maker for medium & large and 12 mm for small rounds) and press the folded tape as it comes out the other side. Then fold the tape in half lengthwise once more for double folded bias tape.

If you don’t have a bias tape maker, do the following.

Fold the strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Open it up again so you have a center crease.

Floral fabric strip folded in half lengthwise to make a center crease

Fold each long raw edge in towards the center crease, onto the wrong side, and press.

Narrow folded floral bias tape laid flat on a dark wood table

Fold the whole thing in half again along the center crease and press.

Double fold bias tape in blue and purple floral fabric

Your bias tape is ready. You may now use the pattern piece to cut the length of bias tape you need for sewing one reusable cotton round.

How to sew the reusable cotton rounds

If you are using flannel, place your two fabric pieces wrong sides together. If you are using a towelling fabric, you’re only need one layer.

Two white flannel rounds stacked on top of each other with edges aligned

Step 1: Sew the bias tape to the rounds

Unfold the bias tape. Line up the raw edge of the tape with the edge of the rounds, leaving about 2.5 cm (1 in) of tape free at the start. Pin or clip the tape in place from there.

Floral bias tape being guided onto a flannel round with a bamboo tool at the sewing machine

Start sewing at the pin, 3 mm or ⅛ in from the edge for the small rounds or 6 mm or ¼ in for the medium and large. Stay within the first section of the tape and don’t sew past the crease.

As you go, ease the bias tape onto the fabric (just push it slightly as I’m doing with my point turner below) and don’t stretch it. If you stretch the tape, the finished cotton round will end up too taut.

Floral bias tape looped around a flannel round under the sewing machine needle

Pinned bias tape join on a flannel round while sewing at the machine

As you approach your starting point, slow down and push the free tail of bias tape out of the way (I like to actually pin mine so that it’s completely out of the way). Stop sewing exactly where your first stitch began, without sewing over the starting point.

If you’re not sure where to stop, lay the bias tape you are sewing over the remaining bit of fabric, on top of the free tail you pushed aside. Mark the spot where the tape meets your starting point with an erasable marking tool, as I have done below, and sew up to that mark.

Hand guiding a flannel round with floral bias tape under the sewing machine needle, with a pen resting beside it

Lift your presser foot and take the assembled round out of the machine. Trim the bias tape, if necessary, so that this tail is the same length as your starting tail.

Hand holding a flannel round with pinned floral bias tape at the sewing machine

Pin or clip the tails together, right sides together. As in the photo above, to guide you, mark a vertical line on the bias tape, from the edge of the round fabric shape to the top of the tails. Sew along the line to close the loop.

Two floral bias tape ends being sewn together under the sewing machine foot

Trim the seam allowance to about 0.6 cm or 1/4 in and press it open

Floral bias strip with a vertical seam and the seam allowance pressed open

Step 4: Fold the bias tape over and edgestitch to finish

Flip the bias tape over to the other side of the fabric layers so that the seam of the bias tape is now facing inside.

Flannel round with floral bias tape sewn on and the loose tape end sticking out

Now we need to fold the bias tape onto this newly exposed side of the fabric. The main center crease is what will sit right on the edge of the round, and the second fold is what you clip onto the fabric as shown below. Press the bias tape onto the fabric.

Edge stitch right next to the folded edge of the bias tape all the way around the cotton round. Make sure you catch the bias tape on the back as you sew.

Finished Reusable Cotton Round

Finished flannel reusable cotton round with floral bias tape edge stitched all the way around

Congratulations! You just finished sewing your first reusable cotton round. I hope this will be one of many. Let me know in the comments which size you made and what fabrics you used. And make sure to wash and dry them before use.

And if you want a handy bag to store these reusable cotton rounds, check out my sewing tutorials and free patterns where I show you how to sew a lined and unlined drawstring bag, as well as a square boxy pouch.