DIY Reusable Makeup Remover Face Wipes
Everyone's trying to be a little eco-friendlier nowadays and we, at CosyCotes, are doing everything we can to be better as a business. We love the whole eco vibe and are trying to do our bit for the environment, where we can.
I mean, it's very much a work in progress especially as we work through a backlog of old packaging supplied but we're doing the best we can.
Anyway, we thought we'd share our tips on making your own makeup remover face wipes! These are just one of the ways that you can make your everyday a little more environmentally friendly. They're also perfect for removing makeup at the end of the day and can be washed over and over again. So, you get to remove your makeup without the guilt of using single use cotton pads.
However, not everyone has the patience or the materials for something like this so we do have some fully prepared alternatives in our store.
But for those of you that want to make your own, here it goes...
For this project, you will need:
-Fabric - we use 100% cotton, terry towelling and bamboo but the choice is yours
-Fabric scissors
-Fabric pins
-Sewing machine and thread
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Step 1 - Choose your fabric
The possibilities are endless and the choice really is up to you. Ideally it wants to be something fairly absorbent and kind to the skin but it's all about preference.
Personally, we use 100% cotton or flannel cotton on one side to provide funky patterns and plain bamboo or terry towelling on the other. Both the bamboo and towelling are great for absorbing water and the towelling, especially, is great for getting a deeper clean feeling. I tend to use the bamboo more for applying moisturisers as it's super soft and helps it to not 'cling' to my skin so much.
Plus, if you want to take the environmentally friendly element one step further then you can always use up some old fabric scraps or old clothing. They'll still work perfectly and it saves you money too!
Step two - Marking the fabric
For this step your going to want to find something you can use as a template. It can be anything you like really as long as it's large enough to suit. Square or rectangular templates are a lot easier for a beginner but you can choose to experiment with other shapes if you really wanted to.
Personally, we made my own from a sheet of cardboard. This way it's the exact size we wanted and we can continue to use it over and over again. It's also the perfect size (approx 4" x 4") for our face wipes.
Once you've got the template sorted, use a fabric pencil to draw around it on the wrong side of one your fabric pieces. I use the cotton fabric as the pencil marks show up more easily on that compared to the towelling.
Basically, all fabric has a right and a wrong side. It's easy to tell with the cotton as the pattern on the right side is bolder and more vibrant. However, with things like towelling it can be a little more difficult but you can normally tell by the feel of the fabric. The right side of towelling fabric is slightly fluffier than the other.
Step three - Pinning the two fabrics
Now that you've got your first piece of fabric, you want to pin it to the second. Just make sure you pin the two right sides together.
You may think it's a bit odd to pin the two right sides together but as you're going to turn these inside out later on in the process it makes sense.
Once pinned, you can then use your first piece of fabric as a template to cut the second. This way they are both equal in size and exactly inline. Plus, it saves you from having to keep drawing round your template again and again.
Step four - Sew the two fabrics together
For this step, you do not want to sew all four edges of the fabric together. It's more like three and a bit.
If required, it would be advisable to lightly iron the fabrics so they are completely flat. This will make it a lot easier to get nice, even stitches.
Start about 2/3 of the way down one side and sew a straight edge (we work at about 3/8" allowance from the edge). Make sure you stop far enough away from the next edge that your allowance is equal all the way around.
Turn the fabrics and sew around the next three edges, turn once more and sew approx. 1/3 of the way down. This should leave a small gap in the final edge between where you've started and where you've stopped.
Remove the fabrics from the machine and cut off the corners of the two fabrics. The piece should no longer be completely square and the four corners should be cut diagonally. This is to make it easier to get a nice even square when you reverse it in the next step.
Step five - Turn the fabrics inside out
Using the little gap you made earlier turn the fabrics inside out, pushing the opposite edge through the gap and pulling it until it's completely reversed.
By doing this, the face wipes are almost complete. The patterns should now be showing correctly with your second choice of fabric underneath. Of course, it's not going to be 100% perfect just yet as you may need to use something (scissors, crochet hooks, pens etc) to try and push each of the corners (working from inside the little gap) until you get an, almost, perfect, little square.
Your face wipe should now look the correct size and shape to what you want it to be. Again, we tend to lightly iron the face wipes to make sure they are lying flat. Before you do this though, make sure the loose fabric where the gap is, is fully folded inside so that it can be stitched over and secured.
Now, it's just a case of top stitching it to ensure it all stays together.
Step six - top stitching
Although this stitch also helps to keep the fabric together, it does form more of a decorative stitch as you are going to be able to see it on the finished product. I tend to choose a longer stitch for this one, number 5 on my machine. However, as all sewing machines are different it might not be the same on everyone's machine.
Just like when sewing the two fabrics together you want to choose a decent allowance. Some people like to go as close to the edge as they can. Others prefer to keep a bit more distance. Personally, we choose an allowance of approx. 1/4". Mainly because our machine won't except a smaller allowance but also to add a little decoration. As long as it's enough to secure the gap then it's completely up to you.
The only issue with allowing a slightly larger distance from the edge is, although it's fully secured, it can appear as though the gap is still there as the fabrics are slightly looser in that section. This is completely normal but, providing you folded the fabric into the gap, it's fully secure and shouldn't come loose.
If it does concern you, try putting a small amount of fabric glue around that section to secure it further.
So there you have it, your brand new reusable face wipes!
If you're feeling really adventurous you could try a little experimentation. Play around with the top stitches, see which suits best. Remember it's not always going to be perfect first time. So, take this time to try different things and have some fun with it!
