FAQ:
How do I use/wash cloth pads?
Here's what I do, but everyone is different!  I made about 30 pads (over the years) so I only have to wash them once per month.  As I use the pads, I put the used ones into a large diaper bag next to the toilet.  Usually by the end of my period, I wash them (if I remember right away).  Definitely I wash before my next cycle!  I put the pads (without bothering to pull out inserts, presoak, or anything) into the washing machine along with the diaper bag, and wash with cold water and detergent.  Then I do a second wash with hot water and no detergent (this is the same way I wash our diapers).  Then the pads go in the dryer and right back into the diaper bag to carry to the bathroom.  Easy? Yip!  You couldn't pay me to use a disposable pad.  I always had leakage problems with disposables, and they made me itch.  I also made some nice big hourglass shaped pads for night time that I wear underneath of these, so my underwear don't get stained any more.  If someone like me can use cloth, anyone can.  I have a super heavy flow and I'm also super lazy.  Cloth is what works best for me and I bet it would for you too!
What about going to work, dinner, etc?
Yes I remember the first time I worried about that too.  It turns out to be really easy.  I didn't have a big purse, so when I used to go to the office, I bought one of the Glad-Rags black zipper bags that looks like a backpack type material.  No one would ever know what it was (probably people would think it was a make-up container) .  I took that to work and would carry it to the bathroom each time.  There's another bag inside to put the used pads in, so the clean pads stay separate inside.  Now that I have a baby I just throw the pads in our diaper bag.  Pretty simple.

Materials Needed:  organic cotton terry/towel insert (2 layers) shown upper left in photo (hemp fleece or organic cotton fleece can be substituted, anything cotton or hemp is fine), and 4 pieces of flannel cut as shown in curved shapes (I'll try to scan my patterns soon, but you can fake it by just copying the shapes and making them the length/width desired, leaving enough extra all the way around for the seams)

First lay the terry (1-2 layers as desired) on top of one of the full pieces shown below, and use a zigzag stitch to attach it:

Next lay the other full-size flannel piece on top, print side up:

Next double-fold and hem the edges of the two partial pieces:

Lay one of the pieces (print side down) on top of the layers you created earlier (the partial piece just added is at the bottom of the photo, print side down):

Then lay on the 2nd piece (also print side down) as shown, overlapping the first one on top:

Now if you look at your pieces, you will see this layering:

Make sure the prints are all facing each other inside:

Then sew around the outside of the whole thing:

This is what it looks like on the bottom now:

Turn it inside out:

Not done yet!  Look at how the seams show on the inside, and this would fray terribly in the wash:

So topstitch now and then the edges will all be enclosed:

No edges showing any more:

Add a snap and you're finished!  These wash beautifully and last for many years.  There is a pocket so you can add inserts too for heavy days (even a wool-backed insert for extra leak protection).  Most days the pad alone should be enough though.