Obsidian Star breastpads are made by sewing 2 graduating sized layers of bamboo fleece to a layer of flannelette. This gives a thinner edge to the breast pads, where the thickness increases gradually, for a more discreet and comfortable breast pad.
Available in 3 sizes – “Small” (9cm), “Medium” (10cm) and “Large” (12cm), with fabric options including minky, organic cotton, suedecloth and PUL.
Reusable produce bags are designed to be used for carrying your fruit and veg home from the market, greengrocer or supermarket. They are simply a reusable alternative to the plastic bags the store provides.
The produce can be weighed in the bag, with the transparency of the fabric allowing the produce to be seen through the bag for pricing. Easy to use drawstring closure, and available in lots of colours!
The advantages of reusable produce bags are that the produce can “breathe”. Have you ever brought the shopping home on a warm day, perhaps unpacked all your cold stuff first and left the veg sitting there a bit, and there is now condensation inside the plastic? That condensation buildup can make your produce go soggy quicker. That doesn’t happen with breathable fabric bags.
Your produce bags can be used for other things too. Peel your potatoes into the bag, then just turn the bag inside out and give it a shake to throw your peelings into the compost. If you peel your spuds under running water (tisk tisk!) the water will flow through the bag. Use it in the bath to hold kids bath toys. Use it in the laundry to wash delicates that you don’t want your washing machine to eat. Use knitted dishcloths? wash them in your produce bags to keep them from getting lost in the laundry.
Environmentally Friendly
Using a reusable bag saves wasting all that plastic each time you go do your grocery shopping. Like many of us use reusable bags to bring home the shopping, these allow you to say no to plastic fruit & veg bags.
Breathable
A “breathable” bag means they don’t get that steamy condensation buildup on hot days. You can even store your fruit & veg in the fridge in these to keep things tidy.
Washable
Not that I imagine washing your produce bags will be high on the list of priorities, but if something has leaked in there, or you’ve forgotten about those tomatoes you bought 2 months ago sitting decomposing away in the bottom of the fridge (*shudder*)….. then these bags are fully machine washable. Infact they can also double as a “delicates” washing bag (pantyhose etc.). The synthetic versions should not be tumble dried or ironed.
Sizes
Bags are usually approx 25cmx25cm. Occasionally I have a few other sizes available. By comparison, supermarket plastic produce bags are around 25cm X 40cm. The 25x25cm size bags have been tested to hold a kilo of produce. This equates to about 9-10 oranges. Obviously different produce will fit differently, eg you won’t fit many zucchinis in the regular sized bag, but you’d fit a massive lot of beans, but this size should suit most of your shopping needs. Smaller “handful bags” are available for when you want a handful of spinach leaves, nuts or something like that, and don’t want to use the bigger bags. larger bags and “sacks” are occasionally available (if I’m out of stock and you want one, just let me know)
Weight
The all important weight factor. As your produce is being weighed in the bag, the weight of the bag will be added to the cost of the produce. The chiffon produce bags weigh about 9-10g. The thin plastic bags you get in the supermarket weigh about 4g. However the bags should not add any noticeable cost to your produce, and I have kept the weight down by adding only a single drawstring. If you buy a $5 a kilo produce, the chiffon bags for example will add approx 4c to the total cost of the produce… (compared to 2c for the plastic bag)… so you may end up paying about 2c extra per bag of produce – but that’s a small price to pay for being environmentally friendly!
Looking after your bags
The nature of these bags is that they are light enough to not add too much weight to your purchase, so a certain amount of ‘flimsiness’ is to be expected. They have been tested with over a kilo in weight, which they held without showing signs of strain. However the bags should not be overfilled as to strain the seams.
It is not recommended to carry the filled produce bags by the drawstring, it is instead recommended to hold the bag by the fabric at the top, with your other hand underneath, supporting the weight. They can be washed by hand or machine if needed, and should be washed before first use.
These cloth pads are handmade, and as such there will be slight imperfections in every pad. While I do my best to produce items to the best of my ability (of course), I’d rate my ability to be around an average-competency seamstress – so some degree of imperfection is to be expected.
Refunds or replacements will not be given for minor imperfections.
Where I think any imperfections are above the acceptable “handmade” level, I will either note these in the product listing and/or mark the pad as a “seconds” and may reduce the price of the pad to reflect the imperfection. These imperfections are generally just cosmetic (visual) issues, such as a bit of wonky stitching or a slightly misshapen curve that should not affect the performance of the product.
If the imperfection is such that I want you to be well aware of it before purchasing, and it is difficult to see in the main image, I will include additional images to more clearly show the imperfection.
I do offer a 3 Month sewing guarantee – If your pads have a major problem related to the sewing/construction of your pads within the first 3 months of use, I will repair or replace it (at my discretion) free of charge. If such a problem occurs please notify me first – before posting the pad to me – to arrange this.