I waffled over putting this in Bodies or here in Domesticities, and decided here because it's more about sewing than bodily functions.
I use a keeper, but for about 3 days of my cycle my flow is really heavy and I want extra protection. I bought 3 cloth pantyliners from an etsy shop, but I want more. They are so simple in design, I really want to make my own but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what fabrics to use.
I have fleece and cotton, do those work? Or do I need flannel like the ones I bought?
I'm probably the wrong person to answer this because I've never made cotton pads and I don't use them, but http://www.partypantspads.com seems to offer choices between flannel and cotton. I don't think of fleece as being very absorbant, and cotton is definitely a very absorbant material, so if I were you, I would go with the cotton.
I use cloth pads. I've never made my own but I love the design of party in my pants pads. They'll give you the first one free, you just pay shipping. Maybe you could get one just to figure out their design? Plus they are sooo cute.
I also use cloth pads. I have a few links to patterns on an old blog post http://danielle04o7.blogspot.com/2011/01/reusable-menstrual-products.html