Who Makes Whatakrakka Fancy Pads?

Hi! I’m Laura, the chief fabric buyer and creator at Whatakrakka Fancy Pads. 
 
I live in Palmerston North, New Zealand with my husband, three children and two Briards (French Sheep Dogs). 
 
Why do I have such a weird business name?
Whatakrakka (What – a – cracker)  was the pedigree name of our Boston Terrier Teddy.
My first business was called Whatakrakka. I made beautiful dresses for girls out of woollen blankets and doilies as well as lots of other neat stuff that I sold at markets. Then I accidentally got into cloth pads. I came up with the name Whatakrakka Fancy Pads as a play on fancy pants which is what you have when you have my beautiful fancy pads in your undies. (Some people have thought it is a play on fanny pads. That works too!) I really wanted to keep the name Whatakrakka as I think it's neat and I loved my dog very much. 
 
I am totally obsessed with fabric and sewing and have been sewing for half of my life! Whatakrakka Fancy Pads is the perfect creative outlet for me while allowing me to be a stay at home Mum. I put lots of time and care into what I make so that I produce gorgeous pads that will last well and look pretty. I work hard to create pads that you will look forward to using rather than putting you off using reusable menstrual products. The aim for me has always been quality over quantity. 


I take the time to do things like tie off the ends of the core stitching so that they will not undo with use. This is one of the steps that takes so much time and it can be very frustrating because I use a curvy stitch. But I believe it is worth it. It also means that I am usually able to get the ends to match nicely which looks so much better than when ends are just sewn back over each other multiple times. I use the best quality fabrics that I can find and afford. Fussy cutting is another thing that I do. That is where I centre a large print on the pad so that it looks beautiful rather than just cutting it out and ending up with half of a unicorn head on a pad. This does use up more fabric, but this attention to details means that they end up looking oh so cute!