cover layer 11 having a denier in the range of from about 1 0 to about 4 0 superior performance from the standpoint of comfort is believed to result from a denier of from about 1 5 to about 3 5 or most preferably from a denier of about 1 5 to about 2 0 currently commercialization is about to begin with a denier of 1 8 fiber length for cover layer 11 has been found to be satisfactory if in the range of from about 0 5 inches to about 2 5 inches the resulting web is a thin pliable resilient porous cloth like fabric whose top surface has a soft smooth pleasing tactile quality this web may be fed directly and continuously into the manufacturing process for the pad 10 of this invention or it may be collected and stored for later use immediately below and in heat bonded relationship with cover layer 11 is an absorbent layer 16 comprising a blend of thermoplastic fibers it is preferable that the thermoplastic fibers of absorbent layer 16 be a mixture of two or more types of thermoplastic fibers having different melting points bicomponent fibers fibers with an inner core of a thermoplastic fiber e g polyester surrounded by an outer sheath of thermoplastic e g polyethylene having a melting point much lower than the core have been found to be.