How to Sew Reusable Bowl Covers

Learn how to make these affordable and simple reusable bowl covers. Perfect for proofing bread or covering your mason jars for ferments. This tutorial is so easy a beginner can do it.

The switch to a more sustainable home has been interesting. It forces you to analyze the things you buy and use on a daily basis. It also forces you to get creative with what can be made to be more sustainable.

In another blog post, I gave instructions for how to make DIY Beeswax Wraps. These were an excellent swap for plastic wrap that I was regularly using in the kitchen. I wanted to create something a little different though. With fermenting being a regular thing in my kitchen, I needed something reusable that I didn’t have to wash after every use. Something that would be a custom fit for whatever vessel I was fermenting or proofing bread in.

And learning how to sew these reusable bowl covers was the perfect solution. They’re so easy to make, making this a great tutorial for the beginner sewer.

I love them especially because they are so convenient for putting over my jar of sourdough starter or proofing sourdough bread. And of course, it’s always nice that they had a dainty appearance to these things that take permanent residence on my counter tops.

Supplies needed: How to sew reusable bowl covers

To sew these reusable bowl covers, here are the supplies you will need.

• Sewing Machine – I own the singer tradition 2277 sewing machine and think it’s a great beginners sewing machine
• Iron
• Fabric – the amount of fabric will depend on how many of these you want to make and the sizes of the bowls you are creating the covers for. I would say to at least purchase a yard. You end up using more than you think
• Matching Thread
• Sewing Scissors – Please don’t use regular scissors for your own sake. They are not sharp enough and don’t give as clean of a cut as sewing scissors
• Elastic – 1/4 inch elastic is great for this project
• Pins
• Washable Fabric Marker
• Fabric Tape Measure

How To Sew Reusable Bow Covers

Before starting this project, I would wash, dry and iron your fabric so that you get the accurate sizing when measuring out. Some fabrics will shrink.

Step One – Trace & Measure

To begin, get out the bowls or jars you would like to sew these covers for. Then, take your ironed fabric and lay in on a flat surface with the printed side down. Trace around your bowls, making sure to leave about 2 extra inches of fabric around each circle.

After you have all of your bowls and jars traced, go around and measure out an additional 2 inches around every circle.

Step Two – Cut & Duplicate

Now that you have one circle for each of your vessels, you want to cut them out around that outer dotted line. Then, take your circles and trace them onto a second piece of fabric. Cut those circles out as well.

This fabric can be the same print as the first circle, or you can choose a different print, making the reusable bowl covers reversible.

Step Three – Pin & Sew

So at this point, you will have two pieces of fabric for each bowl or jar. These two pieces of fabric (your circles) will need to be pinned together with the printed sides faced in. Then they should be sewed together.

However, you need to make sure to leave about a 2 inch gap between the starting stitch and the ending stitch. So don’t complete the circle when sewing. The seam allowance here is 1/4 inch.

Step Four – Sew Elastic Casing

Once you have your two pieces of fabric stitched together, you’re going to take the circle and turn it inside out from that 2 inch gap we left. I recommend trimming the excess fabric from the diameter of the circle, but this isn’t completely necessary. It just helps to take away the bulk.

After the circle has been turned inside out, iron it out. Then, taking it back to your sewing machine, you’re going to sew around your circle one inch from the edge. This time, you will need to complete the circle when sewing. What we are creating here is the casing for the elastic to go through. Another option here is to only make the casing as thick as the elastic you will be using, but I prefer the way the bowl covers look with excess room in the casing.

After you sew the casing for your elastic, you will need to measure out how much elastic you need. Do this by measuring around the diameter of the bowl and subtracting 3 inches. That will be the length of elastic you will need. So for example if you have a bowl that is 16 inches in diameter, you will need to cut a 13 inch piece of elastic for that bowl cover.

Step Five – Install Elastic

At this point you have sewed your casing for your elastic and you’ve measured out and cut the appropriate elastic size for each bowl cover. Now you need to feed the elastic through the casing. Do this by hooking a safety pin to one end of the elastic. You can also attached another safety pin to the opposite end so that it doesn’t get pulled into the casing while doing this step.

Then, take your safety pin and work it through the casing until it comes out the other end.

Now, using your sewing machine, overlap the two ends of the elastic about a half an inch and sew them together.

Finish the project up by working the elastic evenly around the reusable bowl cover and sewing the 2 inch opening shut.

I hope you have found this tutorial helpful. These covers have saved me a ton of money in cling wrap when fermenting bread or simply covering food up while sitting out. Happy sewing!