Say sayonara to saran wrap! We've never felt good about the amount of saran wrap we use in the kitchen, but even more so now that we have half-eaten yogurts and mini-meals abandoned by our toddler. Our guilt finally motivated us to make some shower-cap style bowl covers.
What You Need
Materials
cotton laminate or oilcloth (some good sources here - check the comments too)
1/4" elastic (other sizes will work too - see note below about how much)
scissors
thread
bowls to trace
crayon, marker or pen
pinking shears (optional)
Equipment
sewing machine
Instructions
1. Select bowls or other circular objects for tracing. Keep in mind that the finished cover will be smaller than the bowl you trace so choose a bowl template bigger than what you want to cover in the end.
2. Trace your bowl onto the wrong side of your cloth with a crayon, pen, marker or whatever you have at hand.
3. Cut out the shape with scissors.
4. Sew your elastic to the wrong side of your cloth making sure to backstitch. I did mine about 1/2" in from the edge. You may want to go 3/4" or 1". I used a straight stitch (which you can see didn't turn out so straight). You could also use a zig-zag stitch. IMPORTANT: Once you've made a few stitches to hold it in place, pull the elastic tightly as you sew so that it gathers.
5. Overlap the beginning and ending of the elastic slightly, backstitch and snip off the unused elastic.
6. Trim edges with pinking shears if you like.
Additional Notes: How much elastic should I use you may wonder? Of course it depends on your bowl size. I don't think it's worth trying to figure out exactly how much you need - it's easier to just start with a longish piece and cut it off at the end.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not great at figuring things out - if you have a different approach to making bowl covers or improvements to add please share them in the comments.
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(Images: Carrie McBride)
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Oooh! Saving this one. Brilliant! I also get very frustrated with saran wraps - occasionally I run into a batch that just doesn't stick & it drives me crazy. Thanks for the tip!
Clever idea!!
Cute! You could probably do bowl- or can-specific ones by tracing the item of your choice and then adding about an inch (or an inch and a half, you can always trim back), and then sewing the elastic about 1/2 - 1 inch from your tracing line (as opposed to the edge).
I would probably do 1 inch for cans and straight things (to be able to pull down tight), 3/4 - 1 inch for bowls with no lips, and just 1/2 inch for bowls with lips since the elastic will catch if it rides up.
Just my 2 cents... GREAT idea, and EXCELLENT for re-use of those cloth-backed plastic table covers you can find for parties! I have one in mind, in fact... :)
And if anyone does that 5-minute artisan bread, this is just the "non-sealed but covered" cover for a big bowl of dough in your fridge...
These are so cute! A friend of mine recently did something similar using a Healthy Choice soup can - http://yaydiy.com/2010/02/a-soup-er-pretty-nightstand-holder/ - but this is perfect for those items that aren't used and tossed in one shot.
I'm going to be stitching/gluing away for all the various bowls I use...I shudder to think how much I've wasted...
This is brilliant! I'm going to make some for me, and extras for housewarming gifts. I might be tempted to try folding over the edge of the fabric to sew a casing and running the elastic through that, but it will probably depend on how stiff the fabric is.
I'm curious how you wash these? It seems like maybe you'd want them to be doublesided so the wipeable side is facing the food.
Or, I bet you can throw them in a dishwasher, if you have one.
I'm thinking of trying with an casing and just threading with a sturdy twine or ribbon.....and tying.
I love this idea! My fiance and I pride ourselves on having never purchased any kind of cling wrap (we use foil if we need to, since it can be washed and recycled), but lately I've come across a few situations where I really needed some. I'd love to make some for my casserole dishes that do not have covers, for when I take food somewhere. My poor pigs in a blanket last night were simply covered with a kitchen towel to keep warm and clean LoL