How to make bowl covers – easy steps with upcycled fabrics
Making bowl covers will mean no more covering food with plastic, and pretty-looking bowls on the countertop
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

If cutting down on plastic wrap in the kitchen is an aim, you might be looking for replacement bowl covers. Of course you can use a plate... but for an equally eco-friendly and much prettier option, why not make bowl covers?
These, made by author Jen Chillingsworth, are so simple to copy, and can be made with sustainable fabrics you already own.
'Use fabrics you no longer use – you will need a piece the width of your chosen bowl plus 2in to fasten over the sides,' advises Jen.
Jen Chillingsworth is the author of Green Living: A Sustainable Guide to a More Intentional Life (opens in new tab). Green Living (opens in new tab) is follow up to her best-selling book Live Green. Her second book is a practical guide to living life more thoughtfully, and includes a collection of changes you can make to your home and lifestyle over the course of a year, from making your own cleaning products to giving up plastic.
How to make bowl covers
Scraps of fabrics will do – perhaps you have some left over from making kitchen curtains that can perfectly coordinate with your scheme? Or maybe you have a beautiful but beyond repair piece of fabric that can be repurposed? Or, you could salvage fabrics that are being sold off to make your own bowl covers.
You will need:
- Iron
- Fabric scraps
- Bowl
- Ruler
- Fabric marker pen/chalk
- Fabric scissors (Ed: these Tailor's Scissors have a 5 star Amazon rating (opens in new tab))
- Pins
- Sewing machine (Ed: this Amazon top seller sewing machine is great for beginners and small projects (opens in new tab))
- Organic cotton elastic
- Safety pin
- Needle
- Organic cotton thread
1. Perfect the fabric
Iron your fabric to ensure a flat surface. Lay the bowl upside down on the inside of the fabric.
2. Measure and cut the fabric
Measure 2in from the outside of the bowl and mark the spot. Do this at regular intervals, then connect the dots to form a circle. Cut around this line.
Fold the edges inwards, approximately 1in and pin in place. Do this all around, leaving a 2in opening at the end.
3. Add elastic
Hook a safety pin to one end of the elastic then insert this into the opening of the bowl cover.
Guide the safety pin around the seam until the pin and the elastic come through the other side.
Stitch the two ends of the elastic together. Finally, fold the opening in the fabric over the elastic and sew to close.
Do fabric bowl covers keep food fresh?
Fabric covers can keep food fresh by protecting them somewhat from the air and, importantly, house and fruit flies, plus any grease and grime that might settle on them from cooking in the kitchen.
Lucy Searle has written about interiors, property and gardens since 1990, working her way around the interiors departments of women's magazines before switching to interiors-only titles in the mid-nineties. She was Associate Editor on Ideal Home, and Launch Editor of 4Homes magazine, before moving into digital in 2007, launching Channel 4's flagship website, Channel4.com/4homes. In 2018, Lucy took on the role of Global Editor in Chief for Realhomes.com, taking the site from a small magazine add-on to a global success. She was asked to repeat that success at Homes & Gardens, where she has also taken on the editorship of the magazine.
-
-
Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford buys red-brick manor in Hidden Hills for $10.5 million
The figure behind Rams' Super Bowl LVI victory celebrated with a new vineyard estate in the Santa Monica Mountains
By Megan Slack • Published
-
7 things we didn’t know you could clean with a Magic Eraser
From sprucing up sneakers to shining silverware, you’ll be amazed at what this humble cleaning tool can do
By Tara King • Published
-
6 clever ways to upcycle leftover decorating materials – to save money and be more eco-friendly
Using up leftover decorating materials can result in a more layered interior, too
By Kate Burnett • Published
-
Eco decor – 10 beautiful, sustainably-designed room ideas
There is an alluring organic luxury about these eco decor schemes – all crafted with pieces focused on being natural
By Kiera Buckley Jones • Published
-
British Style: de le Cuona
We find out more about fabric firm de Le Cuona and its landmark range of organic, fully traceable linen
By Arabella Youens • Published
-
Sustainable fabrics – the fibers to look for and questions to ask
Recycled textiles expert Jules Haines advises buying sustainable fabrics for your interiors project
By Lucy Searle • Published
-
Homemade moth repellent – get rid of moths, naturally
You can make your own moth repellent using herbs and essential oils. It's easy to do and more sustainable than products sold in-store
By Lucy Searle • Published
-
How to make laundry detergent – a recipe for eco-friendly washing powder
Author Jen Chillingsworth shows how easy making your own laundry detergent at home is – and you can add essential oils to create a fragrance unique to you
By Lucy Searle • Published
-
How to make a reed diffuser – with essential oils
It's really easy to make a reed diffuser yourself. Here, author Jen Chillingsworth tells us how, including how to make reed diffuser oil
By Lucy Searle • Last updated
-
9 ways to be sustainable at home
Being sustainable at home is more important than ever – writer Ida Magntorn is making it easier with these considered points
By Lucy Searle • Published