This kid-friendly project comes together in a snap! Spoonflower Maker Community Manager Alexa Terry Wilde spent the summer helping local partner Raleigh City Farm with their Farm to Camp program, where campers made these sweet lil’ bowl covers and some chow chow to boot. Read on to see the tutorial and a bonus chow chow recipe from Farm to Camp chef, Chef Ryan McGuire!  

A young man smiles and holds up a bowl covered in a no-sew bowl cover with a design featuring tomatoes, cabbage and onions on a teal background. A white concrete block wall is behind him. 
Farm to Camp intern Khirayle Cooper shows off his no-sew bowl cover. Featured design: Dorset Garden Harvest by slumbermonkey
A completed no-sew bowl fabric cover sits on top of a small bowl to the photo’s bottom right. To the top right of the photo is a bowl of homemade chow chow in a green bowl. A head of cabbage, a red pepper, a yellow pepper and a yellow squash are to the left of both bowls. The design on the fabric has a teal background and vegetables, a pumpkin, pepper, peas and spinach among them on it.
A completed no-sew bowl cover next to a bowl of Chef Ryan’s homemade chow chow.

Alexa: Spoonflower is committed to giving back to our community and proud to partner with non-profit organizations that share both our values and our mission, like Raleigh City Farm, a nonprofit urban farm founded in 2011. Each summer, Raleigh City Farm sponsors a youth outreach program called Farm to Camp where campers create tasty recipes with farm produce at a local Salvation Army branch.  

Last year, Spoonflower added fabric crafts to Farm to Camp, connecting the agricultural dots (if you will) between the sourcing and preparation of fresh produce and the plants used to create textile products. In 2022, Spoonflower funding made it possible to welcome the program’s first Farm to Camp intern, Khirayle Cooper, who supported the camp team with garden maintenance, Farmstand pick-up and recipe documentation.  

Read on to learn how Khirayle and the campers created no-sew bowl covers you can use in your own kitchen. As an added bonus, you’ll also find a seasonal chow chow recipe below that Farm to Camp instructor Chef Ryan McGuire made from Raleigh City Farm produce. Enjoy! 

Two people stand next to a table with round circles of cloth laying on it. The fabric design features tomatoes, cabbage and onions on a teal background. The person on the right is showing the person on the left how to punch holes around the edge of a fabric circle with a hole punch.
Spoonflower Brand Marketing team member Kristina assists a camper making a no-sew bowl cover. 
Campers make no-sew bowl covers with Spoonflower fabric. They are sitting around tables at work on their projects.
Campers make no-sew bowl covers with Spoonflower fabric.

No-Sew Bowl Cover Tutorial 

Materials all laid out to make a no-sew bowl cover on a brown wooden table. Clockwise from top left, a compass, a hole punch, a measuring tape, two long stripes of white elastic, pinking shears and three pieces of fabric partially layered on top one another, they each have a different vegetable themed design.
Materials all laid out to make a no-sew bowl cover. Featured designs, top to bottom: Dorset Garden Harvest by slumbermonkey, Veggies Galore by grace_andersson and Veggie Thyme by Katiedeaverdesign

Skill level: Beginner, kid friendly

Materials List

  • 1 fat quarter of Lightweight Cotton Twill  
  • Hole punch 
  • Compass 
  • Pencil 
  • Pinking shears 
  • 1/4″ (0.61 cm) wide elastic (5″-6″ (12.7-15.24 cm) longer than bowl diameter) 
  • Measuring tape 
  • Bowl(s) of your choice 
A photo of a person measuring the diameter of a yellow ceramic bowl that is sitting on a wooden table with a light green measuring tape. Only their hands are visible. A piece of a fabric featuring a design with tomatoes, cabbage and onions on a teal background lays to the top of the image.
Measuring the bowl’s diameter.

Step 1. Measure your bowl’s diameter.  

  • With the measuring tape, measure the diameter of your bowl. (Need a little refresher on how to do that? Click this link to learn how.)
     
  • Add 1″ (2.54 cm) to your bowl’s diameter. 

Step 2. Set up your compass. 

  • Using the latter number from step 1, set up your compass to make a circle with that diameter.  (For example, my bowl is just under 6″ (15.24 cm) in diameter, meaning I set up my compass to make a circle that is 7″ (17.78 cm) in diameter.  Therefore, I set my compass to 3.5″ (8.89 cm) so that it would draw an 7” (17.78 cm) circle in diameter.
     
  • Note: Fink out how to set up your compass at this link.
     
  • Don’t have a compass? You can also place your bowl edge-side down on the fabric and trace around it as you would in step 3.

An image of a compass being turned to draw a circle on the wrong side of a piece of fabric. 
Drawing the first circle onto fabric with the compass.

Step 3. Draw a circle on the fabric.  

  • Lay your fabric on a clean, smooth table with the printed design face down and the wrong side (the plain white side) facing up.
     
  • Place your compass on the fabric at the measurement set up in step 2.
     
  • Draw a complete circle with the compass. (Note: This circle is the inner circle that will serve as the marker for where you’ll punch holes in step 6.)

An image of a compass being turned to draw a second circle on the wrong side of a piece of fabric. This second circle is larger and slightly outside the first circle. 
Drawing a second larger circle onto fabric with the compass.

Step 4. Draw a second circle on the fabric.  

  • Now we need to draw another, larger circle just outside of the first circle.
     
  • This second circle will need to be 1″ (2.54 cm) larger in diameter than the first circle, so widen your compass by 0.5″ (1.27 cm). Remember: To set up your compass, you’re splitting your diameter in half, so widening it by 0.5″ (1.27 cm) creates a circle that’s 1” (2.54 cm) wider than the circle you drew in Step 2.
     
  • For my bowl, I took my compass from 3″ (7.62 cm) to 3.5″ (8.89 cm). This created a second larger circle 8″ (20.32 cm) in diameter around the first existing circle that was 7″ (17.78 cm) in diameter.
     
  • Draw a complete circle with your newly widened compass.
     
  • If you aren’t using a compass, use your measuring tape to mark 1″ (2.54 cm) out around the edge of your first circle then draw a second larger circle around the first circle using your 1” marks as a guide. 

A person is using pinking shears to cut around the outside edge of the second, larger circle drawn onto the wrong side of fabric. 
Cutting out the circles with pinking shears. 

Step 5. Cut around the second, larger circle. 

  • Using pinking shears, cut out around the outer circle (the circle you drew in step 4). 

A person is using a hole punch to punch holes around the first, smaller circle drawn onto the wrong side of fabric with a compass.
Using a hole punch to punch holes around the first, smaller circle. 

Step 6. Hole punch around the smaller circle. 

  • Using a hole punch, punch holes in the fabric in small increments (roughly 0.75″ (1.91 cm) to 1″ (2.54 cm) apart) around the smaller, inner circle you drew in step 2. 

A person uses measuring tape to measure a width of elastic. A piece of fabric which has been cut into a circle and had holes punch near the edge, lays toward the top of the photo. The design on the fabric has a teal background and vegetables, a pumpkin, pepper, peas and spinach among them on it.
Using measuring tape to measure the width of elastic for the bowl cover. 

Step 7. Cut your elastic. 

  • Lay out your elastic and cut it roughly 5″-6″ (12.7-15.24 cm) longer than the diameter of your bowl. (For example, my bowl is 6″ (15.24 cm) in diameter, so I cut my elastic 12″ (30.49 cm) in length.)

A person is lacing white elastic through a piece of fabric that is wrong side up, and has small holes punched around its edge. The elastic is being brought up through one hole and then down through the next.
Weaving the elastic up through one hole and then down through the next.
A person pulling back the edge of fabric showing where two ends of white elastic have been tied together where they meet after being woven around the edge of a piece of fabric with holes punched near the edge. The design on the fabric has a teal background and vegetables, a pumpkin, pepper, peas and spinach among them on it.
The bowl cover after tying the elastic ends together. 

Step 8. Lace the elastic. 

  • Lace your elastic through the holes punched in the fabric, going in one hole and then out the next.
     
  • To get the elastic all the way through the cover, you’ll need to bunch up the fabric as you go.
      
  • Ensure both ends of the elastic are sticking out from the wrong side of the fabric.
      
  • Once you’ve laced the elastic through all of the holes, tie them together so that they’re in a knot against the wrong side of the fabric. (I.e., the knot should not be visible when looking at the pattern side of the fabric.)  

A fabric no-sew bowl cover is finished being placed on top of a small yellow ceramic bowl sitting on a wooden table. The fabric is kept wrapped around the bowl’s edge with white elastic that has been threaded through small holes punched through the fabric. The design on the fabric has a teal background and vegetables, a pumpkin, pepper, peas and spinach among them on it.
Placing the finished bowl cover on top of the bowl. 

Step 9. Fit the cover on top of the bowl.  

  • Straighten the fabric around the elastic.
     
  • Then fit it around the bowl’s edge to ensure a proper fit.

Bonus Summer Squash Chow Chow Recipe

“This quick pickling method is a great way to preserve a surplus of vegetables growing in your summer garden. The types of cabbage, peppers, squash and fresh herbs can vary depending on what you have on hand. This relish condiment can be used on many dishes such as rice and beans, hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ or on its own as a side dish. At Farm to Camp, we spread cream cheese on crackers and then top them with chow chow.” – Chef Ryan  

A completed no-sew bowl fabric cover sits on top of a small bowl to the photo’s bottom right. To the top right of the photo is a bowl of homemade chow chow in a green bowl. A head of cabbage, a red pepper, a yellow pepper and a yellow squash are to the left of both bowls. The design on the fabric has a teal background and vegetables, a pumpkin, pepper, peas and spinach among them on it.

Recipe makes 6 cups 

Ingredients:  

  • Cabbage (medium diced): 5 cups 
  • Summer squash (medium diced): 3 cups 
  • Peppers (medium diced): 1.5 cups
  • Apple cider vinegar: 1.5 cups 
  • Water: 6-8 oz.
  • Granulated sugar: 3 tbsp. 
  • Mustard seeds: 1 tsp. 
  • Ground turmeric: 1 tsp. 
  • Celery seed: 1/4 tsp. 
  • Ground mustard: 1 tsp. 
  • Ground ginger: 1 tsp. 
  • Garlic cloves (smashed): 2 
  • Cloves (whole): 2 
  • Bay leaf: 1 
  • Kosher salt: 1 tbsp. 
  • Fresh basil (chiffonaded): 1 tbsp. 

Directions: 

  1. In a medium-sized pot, add all of the ingredients except for basil and water.  
  1. Add enough water so that all of the vegetables are just submerged in the liquid. 
  1. Place pot over medium heat on the stove top. 
  1. As the waters comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
  1. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool. (An ice water bath can also be used to cool the chow chow faster.)  
  1. Once the chow chow is cool, add the basil and stir to incorporate evenly throughout. 
  1. Carefully empty the contents of the pot, including all of the liquid, into a plastic or glass container. Store in the refrigerator until needed.     

About Chef Ryan McGuire: After training and working for years in New York City restaurants, North Carolina has proven to be the perfect home for me since 2010. With our state’s agricultural riches and thriving restaurant and hospitality industry, it has been a wonderful place to grow professionally. Being involved locally not only allows me to work with the community, it also gives us the chance to discuss important issues like increasing food equality and reducing hunger as we work. For these reasons and more, it’s been a great opportunity to go back to camp with Farm to Camp this year! 

Want more great no-sew projects? 

Whether you’re looking for quick zero-waste projects, beautiful home decor upcycling, kids’ projects or something else, we’ve got your no-sew project needs covered!
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