How to Make Your Own Bowl Covers

You finished your delicious dish for the dinner party and now all you need to do is get it to the venue. Food sitting out or traveling in the car without a cover? No thank you! You can buy lovely – yet pricey – cotton bowl, but why not make your own to match your style? After a bit of searching and some trial-and-error, we settled on two easy techniques to make our own using Lightweight Cotton Twill. Whether you choose the no-sew option or get out your sewing machine, these covers are perfect for resting your dough for baked goods, covering pasta or salad for a picnic, or even protecting your stand mixer bowl from dust. Read on for the full tutorial for two ways how to make your own bowl covers!

Skill level: Beginner, kid friendly or intermediate sewing option

Prewash your fabric with cold water, low-heat dry, and iron it.

Gather the bowls you are making covers for. You have two options here: 1. do some math and use a compass to make perfect circles, or 2. use your bowl as your template.

Using a compass: With the measuring tape, measure the diameter (from one lip to the other across the widest part) of your bowl.

Use your compass to draw a circle that fits your bowl on the reverse side (the plain white side) of the fabric. Example: if your bowl is just about 6″ (15.24 cm) in diameter, set up your compass to 3″ (7.62 cm) to make a circle that is 6″ (15.24 cm) in diameter. (Note: This circle is the inner circle that will serve as the marker for where you’ll punch holes in step 4.)

Now you need to draw another, larger circle just outside of the first circle. Add 1″ (2.54 cm) to your bowl’s diameter for the no-sew option or 2.5” (6.35 cm) seam allowance if you plan on sewing in the elastic. Does your bowl have a lip? Add another inch!

Draw a second, larger circle with your compass.

Example for the 6″ diameter bowl:

Using your bowl as a guide: No compass? No problem! Flip your bowl edge-side down on the reserve of the fabric (the plain white side) and trace around it.

Add 1″ (2.54 cm) to your bowl’s diameter for the no-sew option or 2.5” (6.35 cm) seam allowance if you plan on sewing in the elastic. Does your bowl have a lip? Add another inch! Mark out the seam allowance you need with your measuring tape and connect the dots so you have a larger circle outside of the smaller, bowl-sized circle.

With your pinking shears, cut around the second, larger circle.

No-Sew Version: Using the hole punch, punch holes around the smaller circle you drew in step 2, spaced about 0.75″ (1.91 cm) to 1″ (2.54 cm) apart.

Sewing Version: First create a “casing” for your elastic by folding and pressing a fabric edge twice, then sew along the inside edge of the fold to create a tunnel. Leave a 2″ opening so you can feed the elastic through.

No-Sew Version: Lay out your elastic and cut it roughly 5″-6″ (12.7-15.24 cm) longer than the diameter of your bowl. Example: For the 6″ (15.24 cm) diameter bowl, cut 12″ (30.49 cm) in length of 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.) 

Sewing Version: Clip a safety pin to the end of your elastic. Do not cut your elastic just yet. Feed your elastic through the 2” opening into the channel. The fabric will start to bunch up like a shower cap, which is good. Once you’re through the channel to the other side, hold the safety pin end with your hand and spread out the bunching as evenly as you can.

Grab your bowl and place the cover over it. Tighten the elastic (always holding on to the safety pin) so it will be secure around the bowl. Mark your preferred length on the elastic with a pen or marker, remove the bowl cover, and then sew the elastic together. The elastic should still be inside the channel. Trim the extra elastic approximately 1/4” past your stitches.

Finally, tuck the elastic into the opening and use one or two pins to hold the opening closed for added security. Stretch your fabric out gently and edgestitch with a seam allowance of 1/8” around where you left the 2” opening. Trim threads.

Fit the cover on top of your bowl and straighten out the elastic.