How to Decorate Jar Lids with Fabric

It sure sounded simple.

But, alas, things in life often are not as simple as they first sound.

In this case I was looking for a simple way to decorate the lids of my recycled jars and ended up being inspired Martha Stewart when I found one of her projects telling me I could “decorate basic jam jars with lively fabric scraps”.

Ooooh, lively!  Yes, please.  My jars are just waiting to get lively.

And since writing about how to make Homemade Goo Gone for removing labels from jars, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s plenty of other people that like to recycle jars too that might be looking for some way to ramp up the liveliness.  So I gave Martha’s little project a try.

how to decorate jar lids

The end result was a couple of jar lids that are now covered in fabric, but it was not as simple as I expected. The original instructions just briefly said to “press flaps over so they adhere to the interior of the lip” letting us find out for ourselves that there will be lots of sticky fingers and much muttering and mumbling to make the happen.  BUT – I did end up with two spaghetti sauce jar lids that are a wee more lively than they used to be.

If you want to put some of your jars to use in a more visible place, this method does make them more attractive, but you’ll need some patience and persistence to get to your final product.

Here’s how to do it.

how to decorate jar lidsFABRIC COVERED JAR LIDS

You Will Need:

  • Recycled jar with a screw on lid

  • Fabric Scraps

  • Scissors

  • Pencil

  • Spray Adhesive

  • Small Amount of Felt (Optional)

1.  The first thing to do is cut a circle of fabric a little bit bigger than your jar lid.  You’ll need about an extra 1/2″ to  3/4″ all around so that there’s enough fabric to cover the edge of the lid, inside and out.  I hunted around until I found something circular that was about the right size (a plastic storage container), and then traced around it with my pencil on the fabric scrap.  Cut out your circle.

2.  Next, center your jar lid in the middle of the circle you just cut out and trace around it.  This will help you know how far to cut the notches in the next step.

3.  Cut notches in the fabric about an inch apart up to the line of the inner circle you traced.

how to decorate jar lids

4.  You will need a well ventilated area for this next step using the spray adhesive.  I always go out to the garage when using spray adhesive which is also why I have no pictures of this step – I was out in the dark dim garage.  Lay down some newspapers or other disposable surface covering to work on, lay the fabric circle face down (with the wrong side facing up) and spray it with the adhesive.

5.  NOW . . . get ready for the muttering and mumbling.  Lay the jar lid on the fabric and begin to fold the sections of the fabric up and over the sides of the lid.  At first they will not stick AT ALL.  But if you persist, the adhesive gets a little more tacky (so do your fingers) and finally the fabric does begin to stick.  I also used a screwdriver to help push the fabric down against the edge of the lid.  After much fiddling, it should end up like this:

how to decorate jar lids

6.  Although nobody sees the inside of your lid, I thought it needed a little help and covered the inside with a circle of sticky backed felt so it ended up like this:

how to decorate jar lids

Now if you are a quick witted person you may be thinking, hey . . . didn’t we cover up the part that let’s you screw on the lid?

Indeed we did.  The lids just kind of press onto the jars now which seems to work OK.

how to decorate jar lids

Although the spray adhesive was a little challenging to work with, especially when it came to trying to get the fabric nice and smooth, it might still be the best method.  I also tried this with plain glue and with my Homemade Mod Podge and neither of those methods worked.

Need a few more bright ideas?
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