How To Decorate Jar Lids With Scrap Fabric

I recently reupholstered a thrifted kitchen chair and had some leftover fabric. I love the blue and white florals and they are a perfect match for our mostly white and blue kitchen. I decided to cover the lids of the jars in my pantry with the left over fabric scraps for a cohesive and lovely cottage look. It is a fantastic way to get mix-matched jars to match and polish up your pantry shelves.

For this project you will need jars. Most of the jars in our kitchen are reused from goods like Trader Joe’s peaches, sauces, and pickle jars. Some jars I purchased over the years to fit certain needs. They are all a little different and this simple update is a nice way to make them match and add some loveliness to our little pantry. You can decorate jars you already have, purchase the extra jars that you need for specific pantry staples, or collect jars for this purpose. Once you have your jars, let’s select our fabric.

It took me a while to find a fabric that I loved enough to cover my kitchen chair with. I enjoyed the blue florals so much I bought a little extra to use for this exact purpose. Covering the jar lids is something that has been floating around in my mind for a while now and I’m happy that I was finally able to implement it. The jars come out lovelier than I imagined they would. You can use any fabric you wish and this is a great way to use up fabric scraps like the leftovers I had from the chair.

You can find the exact fabric I bought from Etsy here. 

Any scrap fabric will do. Craft stores and vintage fabric shops often have bins of scraps that you can buy for cheap or you can use scraps that you already have. If you purchase fabric for this purpose, you can thrift some, cut up some old sheets or fabric you have at home, or find new fabric at a craft store. Some craft stores also sell little parcels of fabric squares for small projects and quilting. Your lids do not all have to match if you want to use a few different patterns. Thinner fabrics do work a little better with the glue and I highly recommend a simple cotton fabric as it molds well to the lids.

You will need a paint brush (any brush will do, but a medium sized one with the head at least the size of a quarter is a good start) and some Mod Podge glue. For this, you will specifically need the waterproof “Dishwasher safe” Mod Podge that is used for kitchen crafts such as this one. If you buy the other versions, it will become unglued if it gets damp or wet and it is not washable if you need to rinse your lids.

Trace your lids on the non-decorative side of the frabric using a fabric pencil or a regular pencil and cut your fabric out.

Next glue your fabric to the lid, soaking it through to create an even coat that will turn into a solid finish.

For lids that come off in two pieces, it is best not to glue the fabric down because it will become difficult to wash and get dirty. Instead, cut out a slightly larger round piece of fabric to wedge between the two pieces like this:

You can paint the metal lid rim later if you wish or even glue a ribbon around the edges. I have left mine bare for now.

For jars that have a canister top, you can simply glue a piece of fabric to the very top of the lid:

And for jars that have sides on the lid, you can glue a slightly larger piece of fabric to the lid, cut vertical slices up and down the entire circumference, and then glue the flaps of fabric down over the sides. When it completely dries you can trim around the lid for a fabric covered lid that will look like these:

Set aside your lids to dry, adding a second thin layer of glue if needed. And once they are dry you can put your pantry goods away. And voila; your up-cycled jars are now cute pantry jars that will put a smile on your face every time you open the cabinet to reach for one. So lovely!