Upcycled Jean Bowl Covers

I don't know if you are like me, but jeans don't seem to be made as well as they used to. They have a tendency to wear out around the crotch area, but it always seems a waste to throw them away, so I have a stockpile that I keep and turn into something else useful for our home.

Our family is continually trying to reduce plastic use in our home and whilst we have a collection of reusable silicone bowl covers, we seem to always run out of 2 particular sizes, mainly because we have quite a few bowls in the 15-20 cm diametre range. I thought I would have a go at turning an old pair of jeans into bowl covers.

As long as your have some basic sewing skills you'll be able to make your own bowl covers too.

You don't need a lot of supplies to make the bowl covers, you can even sew them by hand, but a sewing machine will certainly make life easier.

This is what I used:

• Sewing machine
• Cotton thread
• Pins
• Seam ripper
• Elastic (I used 3 mm wide)
• Old pair of jeans
• Tailoring chalk
• Pinking shears
• Scissors
• Safety pin
• Bowls

1. Turn the jeans inside out and lie the legs out flat.
2. Take a bowl and draw around it with the chalk, making sure its larger than the bowl. You need the extra space for hemming and adding the elastic.
3. Cut out the circles from both sides of the legs.

1. First we need to sew a hem around to make sure the edge doesn't fray. NOTE: It's not easy sewing in a circle, so take your time and don't worry if it's not perfect, you won't notice.
2. Fold the hem over to make another edge, this time large enough to fit the elastic and a safety pin through.
3. Don't sew all the way around, be sure to leave a 2-3 cm gap so you can thread the elastic through. You'll sew the gap up later.

1. Attach the safety pin to the elastic and begin to thread it through the opening.
2. Once you see the pin come through, you need to pull on the elastic to create some tension.

1. Once you've got the correct tension, make a double knot in the elastic.
2. Trim off any excess elastic.
3. Sew up the open end.
4. Test the covers on your bowls.

The best part of these bowl covers is that you can put them in the washing machine when they get dirty, so simple and easy.

I hope you have fun upcycling your old jeans into useful bowl covers.