DIY Embroidered Jar & Bottle Covers

Inspired by sashiko embroidery, a Japanese art form, I decided to make some DIY Embroidered Jar and Bottle Covers. And while my embroidery technique was lacking the precision of most sashiko projects I’ve seen, I think my perfectly, imperfect creations provide just the right pattern and texture that I’m always seeking when it comes to my home decor. Plus I really love decorating with black and white, so pairing white linen with the black embroidery speaks my love language. And frankly, I’m smitten with the final result. I think they work perfectly for home decor, but would also be an inexpensive way to decorate for a party.

It all started because I wanted to figure out a way to up-cycle a plain beer/soda bottle so I could use it for home decor. I thought putting them inside of a bag would be cute, but didn’t know what I wanted to make the bag out of. I could have used a cool fabric or even created an iron-on transfer to embellish them with, but then I looked on my Pinterest “sewing/knitting” folder and saw one of my sashiko pins and thought… that could be cool! And luckily I had everything I needed to make it. So I got to experimenting and it turns out—if you don’t care about being perfect, this is a very easy and very beautiful craft.

So here’s the deal: while inspired by sashiko embroidery, mine is technically not sashiko for a few reasons:

1. I used a large embroidery needle, I did not use a sashiko needle.
2. I used a regular embroidery thread, not sashiko thread.
3. I did do the stitch about 3:2, with the larger stitch on the right side of the fabric. But I think my stitches are larger than regular sashiko.
4. There are other rules (like how you cross over one stitch with another stitch) that I did not follow because, frankly, I don’t like fussy crafts that take too much time. And I liked the handmade, imperfect look.

So, if you are looking for a great explanation on how to do REALLY do sashiko, please visit this great tutorial by Purl Soho. Purl Soho is actually an awesome blog to follow if you like sewing and knitting crafts. They provide great detailed photos and tutorials for all their craft ideas.

I created bottle covers as well as ball jar covers. For the bottles, I created a bag and just put the jars inside and tied them shut. However, for the jar covers, I didn’t like the look of the bag so instead I made a slipcover of sorts with no bottom. I did the slipcover for the jars because I wanted a clean finish on the bottom. Make sense? I hope so. Let’s get to the how to…

DIY Embroidered Beer/Soda Bottle Cover

Materials

• 9.5″ x 12.5″ piece of white linen (you can use another color, but must be a loose weave fabric like linen)
• Embroidery floss (I used black)
• Embroidery needle (probably like a 1mm embroidery needle, just make sure it’s a long needle with a larger eye)
• White sewing thread (or coordinating color)
• Yarn (I used black)
• Beer/Soda bottle

Instructions

1. Cut your linen to be 9.5″ wide by 12.5″ tall.
2. Following the technique outlined on Purl Soho, embroider your linen in a pattern you like. Basically you’ll make a running stitch, but the space between your stitches will be shorter than your stitch length. Also, because you are using a large needle, you can gather a group of stitches on your needle before you pull your needle all the way through the fabric. This makes the process go quicker than if you try to pull each stitch all the way through one at a time. (Again, see Purl Soho for detailed pictures and descriptions.) As for the pattern, you can get creative, but I did two different patterns. For one, I did horizontal parallel lines covering about 1/3 of the bottom of the fabric. And for another, I did 5 horizontal lines (placed a couple inches from the bottom of the fabric) and then overlapped 4 vertical lines.
3. Fold your fabric right sides together. Using your sewing machine, sew one short side and the open long side together.
4. Flip right-side out.
5. Fringe the top of your bag using a seam-ripper. I created about a 1/4 fringe.
6. Put the bottle inside your bag and fold over the top of your bag so the top of your bag is even with the top of the bottle.
7. Tie the bag shut using yarn. Now it’s ready for flowers!

DIY Embroidered Ball Jar Covers

Materials

• White linen (Must be a loose-weave fabric like linen. If using as a votive holder, stick with white because it lets light through.)
  • For Wide-Mouth Quart Jar: 12.5″ wide by 10″ high
  • For regular Pint Jar: 10.5″ wide by 7.5″ high
• Embroidery floss (I used black and white)
• Embroidery needle (probably like a 1mm embroidery needle, just make sure it’s a long needle with a larger eye)
• White sewing thread (or coordinating color)
• Quart or Pint Jar
• For heart: 4-5″ piece of cotton fabric (I used black)
• For heart: Print-It-Yourself Heart Template – Use the 2″ heart

Instructions

1. Cut your linen fabric according to the dimensions above.
2. For sashiko embroidery, follow step 2 above for the DIY Embroidered Beer/Soda Bottle Covers.
3. For the heart, print your heart template and cutout the 2″ heart. Pin it to your cotton fabric (I used black) and cut out your cotton heart. Repeat so you have two hearts. You’ll then embroider the hearts onto your cover after you sew the slipcover together. This helps make sure you place the hearts on opposite sides of your jar.
4. To make slipcover, create a 1/2″ fold at the bottom of your fabric. Using your sewing machine, topstitch along the fold. This creates your clean bottom seam.
5. Fold rights sides together. Using your sewing machine, sew along the long edge using about a 1/4 -1/2″ seam allowance.
6. If doing the heart, hand stitch your two heats to the opposite sides of your slipcover.
7. Fringe the top of your bag using your seam ripper. I created about a 1/4″ fringe.
8. Slide your finished cover over your jar. The fit should be very snug.
9. Folder over the top of your slipcover so the top aligns with the top of the jar. Now it’s ready to use as a votive holder or vase.

Can you believe it’s just plain jars?

I wish it photographed better, but the white linen allows light to come through so they make a nice votive holders. They also work perfect as vases.

Note: for the decorative matchbox, be sure to check out my DIY Decorative Matchboxes tutorial.

Thanks so much for following along. Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to help if I can. Happy sewing.