Fabric pantry labels for canning jars

These DiY fabric pantry labels for canning jars are so cute! You only need basic sewing skills and some scrap fabric. Whip up a dozen to label your most often-purchased dry goods. Storing them in glass canning jars makes them pretty – and they last longer too.

I love organizing. And fabric. I’m no Martha Stewart, but in a perfect world, I could DiY my way out of any problem. I have a lot of canning jars and have used them to organize things all over the house. One of the most obvious places is the pantry. I buy a lot of things in bulk from Sprouts, but a shelf full of plastic bags is just plain ugly. And not organized. So I started using a bunch of 32-ounce canning jars to organize things and before I knew it, my pantry was looking pretty retro. Take a peek inside, if you’re feeling curious.

I know what everything is, but nobody else does. Finally, a problem I can solve with fabric. In just fifteen minutes, I stitched up the first of many fabric pantry labels for my canning jars. Here’s how.

Fabric pantry labels DiY

Supplies

You need very little in the way of supplies for this project. Basically, scrap fabric and thread. Embroidery floss is also helpful and a sewing machine will save you time. You could also stitch the whole thing by hand, but it will take you more than 15 minutes. An iron is also handy.

Instructions

Start by cutting your fabric. I used a hounds-tooth print wool for the background and a thin off-white cotton for the inside area. If you are making this for a 32-ounce Ball/Kerr canning jar, use the following measurements.

Big rectangle: 7″x12″

Small rectangle: 4″x12″

Next, fold the raw edges under for the big rectangle. They should meet in the middle. Press it flat with an iron.

Repeat with the small rectangle. The edges don’t have to meet in the middle. Just eyeball it based on how it looks next to the big rectangle. If your seams weren’t cut too straight, now you can fix them and nobody will see. Iron this one too.

Line up the small rectangle on top of the big rectangle, centered. Since I used a print fabric, it was easy to follow a straight line.

Using a zig-zag stitch, sew along the seam, attaching the two rectangles. Repeat with the other side. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of every line so that it won’t come unraveled.

Fold the two raw edges together, right sides facing. Using a straight stitch with a quarter-inch edge, sew the edges together.

Turn the now circle right-side-out. You’re nearly done!

Write the text of your label in the center. If you’re Martha Stewart, you could find a cool font, type up your labels in Microsoft Word, and the transfer the text to the fabric. I free-handed it.

Using embroidery floss, trace over the letters. I used a back stitch. If you’re not familiar with embroidery, basically you pull the thread up through the fabric and stick it back in below that hole. For the next stitch, come up again on the other side of the first hole, then go back into that first hole. Does that make sense? (See the picture below)

When you get to the end of your word, wrap the thread through some of the back loops and cut it. No need to tie a knot.

Put the label over the jar. Stop and admire your work. It’s a good thing.

You can create as many fabric pantry labels this way as you need. I only labeled the things that I always have on hand. For  odd things, I have a few rewritable chalkboard labels. Also on canning jars, of course.

This would work for organizing just about anything: office supplies, craft supplies, small toys, party displays. You could even use it for a piggy bank. Or add more cute embroidery designs, like the ones I love from my favorite embroidery pattern book, Doodle Stitching.

What else would you use these fabric pantry labels for?