Repurpose Shirt Sleeves and Glass Jars for Storage Containers

Supplies Needed:

Tall Glass Jar: Mason, Spaghetti Sauce etc.
Long Sleeve Shirt or Sweater
Extra Fabric for under color (if needed)
Hot glue gun
Glue Sticks
Scissors
Needle
Thread
Embellishments

• Feel free to use Mason Jars, as you will only be using hot glue which can easily be removed, should you need to use them again for canning.
• Otherwise, any clean glass jar with a wide mouth should work well.
• Make sure the sleeves of the shirt you choose will slide easily over the jars.

Optional: (When using loose fabric instead of sleeves or for under fabric)

For one of the jars, I chose a sweater which was loosely knitted, so it needed fabric underneath to conceal the jar. I couldn't find a shirt sleeve I liked so I used a scrap from an old dress.

·         Lay the jar on the fabric

·         Roll the jar up in the fabric about 1/2 inch longer than the jar and cut to fit. Feel free to measure if you need to.

·         The extra ½’ is to "tuck" a small amount on the bottom.

·          You want just enough to fold the fabric underneath nice and tight.

·         Too much on the bottom will be bulky and won't allow the jar to stand up straight. Now

·         Once your piece is cut, use your hot glue gun to liberally apply a wavy pattern of glue on the jar.

·         Quickly roll your glass jar up in the fabric again, aligned so the extra portion is on the bottom.

·         Trim to fit, fold the fabric at the bottom, tuck under and secure with hot glue.

·         Next simply slide the sweater sleeve over the top of the fabric covered jar, cut to fit as above.  

·         I used needle and thread to attach it to the under fabric A quick slip stitch at the top and bottom worked well.

Do not use hot glue under the sleeve, or on top of the under fabric.

*See next step for sleeve only instructions

If using sleeves, the process is similar
• Slide the sleeve over the jar
• Cut to fit leaving about ½ inch at the top and bottom.
• Apply a small amount of hot glue at the top and bottom only. Don’t apply glue then try to slide your sleeve on. It will be a mess.
•  If your sleeve is already tight, you won’t need much glue anyways to keep it in place. If it is a bit larger, you can use a needle and thread to gather the edges at the top.
• Trim to fit and tuck the bottom in as above last step. Slip stitch the top and bottom to gather it if necessary.

Once everything is tucked, tidy and trim. Apply ribbon with a thin line of glue around the outside of the mouth of the jar. Use jewels, flowers, etc. Then fill it with your paintbrushes, spatulas or spoons.

The sweater I chose was loosely knitted so I needed some fabric underneath. I used another old shirt, measured and cut enough fabric to cover the sides of the jar and just enough to fold into a nice tuck underneath. Use a hot glue gun to secure the fabric.