Laura has made these lovely Re-usable Liberty Ramekin Covers. they are so cute and will make fabulous presents for her loved ones.
I asked Laura about the project:
“This is just a secret between you and I: I’m going to be gifting various desserts to my lovely village neighbours for Christmas. Sshhh, please don’t tell! 😉
Various brands in the UK like Bonne Maman and Gü sell their desserts in glass ramekins which is so good because you can recycle and/or re-use them so easily. I have lots of these ramekins due to frequent supermarket creme brûlée eating escapades (guilty!), so re-using them as the vessels for my sweet Christmas presents seems ideal. I was thinking it would be cute to give one ramekin per person, so everyone in the household gets an equal share, and fill them with a nice spiced berry crumble or rich chocolate mousse with cherries – mmmmm.
You may be wondering, ‘Is there a way to wrap and present them in a sustainable fashion?’, and I am happy to report that yes, there is – enter the Re-Usable Liberty Ramekin Covers! These fabric covers are a great alternative to single-use plastic cling film, and hopefully they inspire others to create their own versions for everyday use, too. They are very easy to make and would also look great in non-festive colours and fabrics. They could be decorated in a variety of ways, as much or as little as you like so would make a great creative project for adults and children alike.”
You will need:
Ramekins, or any other round, lipped vessels
Thin ribbons in various colours
Tape measure
Coloured thread
Paper
Pencil
Fabric marker pen
Pins
Hand sewing needle
Scissors
Pinking shears
3mm woven elastic
Sewing Machine
1. Place the ramekin top down onto the paper and use the pencil to trace the shape of the outer rim.
2. Use the tape measure to measure the distance from the top of the ramekin to the base of the lip where its shape dips inwards. Every ramekin will be different so do take care with this measurement.
3. Draw an outer ring around the previously traced ring, offset by the amount measured in step 2. This ring indicates where you will stitch the elastic, later.
4. Draw a final outer ring, offset by at least 1cm for a shorter ramekin and up to 3cm for a taller one. This ring will become the pinked edge of your cover. These measurements aren’t set in stone, I recommend using your eye to judge what will look best proportionally with your ramekins.
5. Cut the whole shape out along the outer ring using the scissors. Cut along a few large sections of the middle ring, leaving it connected to the rest of the paper circle at a few points. I recommend not making the joining points any smaller than 1cm. Fold these cut sections down towards the middle of the paper. This creates a gap to trace through in the next step.
6. Pin your paper pattern onto the wrong side of your Liberty tana lawn fabric and use the pinking shears to cut the shape out. While the fabric is still pinned to the paper pattern, use the fabric marker to trace the line of the middle ring for the elastic placement, guided by the cut gaps in the pattern. Remove the paper pattern from the fabric and use the fabric marker to connect the drawn sections of the middle ring together by eye.
7. Set your sewing machine to a straight stitch and sew the thin ribbon onto the right side of the cut piece in an even cross design. Tie a small bow with a piece of the ribbon and hand stitch this into the middle point to create the wrapped present design. It you have used a satin ribbon, cut the raw edges at an angle or with a V shape to prevent fraying.
8. Set your sewing machine to a small zig-zag stitch and sew the elastic on the the wrong side of the fabric, along the line as traced in step 6. As you sew the elastic on stretch it out towards you so that it bunches the fabric, below. Once finished, you want the elastic to spring back to less than the diameter of the ramekin so that it grips efficiently, but not be so tight that it doesn’t stretch around the rim.
Enjoy your new, cute, and festive re-usable ramekin covers! You can also make these in various sizes to fit other bowls and dishes you may have – even ones that aren’t perfectly circular.
When they do eventually (inevitably) get dirty with the various delicious food stuffs they have been covering, simply put them in a delicates bag with your normal clothes washing cycle and then hang them up to dry. Liberty tana lawn is 100% cotton and therefore easy laundering. The pinked edges will also help prevent the fabric fraying.
If making these to give away, be sure you have a good idea as to the size and shape of your intended receivers ramekins or bowls as not one size will fit all.
Happy festive fooding and gifting!
