Spooky Buddies Canister Wrap

Halloween will be here before we know it! I wanted a way to decorate in the house without taking up a lot of storage space when the decorations come down. It also had to be quick and easy and oh "sew" cute! I came up with canister covers because you can change them out for different seasons or holidays.

I think they'll have a lot of good uses. I was even thinking you could use them for dog treats or cookies, just a whole bunch of different ideas. The canister wraps are tied on, so they easily store flat and don’t take up much space.

Choosing the Right Design 

Test sews are perfect for this project. I would suggest staying with a 4x4 or 5x7 sized design.

I always like to start with something a little bit bigger than what I need. I quilted around my design from Spooky Buddies using the full area of fabric. That way, I can cut it down to size.

Determining Canister Size

I needed a big canister, something that was large enough to hold cookies or candy. You could do this on a smaller container if you like. Include it in a little gift basket or maybe with some soaps.

I needed something that would fit a 5 x 7 design so that's another reason that I was going for a larger size. Canisters are mostly shaped with straight sides which makes them quick and easy to decorate.

Buckets can also work. They are typically shaped a bit wider at the top, so it takes a little more work to make the shape fit.

I measure how big of an area I wanted on my canister. This one goes up to about 7 inches.

When I put the design on it, I want a little wiggle room on top and bottom. Don’t forget to include the space binding will take up.

I decided that, for this canister, I wanted a band about six and a half inches tall. This is not heirloom sewing, it's not an exact science, so if you fudge a little bit one way or the other it's not going to make a bit of difference.  My kind of sewing!

I measured the width around at 27 and a half inches. I wanted the front portion to be a little bit smaller so I did not simply split the measurement in half. As far as what you're going to see, it is probably about five inches or so. My front panel ended up being nine inches wide. That allowed a little bit of room for the quilting.

For the back section, I quilted fabric. I wanted a little gap between the front and back pieces so that I could see some of the goodies that were in my jar.

The final back size ended up being 14 and a half inches (27 and a half minus nine for the front and two inches on either side).

Adding Ribbon Ties

Before attaching the binding, I pinned ribbon 12 to 15 inches long to the side edges matching raw edges of ribbon and cover. You will need eight pieces of ribbon, four for each panel.

Need a refresher on binding? Check out the following videos Binding Corners, Mitered Corners, and Joining Binding Endings.  

Binding

I wanted to do this project without handwork. Instead of starting on the front with my binding, I sewed it from the back, catching the ribbons, and then flipping it to the front and top stitching it down.

It doesn't matter if you stitch on the front and go to the back or stitch on the back and go to the front. Either way, you're still going to create your mitered corners in the same fashion. 

Tying the panels together and keeping everything straight is a challenge. To make the challenge a little easier, I taped the panels to the jar holding them place. It was like having an extra set of hands. Tie the ribbons and trim to a pleasing length. Bottom ribbons may need to be a little shorter since they hang closer to the tabletop.

With 10 adorable Spooky Buddies in the set, you have canister wraps that are a quick, easy project which also stores really well. You can change them up and redress them for any holiday or season.

See the video here.  Enjoy!