How to Make a DIY Jar Opener for a Bit of Extra Grip

Jars that won’t open no matter what can be a real pain sometimes. Especially if you’re cooking and you need that ingredient right away or your famous special chili won’t turn out perfect.

Recently, I’ve found a great way to solve that problem. DIY jar opener.

These little useful easy jar lid openers will help you open any tightly sealed jar without anyone’s help. I think my husband loves them even more than I do because he doesn’t have to be the designated jar opener anymore!

This tutorial will show you how to make a jar opener in a very short amount of time, without much effort. A project ideal for both beginner as well as expert sewing enthusiasts.

Below you will find my step by step written tutorial with VIDEO instructions for all the visual learners.

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How to Make Jar Opener from Fabric

The first thing you’ll need to do is prepare the required materials and tools for making a jar lid opener.

Supplies and tools

• fabric (2) 7 x 7″ (cotton)
• 7″ long ribbon or more of the same fabric for the loop 7 x 1.75″
• rubber shelf liner  or non-slip carpet pad – 7 x 7″
• magnet (optional)
• matching thread
• scissors (or rotary cutter and a cutting mat)
• ruler or measuring tape
• sewing machine (even a 3/4 or a kid friendly machine will do sew this just fine, or you can even hand sew this, although admittedly it will take you more time)

Once you get all that ready, you can start making the jar lid opener.

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How To Sew DIY Jar Opener

Watch the diy jar lid opener video first and then follow the written step by step instructions below.
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Rubber Jar Opener VIDEO TUTORIAL

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Cut the fabric

Start by cutting up the fabrics into squares. You will need two pieces of normal fabric and one piece of the rubber fabric, all identical in size. I made mine square, 7 x 7 inches big.

Cut the fabric strip for the loop as well, making it about 7 inches long and 1.75″ wide.

TIP: When cutting the rubber shelf liner, don’t use your fabric scissors. They will become dull from that, so use a pair you don’t mind making blunt.

STEP 2: Make the handle (optional)

To make the handle, fold the strip in half lengthwise and press with an iron. Open up and fold both edges towards the middle crease you’ve just created. Press again,  and fold in half again so that the bottom fold meets the top fold. One final press and your handle is ready for stitching. Sew the long edge.

If you are making lots of these, you will definitely find my tip for the fastest way to make bias tape really useful. Check it out

You can just use a piece of ribbon instead of fabric here or even skip this step altogether.

STEP 3: Prepare the pieces for sewing

Place one piece of fabric on your workspace, its right side facing up. Then set the rubber piece on top, facing its wrong side towards the fabric, and align the edges.

Fold the fabric strip loop in half and put it on the corner so that the folded end faces the inside of the sheet.

Set the other fabric piece on top of everything, its right side towards the rubber. Pin everything in place, or secure it with clips.

STEP 4: Start stitching

Sew all around the edges of the fabrics, pivoting as you reach the corners. Stitch at an angle at the corner where your fabric strip is.

Don’t forget to leave a small opening of about two or three inches unstitched. You need this opening to turn the whole thing inside-out. Don’t make it too narrow because you’ll have difficulties pulling the rubber through it.

I decided to go with a quarter-inch allowance here, so I recommend you do the same.

STEP 5: Turn it inside out

Before you do that, clip all corners and trim the bulk of the seam allowance.

Then turn the whole thing through the opening you left earlier. This can be tricky because there are multiple layers inside, but don’t worry. Just pull out the layer where your fabric strip is, that’s the right one.

Push the corners out with  your scissors, a chopstick or a pencil’s unsharpened end.

TIP: Not sure which way to turn the whole thing? Just grab the handle and pull – problem solved!

STEP 6: (optional) Press the edges flat

You can finger press or iron the edges to make them lat flat. While doing this, make sure to iron over the fabric side, not the rubber one. If you want extra insurance, press over a piece of ironing paper.

When you reach the opening, fold it in a quarter of an inch and then press it. Tuck it in and pin it in place.

STEP 7: Sew around the edges

But first, put the magnet in through the opening.

Stitch all around the edges, this time going over the opening as well. Pivot as you reach the corners. Sew at an angle when you reach the corner where the fabric strip is. Reinforce your stitches by backstitching, providing the jar opener with additional durability.

If you stitched earlier with a quarter-inch allowance like I did, go with just a tad less than that this time. This will ensure that you catch all edges well, including the opening that’s folded in.

As you sew, keep the magnet away from the machine’s plate, so that it doesn’t stick and interrupt your work.

Bonus Tip: Sewing over the rubber

If your homemade jar opener for seniors refuses to slide as you sew and the rubber keeps sticking it to the presser foot, you can do one trick to solve that issue. Just flip the holder around, take a piece of paper and place it under the whole thing. Now sew over it. Once you finish, just tear the paper away. If the paper sticks and doesn’t come off easily, dampen it with water and it’ll come off quickly. Problem solved!

STEP 8: Secure the magnet in place (optional)

Push the magnet all the way to the corner where the strap is. Then make a stitch across, just below the magnet, securing it in place, there in the corner. See the image above for reference where the magnet is.

STEP 9: (Optional) Finish the jar opener

All that’s left to do is to ensure that the layers don’t shift around as you use the opener since that can affect the performance of the opener.

To do that, just stitch an X mark across the center of the thing. Project complete!

That’s it! Your diy jar opener is ready, let’s put it to a test!

Jar Lid Opener OPTIONS:

1. With or without a loop to hang on your drawers
2. With or without magnet so that you can easily slap it on the fridge door and keep it at an arms reach
3. Make the project even easier and skip the lining – the jar opener will still work wonderfully

FAQs, Tips and Troubleshooting:

• I have problems sewing through the shelf liner. What should I do?
  Ahh, that rubber grippy thing really sticks to everything. Just flip the whole thing over and place a piece of paper underneath. You will sew it much easily and all you need to do afterwards is gently peel off the paper. The needle will have already pierced the fabric so it will come off quite easily.
• The magnet sticks to the metal plate when I try to sew across to make the pocket. Help! What to do?
  Flip the holder around so that the part with the magnet is on the left and further away from the metal. Gently pull it as you sew to help it pass.

Those jar lid openers make wonderful gifts for friends and family members. It’s especially useful for the seniors or the disabled, a really thoughtful, practical gift for the kitchen.

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• I hope you liked the tutorial. Try making a few and then tell us what you think about them in the comment section below. Have fun opening jars!