Bowls come in a variety of sizes. Many of the bowl cozy patterns and tutorials only give you directions for one or two sizes. In this article, I’m going to show you the basics of making a cozy and then how to make a bowl cozy to fit any size bowl!
Sometimes referred to as a microwave bowl cozy, this is a perfect project for beginners. They are perfect stash-buster projects because they use small pieces of fabric. And, they make great gifts!
What is a bowl cozy?
A bowl cozy is like a blanket for a bowl. Darts are added to make the cozy semi-fitted to the bottom of a bowl. This protects your hands from hot bowls coming out of the microwave, or eating a hot bowl of soup or stew while watching TV. Even, keeps your hands warm while eating a big bowl of ice cream!
What do I need to make a bowl cozy?
Fabric, batting, and thread. You can use one fabric for both sides or two coordinating fabrics. There isn’t a cozy right side – they are all reversible.
It’s important to use 100% cotton fabric, 100% cotton batting, and 100% cotton thread to make your bowl cozies. Synthetic fibers may melt if the cozy is put in the microwave or used for a bowl straight from the oven. There is a specialty batting Wrap-N-Zap that is specially made for projects that will be put in a microwave like these bowl cozies, potato bags, and casserole carriers.
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Some tutorials only use one layer of batting. I prefer two layers of cotton batting. The extra layer gives the bowl more structure and protects your hands a bit more.
The basic size of a soup bowl cozy uses 10-inch fabric squares that fits a bowl that is about 6-inches wide and about 3-inches tall. But, what if your bowl is a different size? Our favorite soup bowl is shallow and wide. It doesn’t fit into this standard size.
In this article, first I’ll take you through the steps to make a standard bowl cozy, then I’ll show you how to make one for any size bowl you have!
How to Make a Bowl Cozy
Learn how to make a quilted bowl cozy with our step-by-step instructions with photos.
Everyone needs a few in their favorite bowl sizes ready to use. This easy project is great for gifts, too.
Materials
- Two (2) 10-inch squares of 100% cotton fabric
- Two (2) 9-inch squares of 100% cotton batting
- Thread, make sure it is cotton thread
Tools
- Sewing machine
- Corner turner, can use a bodkin or chopstick
- Iron
- Pressing surface
- Pins or Wonder Clips
- Scissors for trimming
- Rotary cutter
- Cutting mat
- Quilters ruler
- Sewing 6-inch ruler
- Fabric marker, optional
Instructions
- Start by cutting your fabric and batting. I used my quilters ruler , cutting mat, and rotary cutter to cut two (2) pieces of cotton fabric in 10-inch squares and two (2) pieces of cotton batting in 9-inch squares.
- Take your fabric to your pressing station and press it in half, fold it in half again and press, press it in half again forming a triangle, and press one more time. This gives you guides for your stitching lines to secure the batting to the fabric.
Here are my two pieces of fabric. One I've unfolded so you can see the pressed lines. The other is still folded from pressing.
- Some tutorials have you use a fabric marker and draw diagonal lines on your batting to use as your stitching lines. I found that 1) it took too much time, 2) drawing lines on batting isn't easy and 3) sewing on the drawn lines weren't as accurate because the batting shifts a bit when you sew from the batting side. Here is what drawing the lines looks like.
- Turn your fabric with the wrong sides up. Center your batting on the wrong side of the fabric.
- Turn the batting and fabric over so the right side is up. Lightly press the fabric flat on the batting. Pin the fabric to the batting to secure it while stitching on the pressed lines. I try to place the pins away from the fold lines.
- Go to your sewing machine and stitch along each of the fold lines.
- Here are both fabrics and batting sewn together.
- And a close-up of the stitched lines securing the batting and fabric.
- Now it is time to sew darts in the batting and fabric layers so that the cozy had shape. For this cozy, we are going to add a dart that is down 1-inch and across the top of the cozy 1/2-inch.
For a straighter side, use a dart that is 2-inches down the fold and starts 1-inch from the fold along the edge.
The darts are placed at the center of each side of the square. Fold the layered square in half.
Using a 6-inch sewing ruler, measure down the fold 1-inch and place a pin. Along the edge of the cozy, measure 1/2-inch and place a pin.
- I generally sew from pin to pin. If you'd like you can draw a line from the edge of the fold to the edge of the fabric with a fabric marker to show your stitching line.
- Here are all of the darts pinned for both layered fabrics ready to sew.
- Go to your sewing machine and stitch from one point to the other forming a dart. Make sure to backstitch at both the start and the finish. This first image shows me stitching with the marked line.
- Here I'm using the pins as my guide. Start by centering your presser foot over one pin.
- Remove the first pin before stitching. Don't stitch over the pin. It could break the needle.
- Stitch along an invisible line to the other pin forming a dart. Remove the second pin before getting to the edge. Secure both ends with a back stitch.
- Here are all of the darts sewn.
- Trim each of the darts to a 1/8-inch seam allowance.
- Press the seam open. I'm using a Tailor's Press with a nice point.
- Now we are ready for the final steps. Place the two layered cozy pieces with darts right sides together. Use Wonder Clips to hold them together, lining up the darts and the corners.
- Start sewing right before one of the darts along one side. Make sure to backstitch when you start.
Sew from just before the dart to the edge of the fabric with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Remove the clips as you sew.
- For the next three sides, sew from one edge to the next edge.
- Now you are back to the side you started sewing. Sew from the edge of the fabric about 1-inch and backstitch. This should leave you about 3-inches for an opening to turn the bowl cozy right side out.
- Here is a close-up showing the opening.
- Trim the fabric from the corners.
- All of the corners have been trimmed.
- Turn the cozy right side out through the opening.
- Here is the cozy pretty much turned right side out. Now it's time to get your corner-turner or point turner to gently poke the corners out. You can use a chopstick or bodkin. Be gentle so that you don't poke a hole in the corner.
- Here is a corner nicely turned.
- Press all around the edges of the cozy. Tuck the fabric in the opening aligning with the sewn edge.
- Topstitch all around the edge, securing the opening, 1/4-inch from the edge of the cozy.
- And, the finished bowl cozy, ready for soup!
What are other ways to make a bowl cozy?
Add a hanging loop
By adding a hanging loop to your cozy you can hang them from a hook, easy to access in your kitchen!
Take a strip of fabric 2-inches x 5-inches.
Fold it in half length-wise and press.
Fold both sides into the middle fold and press.
Fold and press again so no raw edges are showing.
Stitch along the edge, securing the open side of the loop.
Next, have your two layered fabric and batting ready to stitch together and your loop.
Fold in half to form a loop. Slip this into the seam while sewing to have a loop on your cozy.
I like to use Wonder Clips to hold all of the layers together.
Sew together leaving a 3-inch opening as we did above. Make sure that where you have the loop is not in the opening.
And, here is a finished bowl cozy with a hanging loop. It can hang right with your pot holder!
Use decorative stitches to sew the batting and fabric together
In the picture above you can see I used a variegated thread and a decorative stitch on my sewing machine to stitch the fabric and batting together. Have fun and try out some of the fancy stitches when making bowl cozies!
Practice free motion quilting on your fabric and batting layers.
Here I’ve just played around with a variegated thread and some designs. All you need to do is secure the batting to the fabric. You can have fun with this!
Make a rounded-top bowl cozy
Prepare the fabric and batting for the bowl cozy. Take the bowl you are making the cozy for and use it as a template for rounding the corners.
Here are the two layered pieces with the rounded edges.
Add your darts as detailed in the directions above to give the cozy dimension. Below I’ve put the wrong sides together and finished the edge with my serger.
Finish the edge with a binding
Have some fun adding a third fabric to your bowl cozy with a binding! This works best with the rounded bowl cozy. You can use pre-made double-fold bias tape, or make your own binding. The fabric does not need to be on the bias for this application.
Cut a piece of fabric that is 2-1/2 inches wide.
Press it in half lengthwise.
Fold in one end about 1/2-inch. Place this along the edge of the cozy. Begin stitching about 1-inch from the folded edge. Using a 1/4-inch seam allowance, sew the binding around the top of the cozy.
Continue sewing until you reach about 1-inch from the folded edge where you started. Trim the binding so that it will tuck inside that folded opening.
Tuck the end of the binding into the folded fabric.
Stitch until you have secured all of the binding to the edge of the cozy. Turn the folded edge of the binding to the other side of the cozy to cover the edge. I like to use Wonder Clips for this.
Machine or hand stitch the binding in place. I prefer hand stitching. And here is the finished rounded bowl cozy with free motion stitching and a coordinating binding.
Quick and Easy Serger Bowl Cozies
Prepare your layers of fabric and batting squares like in the basic directions above to make your fabric-batting piece.
If you are experienced with your serger, you know how to use the markings on your machine as a guide. You never want to have pins near the serger blade. Accidentally running into a pin can cause dings in the blade and reduce its life.
I want to make darts about 1/2-inch fold and 1-inch long. I used my 6-inch sewing ruler to measure where the fold would be as I serge the darts in place. Here I’m measuring 1/2-inch from the needles so I know where the fold in the center of the side should start.
Next, I measured 1-inch from the needles for the end of the dart. These are my visual guides when serging the darts.
I start by lining up the start of the dart with the fold at the visual guide I made with the fold at about 1/2-inch. Note that I have the fabric angled so that I’ve got the end of the dart at the visual guide I made at the 1-inch mark.
Serge along this visual line. It doesn’t have to be exact – that’s what’s great about making bowl cozies – you don’t need to be perfect!
Here are both sides of the bowl cozy with the serged darts. What’s great about serging them is no trimming needed!
Now we are ready to serge the two layers together. When you are serging your diy bowl cozy, you put the batting sides together. I do use Wonder Clips to hold the two layers together. Make sure to pull your serge thread ends to the outside. We’ll just cut them off when we serge around the top edge.
Start at one corner and serge each side of the square. Remove the clips as you go and gently hold the ends from the serged darts to the outside. You’ll finish the edges and cut those dart ends all at once!
Serge around the outer edge on all four sides.
Trim the threads and your serged bowl cozy is done! I love this technique. No trimming the darts, no trimming the corners, no turning right side out, no topstitching. Quick and easy! I just pick up the opposite corners so I don’t have to touch the hot bowl and carry it to the table. Spills? No problem – toss it in the washer and dryer.
How can I make a bowl a custom size?
I have several different bowls that I use for hot items that don’t fit the basic size starting with a 10-inch square. Learn how to make your own cozy pattern. All you need is a measuring tape and a little bit of math.
To start making your own cozy sewing pattern, measure your bowl from one edge, around the bottom to the other edge of the bowl. Think about the bowl sitting in a cozy, what is that dimension?
Interestingly, I have this shallow and wide bowl that also measures at 10-inches.
Here are the two bowls stacked. You can see one cozy wouldn’t fit both bowls.
And, I have this small bowl that only measures 7-inches. The size of your bowl and its height will determine your initial fabric and batting cut sizes, as well as dart sizes.
Start with a square of fabric that matches the dimensions of the side + bottom + side of the bowl. Cut your two fabric pieces in a square that dimension. Cut two layers of batting one inch smaller. For this cozy I’ve cut two (2) 7-inch squares of cotton fabric and two (2) 6-inch squares of cotton batting.
Stitch them together as in the basic directions.
To make the darts, measure the side of the bowl to the bottom of the bowl.
With a 7-inch bowl, the bottom is 3-inches, making each side of the bowl 2-inches (which it is). So, how do we translate that information into the four darts, one for each side of the square?
The length of the darts are related to the height of the bowl. We have a 7-inch square of fabric. We want a little wiggle room for the bowl to fit not too snuggly. The bottom of the bowl will take 3-inches of the fabric and the sides 2-inches for each side. I used a dart length of 1-1/2 inches so there was a nice fit but not too close.
Now to determine the width of the dart. Again, we have 7-inches. The top dimension of the bowl is 4-inches. So we can bring in the sides by 4-inches. With 4 sides, that would be a full one inch dart on each side. But, I want some wiggle room, and we sew the dart on the fold. I marked the darts at 3/8 inches from the fold and 1-1/2 inches long.
Here are the darts sewn for the small bowl. Doesn’t it fit nicely?
Follow the basic directions and trim the darts, press them open, and put the right sides of the fabric together.
Sew, trim corners, turn right side out, press and topstitch. Here is the finished small bowl cozy.
And, another close-up of the finished custom-sized small bowl cozy.
Remember that shallow wide bowl? Here is a custom-sized cozy for it. It’s ready for a bowl of hot soup or some ramen noodles!
Are bowl cozies washable?
Yes! If you are using 100% cotton fabric, batting, and thread they are machine washable. I toss mine in the washer and dryer.
I prewash all of my fabrics before sewing, and give the batting a good steam from the iron before using, and haven’t had any issues with shrinkage. When they come out of the dryer, just give them a little poke here and there and they’ll take their shape again! Stitching the batting to the fabric with the 4 stitching lines gives the cozy more stability to launder.
What fabrics are suitable to make a bowl cozy?
Use only 100% cotton fabrics. Any synthetic fibers, like polyester, can melt at high heat. Caution: glitter, metallic threads, and other pretties on the surface of the fabric may melt with microwave use, and with hot dishes.
Have fun with your fabric choices! They are perfect for using some of those novelty prints that you just had to have! Piece together some of your fabric scraps to make a scrappy bowl cozy. Use a quilt block that you tried and is just sitting for a rainy day!
What kind of batting should I use in my cozy?
100% cotton batting. There is a specialty batting, Wrap-N-Zap, but I find as long as it is 100% cotton it works fine. Do not use insulated batting like you would in making pot holders or oven mitts. It contains metal and is not suitable for use in a microwave. Polyester batting may melt in the microwave, so it is not recommended either.
DIY bowl cozies are a great beginner sewing project to try different stitches on their machines, try free motion quilting on a small piece and most of all have fun! This easy sewing project is a great way to use up those fabric scraps and protect your fingers from hot dishes from the microwave, or cold dishes of ice cream!
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